


Way Down We Go

by nekojita



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Sex, Andrew looks after his things, Blow Jobs, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Drug Abuse, Hand Jobs, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, More characters to be added later, Neil is one of those things, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, but they will end up in college, gratuitous violence against cell phones, use of aliases
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:24:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 46
Words: 620,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7070929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekojita/pseuds/nekojita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How would things be different if Nathaniel and his mother had been in Seattle early enough to put him in California the same time as Andrew? What if their paths had crossed back then? What if Andrew's first promise wasn't to Aaron but to Nathaniel?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so basically this is me wondering about one great big 'what if' where you push up when Nathaniel's mother died and push back a little when Luther Hemmick showed up in California with Aaron to convince Andrew to give Tilda and Aaron another chance. So instead of Mary dying when Nathaniel was around 17, it happens when he's 15, and due to Nathaniel being a bit younger (and other things explained later in the fic), Nathaniel has a much rougher time getting away after he buries her body. Cue the set-up for our two boys....  
> *******

*******

“Follow the light.”

Andrew remained quiet as he did as he’d been told, at least until the pin light dropped. “Well, any signs of life?”

“Certainly no signs of a conscience,” Alvarez snapped at him as she stood up beside his bed, the frown on her face accentuating the faint lines around her mouth and aging her prematurely; he wanted to point that out to her, but he figured he had less chance of getting the good meds if he pissed her off.

“Aw, you wound me you do,” he complained in a flat tone as he cradled his bandaged left arm to his chest in an exaggerated manner.

“No, that was Cheng, and because you deliberately set him off.” When all Andrew did was give her a blank stare in response, she let out a slow breath and shook her head, which caused more strands to slip from the messy bun she’d pulled it back in earlier in the day. “Yeah, I know, you’re innocent as always.”

“At least until proven otherwise. Now, about my ouchies.” He tapped his bandaged left arm and then his forehead. “Don’t you have a Hippocratic oath to honor?”

For the first time since Andrew had come to the Medical department, there was a hint of a smile on Janet Alvarez’s lips while she tucked the pin light into the front pocket of her disgustingly brightly patterned scrubs. “Sorry, just a nurse practitioner. You should have timed your little instigation or whatever a bit better, when Dr. Mitchell’s on duty.” When he continued to give her a blank stare, she sighed and flipped her gloved right hand back and forth. “Let me make a call, and it won’t be too strong, not with that concussion.”

“You’re a regular Florence Nightingale, you are.”

The comment earned him the middle finger as the middle-aged nurse left the room, which Andrew ignored in favor of settling a bit more comfortably in the bed and gaging the severity of his injuries, such as they were; he’d chosen Pete Cheng because the boy was easy to goad but didn’t know how to do any serious damage. Andrew’s injuries were more from being knocked down onto a concrete half-wall than anything, and he’d have to remember to pick a better area for a ‘fight’ next time.

Still, he was here in Medical, in a room to himself with the promise of some sort of drugs to come and should have a few days to himself with no stupid roommates, no stupid classes or mandatory therapy. Nobody to bother him. Well, Alvarez and Mitchell and the rest could be somewhat annoying, but they had too much work to do to focus on him for long.

So that meant he should have a couple of days to figure out what to do about the letter that had arrived that morning, the annoying bit of spam for which he probably had Pig Higgins to blame. Somehow he had a feeling that this Luther Hemmick wouldn’t be so quick to turn away as his own dear mother had been three years ago when guilt and interference had driven her to… whatever. Andrew’s fingers tightened around his strained wrist as he let out a sudden breath. No, there was too much righteous meddling in Luther, if he was any judge, so a simple ‘fuck off’ wouldn’t do.

Lost in his thoughts of why a stranger was driven to track down an unknown person across the country – and in a juvenile detention facility at that – just because of some pathetic connection by blood – Andrew jerked back to awareness when the door swung open. Expecting to see Alvarez arriving with his pain pills, he was surprised instead with the sight of an officer in an Alemeda County Sheriff uniform pushing some kid in a wheelchair into the room while a harried Alvarez held open the door. “Put him on the bed by the window,” she called out, as if it wasn’t already obvious.

“I thought I asked for a private room,” Andrew drawled, and managed an offended expression when Alvarez sent a narrowed look his way.

The officer ignored them as he continued to push the wheelchair into the room, and Andrew noticed with interest that the kid, dressed in hospital scrubs too big for his scrawny frame, was handcuffed. He was hunched over with shaggy dark brown hair hiding his pale face as if in pain or from sullenness or both, and Andrew thought he caught the sight of a shiny scar on the kid’s right shoulder from where the too-big top gapped open.

“Keep an eye on him, he’s a runner,” the cop warned as he hauled the kid out of the wheelchair; Alvarez hissed at him to be gentle while Andrew caught sight of the kid biting his bottom lip as if to keep from crying out.

“Yeah, I got it the first time you said that, now be careful, dammit!” Alvarez insisted as she shoved the cop aside to help the kid stretch out on the bed; when she gave his long legs a gentle tug to straighten them out then brushed her hands along one of his worn out sneakers, he jerked his feet away in a clear sign for her to leave on the ratty shoes. “All right,” she soothed as she held up her hands for a moment, then grabbed the folded blanket on the bottom of the bed to pull it up a little to cover the kid’s legs.

While she did that, the cop unlocked the handcuff from the kid’s left wrist so he could cuff it to the right metal railing of the bed instead. At Alvarez’s displeased look, he shrugged. “I told you, he’s a runner, and he’s not answering any questions. We’re hoping he’ll be a bit more talkative tomorrow when they come to formally process him.”

“I put him in here because this room is closest to the station and we’ll be able to keep an eye on him all night. There’s no need for that.”

“Yeah, the nurse at the hospital where they patched him up said the same thing, and he still almost got away. The cuffs stay on.” The office tipped his head at Alvarez before he picked up the duffel bag that had been looped over one of the handles on the back of the wheelchair then tossed it onto the foot of the kid’s bed. “His stuff, since it looks like he’ll be staying with you guys at least until we figure out what’s his deal. Nothing much else in there but some old clothes – trust me, we checked.”

“What if he has to use the bathroom?”

“That’s what bedpans are for, right? That or put a catheter in, I don’t care, he’s your problem now.”

The lines were back on Alvarez’s face, but this time they weren’t from exhaustion or displeasure, they were from when she was a hair away from punching someone – Andrew had only seen her that angry a time or two during his three years here and was disappointed that she always managed to rein in the temper rather than just let it go. “Fine, then let’s get the paperwork done so you can leave,” she informed the cop as her small hands clenched into fists. “These boys need their rest.”

The cop tipped his head again as he preceded Alvarez out the door, then the room became quiet; Andrew lay on the bed with his arms folded on top of his chest while the kid was still for at least a minute before he gave the handcuff an experimental tug or two. Then the kid began to shift about, to pull his arms and legs in closer in such a slow manner that Andrew knew he was checking the damage, was seeing what was working, was testing bruises and cuts and stitches – Andrew had seen it with others in the past, had *done* it himself.

Well, time to introduce themselves to each other, no? For once he was bored enough to talk.

“How rude of Alvarez, to bring me a buddy and not do any proper introductions.” As soon as he spoke, the kid went still on the bed, especially when Andrew kicked back his own covers and swung his legs over so he could sit up on the bed; there was a slight dizziness at the sudden movement, but the concussion was mild, the damage minimal so it could be ignored. “Let me be the first to welcome you to the lovely Wayward Burns Juvenile Detention Facilities – emphasis on the ‘wayward’. I am Andrew, and no, I will not be your guide, your mentor, your anything, during your delightful stay here.” He summoned an apathetic smile and sat with his hands in his lap while he regarded his temporary roommate. “Questions? Comments? You’ll soon learn that I don’t give a fuck, and it’s best you don’t, either.”

The kid, whom upon closer inspection looked at least a year younger than Andrew, maybe two, stared back with wide dark brown eyes for several seconds in an otherwise blank face before his gaze flickered toward the closed door. “She coming back?”

He noticed that the kid didn’t bother to introduce himself, how rude.  “Do you take me to be psychic?” When all the kid did was to stare back, Andrew shrugged and continued with the fake smile. “You’ll find out, won’t you?”

The kid’s expression became even more shuttered and his shoulders hunched forward, which caused the too-large top to gap open even more. He realized that after a few seconds, but not before Andrew caught a glimpse of scarred flesh and new bandages quickly covered by a cheap cotton blanket. While he pondered that, the door opened once more to admit Alvarez, who carried two small cups in her left hand with a practiced ease. “You better be behaving yourself,” she chided Andrew as she handed him what appeared to be some low dose Tylenol with codeine and some water to wash them down. Ah well, beggars couldn’t be too choosy, he supposed.

While he took his meds, she went over to the kid’s bed, but came to a stop when he tensed up at her approach like a spooked cat. “Is there anything I can get for you? Do you need anything changed or…?” When he shook his head, she waved her right hand about a couple of times. “What about food? Did they feed you anything while they were patching you up?”

“I’m fine,” the kid gritted out as he tugged up the blanket with his left hand as if it were a shield.

“*I* could use something to eat,” Andrew called out, and wasn’t surprised when Alvarez waved aside his comment.

“I’m on shift for another half an hour, and I’ll leave a note for Martin in case you change your mind, okay? If you want anything or if this one gives you any trouble, just ping one of us.” She grabbed the call button from the small nightstand and set it closer to the kid.

“You make me sound like a menace,” Andrew complained as he stretched back out on the bed.

Alvarez gave him another narrow stare while she gathered up the cup and left the room. “You *are* a menace, but do me a favor and behave tonight, all right?”

“No promises.” Those lines really were going to be permanent if she didn’t stop with all that frowning.

Now that the room was quiet again, Andrew closed his eyes and let the drugs  - such as they were – work into his system a little while he pondered the mystery stretched out beside him. It didn’t take long before there was more of that careful rustling, the slight metallic clicking to indicate that the kid was checking out the handcuff.

“Okay, let’s get this little tête-à-tête started, shall we?” Andrew held out his hand with his forefinger held out. “You know, you at least need to wait until Alvarez leaves because she will be paying attention to the monitors.” Then he added a second finger. “Now Cowan? Yeah, all he cares about is getting through his first and last rounds on shift, giving out the meds that’ll knock out the troublemakers for the night and then being left in peace to sleep or watch tv. So just chill for another hour, assuming you can figure out those handcuffs.”

There was more silence, save for the kid’s quickened breathing, and then the sheets rustled again. “I don’t, you… that’s-“

Andrew sighed as he opened his eyes and sat up to face the kid, pleased to note that there was less dizziness this time. “It’s not difficult to figure out, even if the pig hadn’t called you a ‘runner’. You’ve got ‘desperate’ all but tattooed across your forehead.” He raked his gaze over his new roomie, over the too-pretty face that would make staying here a nightmare for the kid, the lips raw as if they’d been bitten too much lately, the handcuffed wrist and the defensive posture. Most of all he noticed how the kid’s annoying eyes were focused on him – no, not so much on him but on his hands, on the core of his body as if to see if he planned to lunge forward or reach out to strike and hurt.

The kid was quiet for a few seconds after that, and then he scoffed. “You an expert or something?”

All Andrew did was shrug. “I’m an expert on this place, at the least, and I’m telling you to sit there for right now. But hey, maybe I’m just jerking your chain. Go on, show me what you’ve got and see how far you make it so I can have a good laugh.”

The kid managed to straighten up and scowl for about two seconds before he winced then sank back against the thin pillows piled up against the fake wood headboard. “It’s not good, me sticking around for too long.” The words were spoken in a faint voice, but Andrew’s ears were no longer ringing and the room was quiet.

Part of him knew he shouldn’t bother, but he was bored and looking for a distraction from his own issues. “And why is that? Got a hot date out there waiting for you?”

As if the question had been a flag of some sort, the kid’s expression became even more shuttered and he merely shook his head as he tugged the blanket as far up he could with his left hand. The room grew quiet again, the shadows lengthening as the sun went down and darkness replaced the faint light. Andrew didn’t bother with turning on the light, not with the faint glow permeating the room from the outdoor lights.

He had taken to unwrapping and rewrapping the bandages around his left wrist as a means to fight the urge to sneak out for a cigarette when Cowan opened the door and turned on the overhead light, startling an abrupt motion from the kid and a displeased look from Andrew. “Two counted for,” Cowan muttered as he gave the room a visual check, a slow grin forming on his bearded face as he lingered on Andrew. “Hey, Doe, you’ll like this. Maybe this kid’s your brother or something, cause he’s a Doe, too.” He jerked his right thumb in the kid’s direction. “Funny, no? Enjoy the family reunion,” he teased before he turned off the light and closed the door behind him.

Andrew stared at the door and thought about how good it would feel to slam the man’s head between it and the frame for a few minutes, and then let out a slow breath. “Really, why don’t you want to stay at such a lovely place like this?” As he spoke, he turned around to face the kid once more, and wasn’t surprised to find him studying the handcuffs in the dark. After a moment’s pause, Andrew reached up to turn on one of the small lamps above their beds.

The kid jumped a little at the sound of the lamp clicking on but didn’t stop what he was doing. “Is he done bothering us?”

“As long as we don’t make any noise, yeah. He’s an asshole, but he’s a lazy one. And now that’s three you owe me for.” Andrew once more sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed so he could watch what the kid was doing. “Hate to break it to you, but unlike what you see in the movies, those things aren’t that easy to pick unless you have the right tools.” Not that he knew that from first-hand experience or anything.

The kid stopped what he was doing and turned to face Andrew, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip and his brow furrowed as if he was trying to figure Andrew out; Andrew kept his expression blank and turned his arms slightly inward, unwilling to give anything away. After what had to be a minute, the kid twitched and jerked on his captured right wrist. “Okay, what do you want?”

Andrew arched his eyebrows at the question. “I’m sorry, what do you mean?” There was a tiny thrill of amusement over the kid’s scowl just then, but he kept his expression blank. “There’s nothing that I want.”

“You… I mean-“ The kid huffed a little as he went to run his hands through his hair, and cursed beneath his breath in something guttural when his right hand was arrested by the handcuff. “Why are you helping me, such as it is? Why are you telling me about the best time to run?”

Andrew raised his right hand, his four fingers extended, and waggled them about. “Ah ah, I’ve already given you some information, now it’s your turn. Why are you so desperate to get out of here?” He figured the kid was too adamant about hiding his name to start there, but might be willing to give up something else if it got him what he needed.

“Look, it’s important, I don’t have time to play any stupid games!”

All Andrew did was sit there and give the kid a bland smile in return.

Something harsh and guttural was muttered while those ugly brown eyes darted back and forth between Andrew and the door a couple of times before the narrow shoulders hunched forward even more. “I have to get out of here, and soon. Some-someone’s going to be looking for me, and if they find me here-“ he choked off the words and shook his head. “It’ll be better for everyone if I’m gone.” He avoided Andrew’s intent stare and went back to the studying the handcuffs.

Andrew tapped the fingers of his left hand against his thigh a few times while he looked over the kid. “They the ones responsible for cutting you up?” As the shoulders stiffened again, he sighed and waved his right hand at the idiot, three fingers still held up. “The marks kind of difficult to miss, and I’m willing to bet it’s what the cops want to talk to you about, them and Social Services.”

The kid was quiet again for a few heartbeats before he pulled away from the bedframe. “Among other things.” He flipped the blanket aside and reached for his left shoe, which he tugged off while wincing in evident pain from bending over. “The ones coming for me are responsible for the latest ones,” he admitted as he tugged about in the bottom of the shoe, and while Andrew watched in begrudging amazement, pulled out two thin lock picks.

“Well, someone’s a Boy Scout, aren’t they?” He got off of his bed and went over to the foot of the kid’s, and noticed the way the other teen flinched at his proximity; he offered a baring of teeth and sat as far away as possible but could still watch while the handcuffs were picked. “And talented.”

He didn’t expect an answer, so was once again amused when the kid resumed talking. “I was out of… well, I needed bandages, stuff like that. Guess the ones I had on were leaking and some nosy bastard noticed and raised a fuss in the store.” The kid grimaced, probably over the do-gooder asshole butting in since he managed to undo the right cuff with his left hand, then set about to unlock the other cuff. “Managed to get into the family bathroom and lock the door, but it didn’t take them too long to drag me out of there.”

“Let me guess, long enough for you to hide a set of picks on you and to ditch whatever ID you had, right?”

“Something like that.” The cuffs now off, the kid dropped them onto the bed and took a couple of seconds to rub his wrists, the right one a bit red from where the metal had dug in while he’d been trapped to the bed. Then he reached for his bag, dragged it toward him and rustled through it for what turned out to be a change of clothes – the little glimpse that Andrew caught, everything looked plain and worn. “So, is that enough? You gonna tell me what you want now? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because everyone wants something.” That sounded like bitter experience at the end there.

Andrew scooted back enough to rest against the footboard of the bed and folded his arms over his chest, despite the slight ache in his left wrist. When the kid paused in grabbing onto the bottom of the pale blue top, Andrew nodded as if to indicate for him to go on; there wasn’t anywhere in the room for the kid to find any privacy, unless he went into the bathroom or Andrew turned his head. There was a slight tightening of the jaw and a flash of anger in those brown eyes before the kid jerked the top over his head, unruly hair tangled even more, and Andrew’s hands clenched despite himself at the impressive amount of damage laid bare on the kid’s scrawny torso. Only the fresh bandages hid what were some of the most impressive scars he’d seen in a lifetime spent in the system.

The kid wasn’t as quick to pull on the long-sleeved t-shirt, since it was obvious that sudden movement wasn’t his friend. He choked back on a sound of pain and his fingers trembled as he tugged the shirt down, teeth once more tearing into his bottom lip. Andrew watched on in passive silence as the kid had to take several shallow breaths before he could attempt to pull on a pair of baggy jeans, shaking hand trembling to remove the right sneaker, and earned a virulent glare when he gave a slow clap once the entire ordeal was done. “Wow, I’m impressed. How far are you going to make it if you’re collapsing on the bed after just getting dressed?”

It took the kid a couple of tries to push himself upright, and it looked as if he managed that more from sheer determination than anything else. “I *have* to get out of here,” he ground out, his left arm wrapped around his ribs as if the wounds were bothering him.

“What did you do to piss off someone so much?” Andrew didn’t expect an answer so he waved off the scowl directed his way for the question. “You really think they’re going to bother coming after you here?”

Anger was replaced by a quick flash of fear, followed by a terrible blankness Andrew knew all too well. “To finally have me pinned down? Yes.” The kid rubbed at his sweaty face for a moment then shook his head. “If I can’t get out of here, you need to leave, you don’t want to be here with me.” Groaning a little as if in pain or from the effort, he managed to step away from the bed. “You probably shouldn’t be in here at all, they’re not going to be happy to find me gone.” His hands shook as he grabbed the straps of his duffel bag.

Such a dramatic little shit, even if the kid had about an inch on Andrew. Glancing at the closed door, at the mostly comfortable bed he’d abandoned and then at the kid who looked about ready to pass out any second now, Andrew weighed his options; he still had two more years stuck here, unless a miracle happened and they gave him early parole. Early parole meant that someone had to take him in, and there was no way in hell he was going back into the system, was dealing with another family. The only ones who wanted him was Cass – whom he wasn’t going to think about now - and some busybody uncle whom he also wasn’t willing to think about just then. What he did have just then was a beat up kid with too much attitude who wasn’t going to make it more than ten feet without him.

“Ask me the question again.” He reached out to tug on the bag, and nearly pulled the kid off of his feet.

“What?” The kid glared at him, surprise, surprise, the expression soon turning to confusion. “Question?”

“Yeah, you’re really going to get far, aren’t you?” Andrew sighed when the kid didn’t even snark back. “The question, idiot.”

“Oh for-“ The kid tugged on the bag before he seemed to realize that Andrew wasn’t about to let go. “Do you mean ‘what do you want’?”

“Maybe there’s some hope for you yet.” Andrew ignored the dirty look and shoved the kid back onto the bed, and only felt a little bad at the muffled sound of pain as the kid sunk down onto the mattress. “I still don’t want anything, but I could use a pack of cigarettes, and I think it would be fun to have a car. I could also do without people telling me what to do all the time. It would be nice to get out of here. I’m also craving a candy bar.” He just rattled stuff off the top of his head as he loomed over the younger teen, close enough to notice that the kid was wearing contacts but careful not to touch. “Think you can manage that?”

The kid stared at him for a few seconds, body tense as if waiting for a punch, a hit, and then let out a shuddering breath. “Get me out of here and… and help me out a little,” the words sounded as if they hurt him more than the bandaged wounds, “and I think I can manage a good bit of that, yeah.”

“All right, then we have a deal.” Andrew nodded, and waited for the kid to nod as well, unwilling to shake hands but counting on that to be just as good. “Now, let me see that bag.” When the kid pulled the duffel bag onto his lap, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “I can’t get out of here looking like this.”

The kid frowned for a few seconds as he looked Andrew up and down, his expression unreadable, and when Andrew was about to tell him to fuck off if he was that unwilling to share his shitty clothes, handed over the bag. “I think they’ll fit you, all of my stuff is pretty big. There’s a spare pair of shoes in there, too. I had to fight to keep these ones at the hospital because of them.”

“Great, I can’t wait to wear your smelly hand-me downs.” It was almost amusing, the way the kid glared as if he had any strength left to him to back it up; Andrew managed an amused smile as he snatched up the bag and went back to his bed. Grateful to find several long-sleeved shirts from which to take his pick, he grabbed whatever looked the largest, along with a hooded sweatshirt, and the loosest pair of jeans. Despite the kid having a slight height advantage on him, the worn sneakers were a size too small and the jeans a bit tight in the waist, but it would do for now. He rolled up and shoved the faculty t-shirt and sweats he’d been wearing into the bag so they could get rid of them later.

He noticed that there were some crumbled bills among the clothes and was surprised that Alvarez hadn’t confiscated that yet, along with some saline for the kid’s contacts. “Eighty bucks or so isn’t going to get you far.”

“Let me worry about that once we’re out of here.” The kid held out his hands for the bag. “How soon can we leave?”

Andrew tugged down his sleeves as far as they could go, the left ones caught on his bandages, and checked the clock affixed to the wall. “Give Cowan another thirty minutes to get settled in and it should be all right.”

The kid fussed with the contents of his bag as if he had some fancy packing system. “Will it be difficult to get out of here?”

“Hmm, it helps that no one’s tried lately, and I’ve been here long enough to know the best way how to go about it.” Andrew had thought about it more than once, he just hadn’t had any motivation to run away before now. It would be a bit tricky… but it was better than just sitting here, waiting for Higgins and Hemmick to interfere with his life. He could see just how fucked up things were for this kid and always come back if things got boring.

The kid was quiet while he shuffled things about in his bag, and then he got up from the bed and held out something to Andrew, careful to stay just out of arm’s reach. “Okay then. We’ll get out of here, go fetch something of mine and get somewhere safe, and work on that list of yours. Until then, take some of this, just in case.” He held out a few of the dollar bills with a guarded expression. “We’ll need to catch a bus once we get out of here, and, well… just in case.”

Andrew doubted that it was even half of the money he’d seen inside the bag, but still, it meant that if something happened and if they got separated or the kid took off, he at least had enough money to get away. It was more money than he’d hand over, if their situation was reversed, to be honest. He reached out and grasped the money by the edge and pulled it away slowly. “Hey, what’s your name? I need something to call you other than ‘kid’ or ‘it’.”

The kid took to frowning again as he retreated back to the other bed and seemed to think about the request. “You can call me Alex,” he offered after a couple of minutes.

“Be ready in twenty-five minutes,” Andrew warned ‘Alex’.  

Alex didn’t say anything, he just went over to the window and took up watch by it, as if looking for something. Andrew let him be, and wondered how long it would take for them to find a place where he could buy a pack of cigarettes once they got out of here.

He definitely wasn’t bored right now.

*******

Nathaniel stared across the almost empty parking lot of the Walmart store and felt as if he was going to throw up; his mother’s furious voice echoed inside of his head and raved at him for being so stupid, so foolish, for making so many mistakes that would end up with him dead. He could still smell the smoke and the gasoline as her body burned, feel the sand beneath his nails and the scrapes on his hands from digging to bury her body-

“So it’s in there?”

“Oui.”

“That a yes?”

He took a shuddering breath when he realized that he’d slipped back into French and shook his head. “Yeah, it’s a ‘yes’.” Just a couple of months ago they’d been up in Montreal, before that had been France, had been Switzerland and Germany and- he was tired. He was so tired and in pain and he just wanted to stop and sleep forever. He wanted to leave California and never come back, but first he had to fetch his binder. No, he had to have Andrew fetch his binder for him, because if he stepped back into that store after this morning….

Aware of the other teenager staring at him, he let out another slow breath and nodded. “It’s in the family bathroom by customer service – when I realized that the asshole had flagged security and they were covering the entrance, I went in there to hide anything that might be considered incriminating. Look for the ceiling tile by the vent, there’s a black binder tucked up in there.” He reached into his front pocket to pull out the rest of his money and only paused for a moment before handing over everything but a five dollar bill. “Buy yourself some new shoes and one or two other small things, but don’t get too much, we can hit another store later.”

Andrew’s expression remained blank as he accepted the money. “That’s not going to be a problem?”

Nathaniel wanted to laugh at the question. “Just get me the binder, and bring me *everything* inside of it.” He went to reach for Andrew’s arm and stopped; even with only knowing the other teenager for a couple of hours, he’d noticed how Andrew had made sure not to initiate any contact between them – between anyone once they’d left the detention center and made their way here on foot and by bus. “Look, you’ve helped me out so far and I appreciate it, I do.” It felt as if shards of glass were in his throat just then, as if he could feel his mother yanking on his hair, hitting him on his back and head as she screamed at him to walk away, to get as far away from Andrew and his ‘help’ as possible. Unfortunately, he couldn’t because he *did* need Andrew, dammit. “Get me the binder and you’ll see. Just… just know that if you run off with it… I do have someone I can call.” Nathaniel attempted to summon a scowl for the other boy and hoped that the threat didn’t sound weak just then, didn’t sound like something that was a last resort, which it was. “It won’t be good when he finds you.”

He’d memorized Uncle Stuart’s number, between his mother gasping it out to him – between that awful night and this morning. It really was a matter of last resort, and he’d been terrified that he’d have to call it once he got himself free of the handcuffs, but if Andrew would just bring him the damn binder then maybe… maybe….

Andrew clicked his tongue and batted Nathaniel’s hand aside before tucking away the money. “I think you’d have called that number already if you wanted to, but whatever. I’m getting a pair of shoes that aren’t two seconds away from falling to pieces and a pack of cigarettes. Don’t pass out while I’m gone.” He gave Nathaniel a two-finger salute as he sauntered away, hands lifting to tug up the hood of the borrowed hoodie to cover his pale blond hair as he crossed the parking lot.

Nathaniel watched him go, body tense with the need to follow, to make sure that he wasn’t betrayed, until the stitched wounds began to ache even more and he had to relax. Dammit, he would have to see about stealing some alcohol soon, since pain meds were out of the question – at least until he got to Reno and met up with his mother’s contact there. Obviously there was no way he’d manage to find anyone here or in LA, not with his father’s men hard on his trail. He shuddered as his right hand slid beneath the layers of clothes he wore to press against the bandages wrapped around his chest, at the fresh wounds the bastard had inflicted on him in San Francisco before he’d managed to slip away. He felt sorry for the poor guy that had made the mistake of walking into that restroom… but he’d been able to do nothing but grab his bag and flee after smashing the bathroom door into man’s face, to react on pure instinct.

That was part of the problem, ever since his mother, ever since – he needed to stop, to gather his thoughts, to *think* instead of just react. He needed breathing space, but his father’s hounds were too close, his mother’s death too fresh. Nathaniel pressed his fingers against the bandaged stitches in an effort to clear his head and tried not to think about how long Andrew had been, at how foolish it was to trust someone he’d just met with what was his most important possessions. If the teen did run off with it, he had no choice but to make the call to Uncle Stuart and hope he lived long enough for his uncle to reach him.

Why was he trusting Andrew? Utter desperation? The exhaustion? Because Andrew hadn’t called him crazy or looked at him with pity? Something wasn’t all there with that one, even with the obvious fact that he was a juvie, but there was that flat stare and the scars on his wrists that he mostly kept hidden and the fact that he didn’t seem to care that Nathaniel was dragging him into danger.

At least four people had come out of the store by now, and considering that it was the middle of the night, Nathaniel had a sinking feeling that maybe Andrew had found the binder, looked inside and decided to run off with the money and bonds. Cursing himself for all kinds of a fool in every language he knew, he’d resigned himself to a fruitless wait until daybreak and began to sink down to the cold concrete when a short figure left the store with a bag in each hand. He stared on in amazement as the figure made a beeline toward him, sore body tensing in anticipation of the need to get up and run, and didn’t realize it was Andrew until the boy was about twenty feet away.

“I got us some snacks.” Andrew dropped one of the bags by Nathaniel before he reached back beneath his shirts to pull out the binder. “So, where to next?” He handed over the binder as he sat down as well, then kicked off Nathaniel’s borrowed shoes so he could pull on the new ones he had bought.

“I… we need to pick up a few more things before we can leave town.” Nathaniel flipped open the binder and as relief flooded through him, gave its contents a quick check to make sure the money, fake IDs, bonds and information was still there; from what he could tell, Andrew hadn’t touched anything. “We can get some more clothes for you and some hair dye. I’m thinking it’ll be best to grab a bus in Berkeley, where it won’t be too odd for a couple of teenagers to be traveling.”

“Whatever.” Andrew had also picked up a small backpack, into which he put some of the snacks he’d bought, along with the new pack of cigarettes after he lit one of them by using a plastic lighter. “I saw the contacts you hid as well, but figured you wouldn’t need them. They know you have brown eyes so time to do something new.” He drew in a deep drag on the cigarette then blew it out in Nathaniel’s face.

Furious at the other boy for deciding that on his own, Nathaniel opened his mouth to say something… and found Andrew giving him that blank look. “I… it’ll take some time to get new ones,” he argued. “These ones are fine for now.”

“Whatever. But the police here know you as having brown hair and eyes. You going to keep that up?” Andrew waved his right hand about, the tip of his cigarette bright in the night’s darkness even with the weak parking lot lights around them. “Seems to me there’s no sense in being all half-assed if you’re serious about losing the people who’re after you, but what do I know?”

He wanted to say ‘nothing’, because his father’s men and the Feds knew what he really looked like, but maybe, just maybe, it would throw them off a little if he did something unexpected. Dammit, he hated the thought of removing them, of baring his eyes after so long, but ever since Seattle…. Nathaniel gritted his teeth as he nodded once and forced his hands to rise up, forced himself to ignore his mother’s voice and remove the lenses. At least he didn’t have to look at himself once they were out and on the ground. “Come on, we need to get the stuff and be out of town by morning,” he told Andrew as he forced his battered body to move.

“What did I say about the whole ‘not doing what people tell me’ thing?”

Nathaniel sighed as he rubbed his hands along his face and began counting down the hours until he could leave California behind. Now that he had his binder back, they just needed to get the stuff to change their appearances enough to fool anyone looking for them and then catch a bus out of state. With Andrew to watch his back, he could get enough rest that he wasn’t falling apart by the time they reached Reno, and once they each had a new set of IDs, he could finish off the promised list and send Andrew safely on his own way.

After that… Nathaniel pushed any thoughts of what happened past Reno out of his mind. Get to Reno, get the IDs, get Andrew his car and then move on. Just run, and keep running.

He nearly hit Andrew with his duffel bag when the other teen held out something in front of his face, and glared at the slight smirk curled around a burning cigarette when he realized it was a can of expresso drink. “Yeah, killer reaction there. I see now how you earned all those battle scars and can only imagine how bad the others fared.”

“You’re an asshole,” Nathaniel shot back, too tired to come up with anything else or even to make it sound that angry as he accepted the drink.

“Yep, and all you got.” Andrew dug out another can and tapped it against Nathaniel’s. “Cheers.”

For a moment Nathaniel felt the urge to retort that if Andrew was all he had then he was truly fucked, but the words couldn’t make it out of his mouth. Instead, all he did was pop open the can and tilt back his head to let the bitter, cold drink wash down his dry throat as he moved forward, no longer alone.

*******


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, thank you so much for the response so far for this story! It's made me so happy, especially to see that the plot twist is being well-received (and the aged-down versions of the boys).
> 
> I'm hoping to update every couple of days or so (barring work/life being crazy) - unless the chapter lengths get really long.
> 
> *******

*******

Andrew lit a cigarette and inhaled, then paused a moment to enjoy the warm burn in his lungs while he waited for the strangers to disperse in the Sacramento Greyhound parking lot. Waited for ‘Alex’ to eventually pick a direction and gave the kid a few seconds lead before he followed.

They ended up at a diner just down the street, some non-descript grease-pit with the inventive name of ‘Alice’s’ that had faded red vinyl booths and red and white checkered tables. Alex was tucked into the back corner, away from the few other people seated that late in the morning, his head downturned as if he was paying attention to the menu; Andrew caught a flash of icy blue which let him know that his traveling companion had noticed his arrival.

He ignored the server and went straight to the back booth, dropped his backpack onto the opposite seat and sank down. “You’re buying.”

Alex sighed and shoved a laminated menu across the table, which Andrew gave a quick glance. “Of course.” It was the first that they’d spoken to each other since getting on the bus back at Berkeley, having decided that it was safest to sit apart in case anyone was looking for the pair of them. Andrew had made certain to sit behind Alex to keep him in his sights, and had noticed how the younger teen had struggled not to sleep even though he appeared exhausted. The dark circles beneath his eyes only accentuated the pale blue color of his eyes, which looked much better than those ugly brown contacts – it was a shame that for some reason Alex hated them. Hated them and the auburn shade Andrew had picked to dye his hair at first, instead of the plain brown Alex had shoved at him in almost a panic as an alternative. Hmm, someone was a rather interesting bundle of issues, weren’t they? Wouldn’t even look in the mirror to see if Andrew had done a decent job in lightening his hair color….

“What can I get you boys?”

The arrival of their server, a late middle-aged woman who appeared way too chipper with her lot in life and to be stuck wearing that awful checkered uniform, actually *beamed* at them as she waited for a response. Andrew loathed her on sight and fought back a sneer while Alex mumbled out an order for coffee and the number two special, over easy.

“Coffee as well, Belgium waffles, extra whip cream and syrup, and a side of bacon,” he told the annoyance as he flicked aside the menu.

“Okay,” she drawled as she picked up the menus. “I’ll be back with your drinks.”

The table was quiet until she came back with their two coffees and a large carafe of the hot beverage, and Alex watched on with what looked to be bemusement as Andrew added several sugar packets and creamers to his mug. “Why bother?”

“Indeed, a question I ask myself about many a thing.” Andrew took a sip of his drink while he fetched the newspaper he’d picked up on the bus from out of his backpack then dropped it onto the table, folded to show the article of interest. “Such as, ‘why bother to go to such lengths over one individual’?”

Alex’s hands clenched around his own mug when he caught sight of the paper, but Andrew had to give him credit for having a decent poker face. Those riveting blue eyes scanned the article for a few seconds before staring into the mug. “There’s no mention of us.”

Ah, way to dodge the question; Andrew assumed that he must have already seen the article or heard someone mention it on the bus. “No, which is rather interesting in and of itself, just mentioned that there was a fire at a certain facility we recently vacated and a couple of injuries, one of which was serious. I do hope Cowan doesn’t recover soon,” he said in a flat voice. When Alex remained still, he tapped the fingers of his left hand against the table in annoyance. “Why?”

Alex flinched, either at the sound or the question, and glanced around as if to make sure that they weren’t being overheard. “Not… not here, okay?”

“’Not here’ implies that there will be a discussion somewhere else, understood?” He waited until he received a nod, and had some more coffee.

Part of what kept him at Alex’s side – other than the huge enigma the kid represented – was that so far, ‘Alex’ had held up his end of the bargain. Here Andrew sat with a pack of cigarettes in his bag with no one telling him what to do, on his way to get a new ID and presumably a car of some sort. He could still change his mind at any point, could go back to Oakland and say that he’d been dragged along for fear of his life, could turn Alex in at the next opportunity… but he wasn’t bored, and he was with someone who needed his help. There was something… something….

The server, ‘Anita’, according to her name tag, arrived with their food just then and spared him from any more useless analysis. Of course Alex had chosen some bland, simple platter of eggs, bacon and toast; the kid seemed unable to do anything that didn’t help him fade into the woodwork. At least Andrew’s breakfast appeared to have enough flavor for the both of them, the syrup and whipped cream threatening to overflow from the plate, the canned blueberries gleaming beneath the diner’s fluorescent lights as much as Anita’s bottled black and shellacked hair.

“Can I get you anything else?”

“Some anti-acids for him,” Alex muttered as he stared at Andrew’s breakfast.

“Some of us don’t need them, Grandpa.” He swiped his fork through the mountain of whipped cream then popped it into his mouth.

“Okay,” Anita drawled again before walking away, and Andrew’s left eye twitched from the impulse of throwing his mug after her. Alex must have sensed something, because he waved his left hand in the air as a distraction.

“So we’ll give it another hour or two then get on the next bus to Reno.” He kept his voice down low as he snatched up the newspaper to shove into his own bag, and then began to cut into his eggs.

“I can’t hardly wait, I hear it’s such a lovely city.” Andrew had never been outside of California in his life, it was rather depressing that his first trip anywhere was to Reno even if that was where Alex said they had to go to get the new IDs.  “You take me to the nicest of places.”

For a moment there was a far-away look on Alex’s face, one that made him appear much younger than the fifteen years he claimed and haunted on top of it, and then he shook his head as he lifted his mug. “Can’t be any worse than where we met, can it?” There was a hint of a smile to his lips as he stared at Andrew.

“Touché.” Andrew gave him a two-fingered salute with his left hand then resumed eating his breakfast in silence.

*******

As soon as they stepped out of the diner, Andrew lit up a cigarette; Nathaniel found himself reaching for it before he could stop and think about what he was doing or how close his fingers came to brushing against the other teen’s hand. Andrew started at the theft, his body tense, and then quirked an eyebrow as he watched Nathaniel cup the cigarette close to his face. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I… I don’t.” Nathaniel swallowed past a throat gone dry as he breathed in the fumes, the scent of smoke taking him back to barely a week ago, to that awful night on the coast. He shuddered as he shook his head, as he attempted to push aside the memory even as he inhaled again and again. “I… it just….”

“Keep walking,” Andrew ordered, the words blunt but tone oddly gently. “And you owe me an explanation as well as another pack of cigarettes.”

Figuring that there was no sense in arguing over the absurd payback, Nathaniel reached into his pocket to pull out a fifty dollar bill. “They stunt your growth, you know.” Somehow he dredged up a smile in the face of Andrew’s affronted expression even as the other teenager snatched away the money.

“Yeah, like I haven’t heard that before.”

Nathaniel was sure he had, and thought it was nice for once to not be the shortest kid around; he had inherited his mo- the Stuart’s lack of height, apparently, unless he hit a growth spurt soon, but Andrew was an inch shorter than him at five foot. At least the other teen wasn’t as scrawny, though, having filled out Nathaniel’s clothes to the point of stretching them with his broader shoulders and solid build. The chestnut brown hair dye suited him, added a bit of warmth to his complexion that had been lacking with the pale blond hair, but he still was an imposing figure with the cold gleam to his hazel eyes.

“I’m waiting for that explanation.”

“Ah, yeah.” Nathaniel winced at the bite of impatience in Andrew’s voice and inhaled once more before he shook off the ash gathering on the tip of his own cigarette, then glanced around to make certain that no one was close enough to listen to them. Still, he nodded for them to duck into a small alley between a dollar store and a Chinese restaurant. “So, I told you the basics already, that my mom stole some money from some very nasty people and they’ve been chasing us ever since to get it back.” He inhaled again to center himself before he continued. “They got to her eventually,” he forced back the pain, the turbulent emotions, “and I’ve been trying to shake them off my tail ever since. A few nights ago, they found it again.”

“Yes, yes, second verse, same as the first.” Andrew flicked his own cigarette, only burned half-way through, down onto the ground and stomped on it. “Tell me why our faces weren’t in the article, and why they risked doing that to a juvie facility.”

“I’m getting there,” Nathaniel snapped, then shuddered as he forced his temper back down; dammit, did Andrew think it was *easy* for him to talk about this stuff? If his mother was- but no, she wasn’t, and if there was anything that he’d learned the last few days was that he was terrible running by himself while so messed up, so he would take Andrew’s odd form of help for another day or two while he pulled himself together and then part ways before something bad happened to the other teen. “Because the man my mother stole the money from had… well, he had ties to organized crime, and I’m willing to bet that the Feds must have made the connection somehow from me to him when the police got involved at the hospital.” He dropped his own cigarette and clutched the duffel bag hard against his stomach, even if it made his healing wounds ache. “If they did, then they know splashing my face on the news will only make it that much easier for *his* people to track me down, and I can’t be a witness for them if I’m dead.”

Andrew gave him that flat, assessing look of his while he fished out another cigarette and lit it, the flame from the lighter giving a false spark of life to his hazel eyes for a second or two. After a slow drag, he removed the cigarette from his lips and blew smoke toward Nathaniel. “I figured out the organized crime thing by myself – didn’t think some simple gang member or criminal had the resources to do that damage to you and freak you out if you were already locked up. But if the Feds are involved, it’s serious.” He took another drag on the cigarette and continued to stare at Nathaniel, making it clear that he was waiting for something.

Nathaniel shook his head in a hasty denial. “You’re already in this more than I’d like – let’s get to Reno where I can buy you a new ID and a car, and we can go our separate ways. If by some chance the Feds track you down, I want you to be able to say that you’ve no clue who I was or who was chasing me, which is better for you.”

The look took on a cold edge as Andrew jabbed the cigarette toward Nathaniel’s face, which caused him to flinch. “You trying to *protect* me or something?” The other teen sounded incredulous at the mere idea of it.

Nathaniel shrugged as he turned around and headed back toward the sidewalk. “Someone has to, right?” There had to be a reason why Andrew had ended up in that facility, why he had those scars on his inner arms that he tried to hide, why he appeared to dislike being touched and why he was so apathetic most of the time; Nathaniel knew he was a lost cause, that he was living on borrowed time now that his mother was gone, so he might as well do what he could to limit the damage to someone else. As much as his mother’s voice in his head screamed at him to run away from Andrew, the teen was the first person other than Nathaniel’s mother whom Nathaniel had spoken more than ten words to in… in much too long. Well, other than ‘fuck you’, and ‘I’ve nothing to say’.

With another hour to kill before they left the city, Nathaniel allowed Andrew to lead them about the streets as a way to kill time, only vetoing one or two stores when he noticed the security cameras; even with the hood  of the long-sleeved t-shirt pulled up and Andrew wearing a cap, he didn’t want to chance leaving behind any recorded footage of them. It was bad enough that the Feds would be able to access the footage from the hospital back in Oakland, he had to at least be thankful that he hadn’t been officially processed at Wayward Burns because of his injuries and the late time of his arrival.

They spent some time in a second-hand bookstore, then wandered about the street leading back to the bus station. About half an hour before they had to return for their bus, Andrew led them to a souvenir shop. Nathaniel had never found such things interesting before, as he’d always traveled light in the past and mementos such as the shop sold could become incriminating depending on the current cover story. Still, it was cool in the shop and a way to waste time, so he glanced at the shelves as if interested – he forced himself past the display of goods for Sacramento’s Exy teams – while trailing along at Andrew’s back, at least until the older teen stopped in front of a display case filled with knives.

They weren’t professional grade, not with the stupid fake bone handles and various ‘Sacramento’ logos, but they were stainless steel and some of them possessed a decent edge. Nathaniel could only watch on in silence, his bag once more clutched against him, as Andrew gestured to two of them to be brought out and then spent a couple of minutes testing them, twisting them about in his right hand as if checking their weight and the feel of their grip. Eventually he settled for the one with the less elaborate handle and gave the young guy behind the counter the fifty dollar bill Nathaniel had handed over earlier.

Nathaniel waited until they were outside to speak, his throat dry even as he wiped his damp palms against the outer thighs of his jeans. “Why?” It hurt to even force out that one word as memories of his father staring down at him with that awful smile while lines of pain bloomed across his chest pushed to the forefront of his mind.

Andrew glanced over at him and frowned for some reason. “This?” He held up the bag and cocked his head to the side when Nathaniel flinched away from it. “Seems to me that we need something other than two bags and a binder to throw at them if they find us, right?”

“Co-could always flick lit cigarettes at them,” Nathaniel managed to croak out.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll work just as well as everything else you’ve done so far,” Andrew huffed in a rare show of amusement. “Why does it bother you?”

Why did it seem that they had a tit-for-tat thing going on? Why did Nathaniel allow it to continue? Was it because it seemed the easiest way to give something up, if he knew that Andrew would do so as well? “I… I never understood why he liked them so much…” he settled on eventually, as he raised his right hand to rub not at the new wounds, but an older scar lower down on his abdomen.

Either the answer or the action chased away the faint amusement in Andrew’s glass-like eyes. “Hmm, maybe we’ll see about changing that.”

As if it were that easy, and as if Nathaniel ever wanted to get that close to his father again in this lifetime. He would be having nightmares of the latest encounter for months, if not years to come. “I wish you luck with that one.”

Andrew gave a non-committal hum in response, and led them into the men’s room once they reached the bus station. Nathaniel cringed a little as they entered, recalling what had happened back in San Francisco, but this one was busy so he figured it was safe. Still, he didn’t linger, and was waiting outside when Andrew finally joined him without the bag from the souvenir shop. If he tried, he was sure he could probably figure out where the teen had hidden the knife, but Andrew had a tendency to give him a cold look if he stared for too long so it wasn’t worth the effort.

Fortunately Sacramento had automatic ticket dispensers, so once he gave Andrew some money, they both were able to purchase their own, they just made sure that their hoods or hats were pulled forward enough, respectively. Once their way to Reno was in hand, Andrew wandered off toward the small convenience store for what appeared to be yet another sugar rush; Nathaniel didn’t understand how anyone who could be so apathetic most of the time ingested so much sugar and caffeine without any reaction whatsoever.

However, they were going to be stuck on a bus for several hours, so might as well grab a few snacks while he could – that and he hadn’t seen the guy back at the souvenir store give Andrew much change. Nathaniel picked up a coupe of bottles of water and some energy bars… and was unable to resist the urge to grab an Exy magazine when he caught a glimpse of Kevin Day and Riko Moriyama on the cover. When he reached the register, it wasn’t a surprise to find Andrew waiting for him with an armful of sugary snacks and drinks as well as an impatient expression on his face, the first of which were dropped onto the counter and the second which changed into something resembling disgust when he noticed the magazine. Nathaniel waited, but nothing was said until they headed outside to wait for the bus.

Andrew was quiet until they found a spot in the shade, away from everyone else, to lean against the wall and wait for the bus to arrive. Once there, he snatched the bag from Nathaniel and fished out one of his energy drinks and a candy bar. “So what’s with you and those guys?” He shoved the bag back at Nathaniel while he popped the lid off of the drink. “You got a hard on for them or what?”

Something cold ran down Nathaniel’s spine despite the growing heat of the day. “You looked through the binder.”

Andrew clicked his tongue before he took a sip of the sugary drink. “Of course I did, wanted to know if you could live up to your promises.” He paused for another sip and rolled his eyes at Nathaniel’s furious expression. “You said not to take anything, which I didn’t.”

“Semantics,” Nathaniel hissed before he forced back his temper. He did his best to count to ten, first in English, then in German, and let out a slow breath as he reached for a bottle of water. “No, I don’t have a ‘hard on’ for them.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I don’t!” Nathaniel counted in French as well. “I don’t… I don’t swing, okay?”

“That way?”

“At all,” he insisted. Andrew didn’t appear dubious at his response – he had the same bland expression on his face that he did most of the time, so why was he even bothering with the line of question? Why was Nathaniel answering him? “I like Exy, okay? And they’re the best at it.”

That admission earned him another eye roll as Andrew finished his drink, crumbled the can and dropped it to the ground. “There’s ‘like’ and there’s ‘obsession’, and what I saw was ‘obsession’. I played Exy back at my dearly beloved former residence, and you didn’t see me pasting up pictures of those Raven assholes.”

Nathaniel perked up upon hearing that, despite the exhaustion wearing upon him and the constant ache from his wounds. “You played Exy? What position?”

The look Andrew gave him just then was nothing short of withering. “My point, proven.” He poked Nathaniel in the ribs with his candy bar like the asshole he was before unwrapping it. “It wasn’t my idea, they considered sports as some sort of therapy – controlled output for aggression and energy, shit like that, and I was *told* I was going to play Exy.” Nathaniel winced upon hearing that, already well acquainted with how much Andrew detested following orders. “I played goalie.”

“Are you any good?” Nathaniel sighed when Andrew held up his left hand, forefinger extended, while he munched on the candy bar, also acquainted with the teen’s weird point system by now. “I played in the little leagues when I was a kid, back when things… well, back before,” he explained, his right hand clenched around the handle of his duffel bag and his left, still holding the bag from the store, pressed against his sore ribs. “Was a backliner, and I did pretty good. Haven’t had a chance to play since because of… well, you know, and I guess I look to Kevin and Riko as a ‘what if’,” he embellished as he refused to think about that bloody, hellish day before everything became one endless nightmare.

Finished with his candy bar as well, Andrew made a show of letting the wrapper fall to the ground. “Poor little Alex,” the stress he put on Nathaniel’s latest alias made it clear that he knew it was a false identity. “Still a dreamer after all these years.”

“Better than being an asshole,” Nathaniel snapped.

“I think we’ll agree to differ on that one. So, why Reno? Wouldn’t Las Vegas be better?”

He did a quick check to make sure no one was loitering around them and decided to answer since Andrew seemed in both a talkative – for him – mood and willing to move off of the Exy topic. Off of the Kevin and Riko topic. “Sometimes the less obvious choice is the better one, and Reno was established before Las Vegas. It’s also situated closer to San Francisco and the upper West Coast.” He shrugged when his- when the other teen continued to give him that blank look. “I don’t have all of the answers, but I know location is key for these guys, as is not sticking out like a sore thumb. I’m sure there are people in Las Vegas who can do that stuff, but not anyone I can trust, and not anyone I can reach with the names I have.”

Andrew appeared to consider that as he lit a cigarette and inhaled several slow drags. “Ah.”

When he made to leave, perhaps to use the bathroom again, Nathaniel held up his left hand, forefinger extended. “Not so fast.” When he received a cool look in return, he found himself flummoxed on what he wanted to ask in return – it had been on the tip of his tongue to ask what Andrew had been doing at the detention center, but the longer he looked at the other teen, that he thought about the hidden scars, at the way that Andrew always stayed just out of reach as much as Nathaniel did himself…. “Uhm, have you given any thought about what you’re going to do once we reach Reno?”

The smile he received in return was a bit mocking. “Stay alive. Can you say the same?” He reached out, the gesture slow, and pressed the tips of his fingers against the long-healed scar that snaked its way across Nathaniel’s abdomen, just a quick brush of pressure. “Worry about yourself for once.” Then he walked away from Nathaniel before anything else could be said.

*******

Andrew finished with one of his paperbacks, a halfway decent mystery novel, and set it on his lap for a moment before he fished in his backpack for another book and a snack. Seated beside him, separated by the ever-present duffel bag, Alex had finally taken his advice – more like a whispered threat – and gotten some sleep; not that the kid had much choice in the matter since he’d been running on fumes yesterday and had only been staying awake due to coffee and sheer determination. Kid might not be the brightest, but he was stubborn as hell, Andrew acknowledged as he shuffled a little more into the corner of his seat, which gave him a better view of ‘Alex’ and seats around them; Alex’s eyes were so darkened by exhaustion that it looked as if he’d been punched a few days ago and the black eyes had slowly healed, the rest of his face that wasn’t hidden by golden brown hair or the shadows cast by the shirt’s hood gaunt from exhaustion and pain.

He was braced between his seat and the back of the seat in front, right arm looped through the handles of duffel bag and body curled up as if to present as small of a target as possible; Andrew had the impression that he was used to traveling long hours on a bus, that he often spent time surrounded by potential enemies and so rarely let his guard down. One of those myriad scars had been a bullet wound, and a lot of them had looked to have healed years ago. Andrew knew well enough that there were more types of scars than just the physical ones, and was willing to bet that ‘Alex’ had his fair share of those, too.

Alex had barely spoken much about his mother in the past day or so, other than to say she’d gotten him into this mess, living on the run, and left him to flounder on his own by getting herself killed. Andrew didn’t think much of a woman who allowed her son to look like a walking Frankenstein, at least from the neck down, so figured she was better off dead. Now what to do with a desperate runaway who had over half a million dollars from Andrew’s quick count, eight ratty outfits and two pairs of even rattier shoes, a mobile shrine to two teenage Exy players, a list of criminal contacts and a ‘get out of jail free’ number he was too terrified or unwilling to call long past the point of when he should have?

Part of Andrew was growing annoyed with ‘Alex’ because the longer he spent with the kid, the less the pieces added up – who was that weak when they had that much money? What was he really running from? Why did he studiously refuse to look at his own image, not only in mirrors but any reflective surface? Andrew didn’t expect to be told the truth by anyone, let alone someone he had just met, but he had a feeling that he’d heard only the bare bones of it in regards to his traveling companion. That ‘Alex’ was running from someone dangerous? Yes. His mother was dead? Yes. He could be of use to the Feds? Most likely. But add it all up? Something was off, and he wanted to know what in the worst way… and he wasn’t used to *wanting*, dammit.

What had started as a diversion from boredom and a distraction from an unwelcome problem was growing into… into something he couldn’t figure out, and that perturbed him. He didn’t like things he couldn’t figure out. Alex should have been just another abused runaway, albeit a bit more delusional than the rest, and humoring him for a day or two would get Andrew out of some noisome therapy sessions and being shouted at to ‘show some spirit’ at Exy practice. It would also ensure that, upon his return, he would be blocked from any visitors as a punishment for a couple of months at least – oh what a shame.

So why was it when, on his way to the bathroom that one of the other passengers lingered a bit too long in the narrow aisle to stare at a sleeping Alex with an assessing gaze, Andrew shifted forward with a loaded gaze of his own until the man got the hint and hurried along?  He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night either, and he was safely tucked into the corner. Yet he fetched another energy drink along with the new book and sipped it while keeping one eye out for what went on around them, and allowed the kid to sleep.

*******

Nathaniel sighed as he looked out at the darkening sky as they left the bus depot the hefted the duffel bag higher up on his left shoulder, and bit his chapped lips at the sharp twinge of pain which resulted from the motion. “We need to find a place for the night, since the guy I need to see isn’t going to be available until morning.”

Andrew shrugged, his hands tucked into his pockets and his gaze on the street in front on him. “It’s your money.”

Yeah, Nathaniel had figured he’d say something along that line. Stepping a little further out into the sidewalk, he got his bearings and mentally consulted the map of the city he’d memorized that he’d picked up when the bus had stopped at the one rest station; they were by the Amtrak station near Commercial Row, so the East Fourth Street District shouldn’t be too far away. The distance was walkable, and they should be able to find a cheap hotel on the fringes, someplace where no one asked questions about two teenagers spending the night – especially since Nathaniel wasn’t certain how much scrutiny his current ID could withstand.

Walking close to each other but careful not to touch, the two of them headed in the right direction, with him giving Andrew small gestures here or there to indicate when to turn; they stopped a couple of times, once when Andrew wanted to pick up a magazine advertising cars for sale, and another time at a small store selling electronics. Nathaniel followed Andrew inside with some trepidation, and found himself digging the fingers of his right hand into the healing cuts along his chest while the teen bought a burner phone and a card with prepaid minutes. He could still remember holding his phone while standing beside the ocean, that one last link to her, before he had gotten of it along with everything else that had tied him to his mother, everything but what was in the binder and bonded to blood and bones – the scars, the memories, the inevitable death inching forward with every beat of his heart.

The feel of something light pressed against the back of his neck made him gasp and jerk away, only to find Andrew standing there, a bright yellow bag in his left hand while his right hand fell back to his side. “It’s rude to have a panic attack in a public place,” he murmured while he motioned with a toss of his head toward the door leading out of the store.

“I-“ It was difficult to deny, so Nathanial settled for a weak glare and hurried outside. “Why a phone?” Andrew wasn’t exactly the most talkative soul, other than to poke at Nathaniel, and hadn’t mentioned anyone friends or family as of yet.

“Because I need something to call about cars,” was all Andrew said as they resumed their search for a place to stay.

Once they reached the East Fourth Street District with its bars and restaurants, they looked for somewhere to grab something to eat and to stay; Nathaniel was tempted to crash at the homeless shelter, but something about the tense set to Andrew’s shoulders while he contemplated the place made him sigh and walk away after a few seconds. No, whatever they were, Andrew’s issues wouldn’t lend well to sharing a room with strangers, he supposed. It wouldn’t be ideal for Nathaniel either, but it would save money and provide a place with plenty of witnesses, meaning that his father’s people couldn’t do anything to them during their stay. Feeling bone-deep exhausted despite the couple of hours of sleep he’d caught on the bus, Nathaniel forced his battered body onward.

They got something to eat at a fast food Mexican place, and then, *thankfully*, they came across a motel a couple blocks later. The ‘Hi-Life’ motel was much like the ones Nathaniel had stayed at with his mother while crossing the US – non-descript, two levels, external doors and a swimming pool that looked as if it was hosting some sort of algae lifeform. All that mattered was that there was a ‘vacancy’ sign lit up and not many cars parked in the parking lot. He was willing to bet that they charged by the hour as well as by the night, but as long as he didn’t find any bedbugs, he didn’t care.

There was a guy in his late twenties or early thirties behind the counter, sunburned and apathetic and barely willing to take his eyes off of the television screen he was watching while Nathaniel paid for two nights up front. Two keycards were slid across the counter toward him with the comment ‘room one-twenty-five, and keep the noise down’, and then the guy turned up the volume on his tv, attention back to what sounded to be a boxing match.

Nathaniel shrugged as he handed the spare key to Andrew, who accepted it with the tips of his fingers as if it would bite him. Nothing was said until they were outside and realized that ‘one-twenty-five’ put them at the far end of the motel. “I’m half-tempted to throw an obnoxious party just for the hell of it.”

Andrew’s comment wrung a tired smile from Nathaniel. “Why am I not surprised?” He’d figured out by now that the teen could be contrary like that. “At least it’s just one night, right? Tomorrow you’ll get what you need and be on your way.”

Andrew made a non-committal sound and keyed open the door to their room, which turned out to be much as Nathaniel had expected; two full-sized beds with horrible polyester bedspreads that would be removed, at least from his bed, worn orangish carpet, beige walls with an air conditioner unit blasting away, a desk set on one wall along with a dresser on which an old tv was probably nailed down, a nightstand between the beds with a phone and a clock, and a bathroom and closet. “All that money, and this is the best you can do?”

“I still have some money because this is the best I do.” Nathaniel went over to yank off the bedspread from the nearest bed and then pulled back the sheets as well to inspect the mattress, while Andrew made sure the door was locked and security bolted. “Most of the money goes to more important things, like that new driver’s license you’ll have tomorrow which’ll let you buy a car.” He didn’t see any tell-tale signs of bugs, so he checked the other bed, which was also clean. “Okay, we should be all right here.” He grimaced as he pushed the spread beneath the bed. “Well, it’ll do.” It had to do, because there was no way he could go back out there and search for more than another block or two before falling over.

Now that he was off of the bus and somewhere… well, he did his best not to wince as sank down on the bed and set aside his duffel bag, then realized that Andrew was staring at him. “What?”

“Why two nights? I would think you’d want to leave as soon as you got the new ID.”

Nathaniel checked the pillows before he stacked them behind him so he could rest against them. “Because I haven’t had a proper shower in a couple of days, or slept on a real bed even longer than that,” he admitted as he forced himself not to cradle his sore ribs. “I’ll get the ID and then spend tomorrow night figuring out where I’ll go with it.” He would give himself that much time to recover from Seattle, from California, to put behind him his mother’s death and hope to get enough rest to hit the ground running. For however much longer he could.

He thought that he had kept his face blank, his thoughts hidden, except that Andrew’s upper lip curled in disgust as he set his backpack down on the other bed. “You think two nights is going to be enough? You look ready to pass out and you could barely eat anything tonight, probably because of the pain you’re in.”

They weren’t going there – after tomorrow, after Andrew got the money for a car and his new ID, he was out of Nathaniel’s life. “No, you already got your answers, it’s my turn,” he snapped. “What are *you* going to do once I complete our deal? That’s all you should be concerned about right now.” Because it wouldn’t do Andrew any good to think beyond that – Nathaniel had already risked too much by involving the other teen this far, he wouldn’t put Andrew in any more danger than he already had.

Andrew clenched his fists as he glared at Nathaniel for several seconds, a rare show of anger sparking in his hazel eyes and bringing a hint of color to his face. Then he sighed and shook his head as he snatched up his backpack. “I’ve a couple of ideas, one or two places I might go, but I don’t… dammit.” He turned around and stalked into the bathroom, the door slammed shut behind him. Nathaniel heard the ‘click’ of the lock a moment later, and didn’t take the sign of distrust personally – he’d be doing the same when it came his turn to shower.

He sat there for a few minutes until the sound of running water started, then forced himself to move, body complaining the entire time, so he could set the alarm. Once Andrew was finished, it would be his turn to shower or something, to wash up as much he could with the stitches and sore ribs, and then get some rest. To sleep in a bed by himself, without his mother pressed against his back like she’d been these past five years, her way of ensuring he was still there and safe. Once morning came, they’d go see her contact, Morris, and then….

Well, he never should have dragged Andrew into this mess in the first place. Andrew had helped him out of a tight spot, and he had to cut him loose before that… whatever, he was loathe to say ‘kindness’ because that didn’t seem to suit the other teen, earned Andrew hurt or worse. The reality of it all was that for the past five years it had just been Nathaniel and his mother, and now that she was gone, it was just him moving forward. He had no one to count on but himself, so best stop denying that fact sooner rather than later.

*******

Feeling better at being clean for the first time in over day, Andrew left the bathroom and wasn’t surprised to find Alex passed out on the bed; the kid was propped up against the headboard as if he’d been lounging there while waiting for Andrew to finish his shower, left hand looped through the handles of that damn duffel bag and the other draped over his chest as if to cradle his sore ribs. In the dim light of the motel room, he looked so damn young, his face shadowed by long bangs and exhaustion.

Andrew’s fists clenched as anger and… and… fuck, why did this one person make him want to… make him *want* in the first place? Want to hit him, want to smack him for being so stupid, so oblivious, so foolish to worry about anyone else when it was clear he had no fucking clue how to look after himself at all. How *dare* he worry about Andrew when he was battered and losing ground on whoever the hell it was who was chasing him down?

For all of Andrew’s life, it had just been him, had been hard enough for Andrew to look after himself. The one time he’d done anything for another person…. He traced his fingers along the scars of his left inner arm and had to push back the rage burning inside of him before he punched the wall, before he started smashing things and didn’t stop until everything was broken shards around him.

This was nothing but an agreed upon deal, a simple transaction between two people who needed something from each other, and he’d come through on his end. ‘Alex’ was close to coming through as well, and so what if the kid was going above and beyond in comparison to Andrew? Life wasn’t fair, that was something the both of them clearly knew very well. The kid seemed more than happy to let Andrew walk away with all the shit he’d paid for and call things square.

As Andrew went over to the spare bed, mindful of being quiet so as not to disturb Alex, he still tried to figure out why he was so upset over everything. Turned on his right side so his back was to the wall and he faced the kid with the knife in easy reach, he could only suppose that it was the unbalanced part of their bargain that bothered him. He didn’t like feeling as if he owed anybody anything, and Alex paying for more than the initial agreed upon stuff – albeit stuff Andrew needed - as well as clearly being determined to make sure that Andrew got away before any trouble tracked them down… felt just like that. Felt as if Alex was helping out Andrew. 

Andrew refused to be treated like some hopeless case, dammit. If anyone needed help, it was Alex or whatever the hell his real name was, if the kid even remembered it anymore. As he lay there, eyes focused on the sleeping figure a few feet away, Andrew went through his options for the next day until exhaustion finally dragged him off to sleep.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been to Sacramento or Reno, so forgive any blaring mistakes, please (I call upon artistic license for this fic and made up some things, more for Sacramento than Reno).
> 
> Next chapter is going to be a bit darker, fair warning. The violence tag comes into play. Anything that needs a warning, I'll update the tags (though the violence one is already there).
> 
> Thanks so much for any comments and kudos!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one has a good bit of violence in it (sorry!) and is a little dark. I think it'll probably be one of the more, if not the most, violent chapters in the story, and it helps a lot with the plot, but... yeah. One of the boys gets a fair bit roughed up, just warning you now. And there's some alluding to Andrew's past.
> 
> Hmm, because of a lot of things happening in this chapter, sorta torn about it. Hope there's enough emotion to it (other than the dark stuff). *frets*.  
> *******

*******

Someone was in a pissy mood, weren’t they?

Andrew was torn between amusement and annoyance over that fact, as he sat in one of the most uncomfortable chairs he’d had the ill-luck to experience and smoked a cigarette while a T. Morris, Notary, worked on his new ID. The forger – balding, jaundice-skinned and thin enough to come across as emaciated – flashed him a reproachful look yet didn’t say anything about not smoking. Alex closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, at least until the motion seemed to set off his sore ribs and then he opened them again so he could focus his attention back on the ‘notary’ sitting across from them.

The day had gotten off to a ‘lovely’ start, with an alarm blaring which startled Andrew awake and jolted a frantic Alex from unconsciousness; the kid had all but fallen out of bed while scrambling for something, probably a weapon. Andrew would have found it comical if not for the fact that he’d been clutching the knife in his own hand and the look of stark terror on Alex’s face, soon overcome by pain when Alex realized that he’d been the one to set the alarm, where they were and that he’d fallen asleep without taking a shower. He’d bitched at Andrew for the latter part, not that Andrew had given a shit, and then had taken forever to wash off and clean his wounds. Andrew had gotten some satisfaction in helping him with retaping the worst of the cuts, and had to admit that the kid was a stubborn shit to be able to stay on his feet for so long with what were some seriously bruised ribs and what looked to have been a decent attempt to carve out his lungs.

Once that was all done, they’d headed downtown, stopping along the way for some coffee and a breakfast of fast food – which Alex once again barely ate. Andrew muttered about foolish martyrs as he finished first his egg sandwich then Alex’s, and made them catch a bus the rest of the way.

The non-descript notary office turned out to be located on a side street a couple of blocks away from the Sands casino, small enough that you’d overlook it if you didn’t know where it was. Andrew had figured that was the whole point of it, and wasn’t surprised to find no one in there besides the sickly looking man who could be anywhere from his early fifties to mid-sixties. The guy, dressed in dark blue slacks and a white short-sleeved button down shirt, had given them a disapproving stare until Alex mentioned something about family sending him there for an affirmation. Then the guy’s expression had smoothed out once he motioned Alex closer, close enough that Andrew couldn’t hear what it was that Alex whispered to him. Whatever it was, it got ‘T. Morris’ to switch the ‘open’ sign on his door to ‘close’ and to ask Alex what it was that he needed.

“Two new identities, one for each of us. Do his first, and make mine old enough so I can drive a car.”

Andrew had thought that was pushing things a bit, but he wasn’t the one who’d be in trouble if he got pulled over; Morris had nodded as he sat behind his desk and started doing something on what looked to be an ancient pc. “Good idea. What about passports? That’s going to take a while if you need them.”

Alex had hesitated for a moment then shook his head. “No, we don’t have the time. Just give us the licenses and whatever paperwork you can in a couple of hours.” At Morris’ blank look, the kid had sighed and reached into his duffel bag, and didn’t blink an eye at handing over a wad of cash.

Morris had swept the cash off of the desk and nodded, then turned his attention to Andrew. “Come over here so I can take your picture.” He’d pointed out where he wanted Andrew to stand for it and pulled out a digital camera to take the picture, and then gone back to ignoring him while he’d done the same with Alex and typed away on his computer. Andrew had wanted to ask that what, didn’t he get a say in his new ID, but Alex had given him a heated scowl and motioned for him to sit back down, and for once he decided to behave.

Besides, he’d had better things to do, such as start calling to check up on some cars, and it had taken about six to find one that sounded promising – a guy who was barely coherent due to either drugs or alcohol and whose address, after checking with Alex, should be within range of an affordable cab ride. So that left him to wait until Morris was done with whatever, which he killed the time by either smoking or reading one of his books since it was clear that Alex wasn’t in the mood to chat.

No, the kid seemed lost in his own little world, arms wrapped around that damn duffel bag and eyes distant as they stared off at some point past Morris working at his cluttered desk. Andrew would ask him about his thoughts except that he didn’t really care and he had a feeling that they weren’t about anything good just then, not with the kid was holding on to the bag as if it was a lifeline and the darkness that crept into those pale eyes.

Not with the way Alex nearly jumped a foot out of the chair when there was a sudden screech of the printer going off, which made Andrew snort in response and Morris cast the kid an apologetic look. “Should just be a little longer,” the man said as he scooted back in his wheeled chair. “Hope you don’t mind the name ‘Thomas’,” he directed at Andrew.

“I’ve known worse,” Andrew admitted. Meanwhile, Alex got up and asked where the bathroom was, and hurried in the direction which Morris pointed out with a skeletal hand.

As soon as the kid was gone, Morris fixed Andrew with a bloodshot gaze as he fussed with the paper that had come off of the printer. “I do good work, but this stuff only holds up so much if the wrong people take an interest in you, understood?”

Andrew gave the man a fake grin as he flicked ashes onto the work linoleum floor. “What, you think I’ll be trouble or something?”

Morris gave him that flat look for a few more seconds before he glanced in the direction in which Alex had gone, something flickering across his face. “I think you should be careful, is all I’m saying.” Then he typed on the computer again, and another machine whirred to life. “That’ll be your new driver’s license. Come over here and take a look.”

By the time Alex came back, Andrew had called a cab to come pick him up and held in his possession a copy of a birth’s certificate and a driver’s license for one Thomas James Nelson of Boulder City, Nevada. Ah, he was a Cancer now, how interesting. “I’m not sure he caught my good side,” he complained to Alex as he held out the new ID.

“I don’t think you have a good side,” Alex shot back, not even bothering to glance at it. “So you’re all set now?” He motioned toward the front door without waiting for an answer. “Let’s go outside.”

Hmm, someone was in a hurry to get rid of him, wasn’t he? Andrew glanced back at Morris, who gave a nod while busy typing away at his computer. “Remember, don’t muck up my hard work, now get out of here.”

“And goodbye to you, too.” Andrew folded the birth certificate in half and slipped it along with the driver’s license into his backpack. “I need one more thing from you,” he told Alex as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

“I know.” Alex handed over a folded bit of paper, something that he must have swiped from Morris’ office at some point without Andrew noticing; when Andrew unfolded it, he spied a wad of hundred dollars bills and even a few thousand dollar bills, enough for there to be at least ten thousand. “That should be enough for you to get a used car and cover expenses for a while, right?”

Andrew stared at Alex for several seconds while he clutched the money in his right hand, at the shadows that even a night’s worth of sleep hadn’t chased away, at the chapped and bitten lips, at the weak smile that wasn’t reflected in those blue eyes. After a lifetime in foster homes and juvie, he knew what it looked like when someone was at the end of their rope, when they were putting up the good fight just because they knew the end was near, and the barely there light in Alex’s pale eyes set off warning bells in his head.

He opened his mouth to… to what? Tell the kid to not be so stupid, to lie and say that things would be better now, to… to…. It didn’t matter, because at that point Andrew’s cab pulled up in front of the notary shop and Alex smiled, the expression just as wan as it had been moments ago. “Go on, get out of here before… well, thank you for everything, okay?” The expression slipped as something finally sparked in the kid’s eyes. “You helped me out a lot, and I appreciate it.”

Andrew wasn’t used to hearing those words, wasn’t used to hearing anything good spoken about himself, and for some reason they felt like a blow to his chest. “Don’t you fucking give in, all right?” he hissed as he stepped away, eyes downcast so he didn’t have to see Alex’s expression, to see that almost total hopelessness return. So he didn’t have to see the kid give him that fake smile again. “Run and don’t stop.”

“What else do I know how to do?”

He flinched from the solemnity of Alex’s response and was the first to turn away, to scramble for the cab so he didn’t have to be near Alex anymore. He’d done his part, he told himself. The deal was over, he’d gotten Alex to Reno in one piece – more or less – and each of them had their new IDs. Well, Alex would have a new one shortly, just like Andrew would soon have his new car, and would be told to be careful, too, for all the good it would do him. Wait, had there been something odd back there? When the cabbie, a Hispanic guy in bad need of a mouthwash and a shave, barked out a request for their destination, Andrew forced his thoughts away from Alex and Morris, and on getting himself a car without committing homicide in the process.

Much as he had suspected, there was a strong aroma of weed wafting out of the house when the door opened at 2015 Aiken Street. “You Williamson?” And if so, had the guy never heard of pants?

“Eh?” The guy, probably in his thirties and looking as if he hadn’t bathed in a couple of days, squinted at Andrew. “You the one who called about the car, right? You’re a bit short for a cop, at least, and I didn’t order a pizza.”

No homicide, Andrew reminded himself as he let out a slow breath. “Yeah, I called about the car. 2004 Miata, right?”

A smile broke out on the guy’s face as he scratched at the scruff covering his jaw. “Yeah! It’s a sweet car, my roomie’s a mechanic so it… uh it goes, right? And I wouldn’t let it go except, you know, court fees and all that.” He grimaced as he waved his left hand in the air. “DUI’s are a bitch.”

“Right. Where is it?”

The guy stared at him for a couple of seconds and then laughed. “Yeah, the car.” He turned around and left the door open, which Andrew did not take for an invitation since there was no way in hell he was going inside a stranger’s house – especially one filled with drugs. Fortunately, Williamson returned in about a minute with car keys and sandals on his feet, though he was still dressed in pale blue boxer shorts and a Phish t-shirt. “It’s out back, come on.” He waved Andrew to follow him as he went out the front door – still leaving it open – down the porch and then along a dirt path to a garage lacking any doors.

Beside a customized Jeep covered with way too much chrome was a red convertible Miata that had a small dent in the right front fender and a few scratches here and there, but other than that, appeared in decent shape. Andrew didn’t see any leaks beneath it, and when Williamson started the engine, it sounded fine. The stoner popped the hood, not that Andrew knew anything about cars, but everything looked clean and a lot the parts new.

“Like I said, Robbie takes care of it for me for a discount in the rent,” Williamson explained as he turned off the engine. “Hate getting rid of her, but don’t see the point in letting her sit for a year. He took care of the timing belt last year so she should be good for a few more years at least.”

Andrew gave the car a once over to make sure it was clean and looked in good shape. “Okay.”

“Really?” The stoner grinned as he tossed the keys in the air. “Wait, you wanna go on a test drive?”

There was no way Andrew was going to ride in the car with that guy. “No, looks good. So, five thousand?”

“Uhm, ad said seven.”

“Five thousand cash, right now.”

Williamson tossed him the keys. “Works for me! She even has a full tank of gas.”

“Wonderful.” Andrew reached into his front right pocket for the wad of bills he’d split off from the money Alex had given him on the way here and handed them over. As soon as the stoner was done counting them, he nodded at the car. “Then it’s mine.”

“Yeah, she’s all yours.” He frowned as he stepped out of the way so Andrew could get in the car. “Uhm… think I’m forgetting something?”

“Only if there’s something in here you want,” Andrew told him, and waited to see if he needed to clean out the car.

“Nah, it’s good. Got everything out of there after they towed her back here from the impound lot. Nice doing business with you… uh… mister!” He waved to Andrew, who didn’t bother to wave back as he started the car, shifted it into first gear and pulled out of the garage. His left wrist hurt a little from turning the steering wheel, but it was an ignorable pain and he wouldn’t have to shift too much once he got on the highway.

The car handled rather well and only smelled a little like pot, which could be fixed with an air freshener; once out on the street, Andrew pulled over to check inside the glove compartment for the registration slip, which was probably what the guy had been trying to recall before he left. If by some chance Andrew got stopped by the police, he would figure out what to do about it, if he would lie and say that the car was borrowed or something. Or he could go back to the motel and have Alex arrange something with Morris.

He went a couple of blocks and pulled over again as he debated what to do, if he should return to Alex or not, when he finally recalled about what Morris had said to him when handing over the documents. He’d been annoyed at that crack about not messing things up and being careful. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he needed the old guy, that Alex-

Wait, Alex. Andrew cursed as he remembered the look which Morris had sent in Alex’s direction when the kid hadn’t been in the room, along with the comment to be careful – it had been one of pity, as if he’d known something. Then he’d told Andrew to get out of there. Why?  Was it just a case of old man grouchiness, or was it something more? Did he know something?

For a moment Andrew wanted to tell himself that he was done with it, that it was best to just turn to the left and get on the highway… he actually pulled out and started to go that way, but he found himself turning right instead. Shit, and he called Alex a damn martyr….

*******

Nathaniel accepted the new documents from Morris with a grateful nod of his head. “Thanks.” Too bad Morris hadn’t been able to give him a fake pain script or a contact for some new lenses, but at least he should be able to use the new ID to stop by a clinic or something. Well, once he healed up enough.

The man frowned as he turned his attention back to the monitor of his computer screen. “I hope they help.” He was quiet for a few seconds while Nathaniel stashed them away. “You may… well, just be careful. I’ve heard… well, be careful.”

Nathaniel felt a painful tightening in his chest at the awkward warning and nodded once again. “Yeah.” There wasn’t much more to say than that, so he turned away and left the man’s office.

Despite it being late October, it was still warm enough to make the long sleeves he wore feel uncomfortable, and he debated taking a bus back to the motel. Despite still feeling tired and his injuries bothering him, he slung the handles of the duffel bag over his left shoulder and started walking, figuring that it wasn’t worth standing around and waiting. Best to just get back there, rinse off in a cool shower and get some rest, then get on the first bus… well, anywhere, tomorrow morning. Somewhere north would be good, where it would be cold. Close to the border, where he could sneak back into Canada if need be – perhaps it would throw off his pursuers if he crossed his tracks a little.

He knew he should eat at some point, that it was always best to grab a meal when he could, but he was tired and sore and just not hungry. Too bad that asshole sheriff had turned over the pain meds from the hospital to the nurse at the detention facility, because Nathaniel could really use them right about now. He should have stolen some alcohol when he had Andrew around to work as a decoy, and had to settle for some over the counter meds when he passed a pharmacy on the way to the motel. Stocked with those, some more bottled water and more energy bars that would do for dinner, he headed toward his abode for the night.

The ‘do not disturb’ sign was still there, like he had put it that morning, so he didn’t think of anything as he removed it and slid in his keycard to unlock the door. He opened it and got two steps inside before something registered as ‘wrong’, but it was right about then that intense pain flared along the side of his head as he was knocked to the ground by a strong blow from a dark shape, followed by a strong kick to his back, around his right kidneys.

Biting down on a yelp of pain, he struggled to move, to roll away before another blow landed, but before he could, something wrapped around his neck and pulled him up onto his knees. Even as he choked, he lashed out, fists flying as he allowed himself to be yanked backward, to go into the motion in an attempt to lessen the noose around his neck, and even got a kick in to the person looming in front of him. Terror imploded as he caught sight of the long dark hair, heard the feminine screech of pain, and then there was another blow to the other side of his head that made his vision grow dark.

When he could see again, the rope was now wrapped around his hands, which were crossed in front of him. As if waiting for him to regain consciousness, Lola slapped him across the face, the open-handed blow splitting his bottom lip open. “You shitty little brat,” she hissed, her pretty face already bruising from the hit Nathaniel had landed on her. “Oh, I am going to *love* carving you into pieces!”

He tried to roll off of the bed, but large hands shoved him back down – he should have known that Romero, Lola’s brother, would be there as well. A punch to his stomach punished him for the pathetic escape attempt, and then he was pulled upright and shoved against the headboard of the bed Andrew had slept on last night with his bound hands hooked over the now shadeless light attached to the wall while Romero got out of his sister’s way.

Lola, dressed in a simple black dress that probably cost half as much as what Nathaniel had given Andrew earlier, smiled a too wide shark’s smile as she fetched a folded leather bundle that Nathaniel had recognized even after all these years from when she had been ordered by his father to teach him how to use knives. He attempted to scramble away, but another lazy hit to his head from Romero, one that made it bounce off of the headboard, left him dizzy enough that he couldn’t focus on much of anything while she unfolded the bundle and picked out a knife from the assortment.

“You can go ahead and scream if it makes you feel any better, we stopped by to have a chat with the manager and he agreed to be very cooperative to any noise you make or mess we leave behind,” she explained as she tested the edge of the small knife; unlike his father, renowned for his skill with a cleaver and an ax, Lola preferred smaller blades which she could use to flay and dig in to remove certain parts like eyeballs and tongues so as to prolong the torture. “After all the trouble you and that whore put us through, we want to be able to enjoy ourselves.”

He wanted to say that she was lying, that by yelling he could expect some help, but she had the money and the connections for it to be true. No, there would be no rescue coming no matter how much of a ruckus he raised, no maid interrupting to check the linens much like that poor guy had done back in San Francisco. For a moment, Nathaniel felt some relief in the fact that at least they hadn’t tracked him down before Andrew had gotten away and then forced aside every emotion that he could until all that was left was a weary resignation; he’d known this was coming, he just thought he’d have a few more days. At least he wasn’t dying in California, too.

“My heart bleeds for you,” he sneered as he refused to look at the weapon in her hand, at the way the gleam of the light reflecting off of the sharp blade. It almost seemed so small to cause him what he knew would be so much pain.

Lola’s smile took on an even more sadistic edge as she motioned to her brother, who punched Nathaniel once more and, while he was hunched over in pain, grabbed the neck of his t-shirt and ripped it open. “That won’t be the only thing bleeding soon, Junior. Now, where is the whore?”

“Fu-fuck you.” It hurt, it hurt so much, the latest punch setting fire to Nathaniel’s already sore ribs.

“Hmm, you’re a little young for me.” Lola straddled his lap, which pinned him to the bed, and cut off the rest of the shirt before removing the bandages. She appeared delighted to see the healing wounds from San Francisco and trailed a fresh cut up the center of his chest, her smile brightening as he hissed from the pain. “You’re such a pretty thing, you definitely take after your father, you know that? Is that how you got that boy to help you out? That Andrew Doe?” Her eyes narrowed as she trailed the knife along the side of his face, leaving a hint of fire behind. “Where is he?”

“Gone,” Nathaniel stuttered out. “I know enough not to keep him around for long.”

Lola appeared to consider that for a moment, and then the blade dug into Nathaniel’s right eyebrow. “Yes, such a pretty face, just like your father. He won’t be happy to know that you’ve lowered yourself to associate with filth like Doe. Tell me, did he help you out because of this face?” He had to bite his bottom lip to keep from crying out as the blade dug in deeper. “Did he bend over for you like he has for all those guys he lived with, or you for him?” She flicked the knife upward, cutting a line of agony toward his temple. “He probably would enjoy having someone bend over for him for once.”

“Ah!” Nathaniel jerked his hands in an attempt to pull them free despite the sharp sting of the rope biting into his wrists and attempted to buck Lola off, while she laughed at his reaction. “You… sick bitch!”

“Was that a yes? The latter, hmm? Oh Junior, be thankful it’s us and not Daddy Dearest right now.” The knife once more trailed down his face, but it didn’t sink in as deep as before. He panted as blood poured down his face and into his right eye.

“Fu-“

“Ah, ah, behave,” Lola chided as she flicked the knife in front of his left eye. “Back to the important topic – the whore.” When Nathaniel bared his teeth at the insult, she brought the knife closer until he closed his eye. “Where is she?” When he didn’t answer, she made a humming sound right before agony once more flared up, this time along his left arm. “Junior,” she called out in a sing-song voice. “Tell me about that whore of your mother.”

“She’s dead,” he gritted out as his eyes flew open, seeing no sense in hiding the truth. Despite not wanting to see it, he glanced down and found Lola dragging the knife through the flesh of his inner arm in a random pattern and choked back on a gag at the mess left behind.

The answer made Lola pause in wrecking more damage for a moment while she glanced over at Romero, who leaned over to thread his fingers through Nathaniel’s hair to jerk back his head. “You better not be lying,” he said, his voice deep and ominous.

“I’m not,” he gritted out, his voice weak due to how his throat was extended from Romero’s hold. “Se-seattle. Da- he did something to her, busted up something inside. We made it to the cu-coast an’ I buried her there.” He didn’t flinch this time when Lola once more threatened to blind him.

“What do you think?” She continued to hold the blade to his left eye while Romero’s fingers tightened in Nathaniel’s hair to the point that he was losing strands.

“She’s never left him alone before. I believe him.”

“Too bad, I wanted to gut her and make her eat her own liver,” Lola spat out. As soon as Romero let go of Nathaniel’s hair, the knife was once more digging into his flesh, this time his right arm. “Do you know what that whore did?” She didn’t pause long enough for him to answer, other than to cry out from the pain. “It was bad enough, her running off with you and the cash, but no, she had to fucking reach out to the Feds and give them some evidence.” Nathaniel cried out again, not only from the blade digging in deep but from the shocking news. “Your father was going to kill her himself, the traitorous bitch, and he’ll be happy to know he did, but she got him in the end. Between what she sent in and them catching the fight on camera, your father and Jackson are locked up.” Lola’s face twisted with rage as she gave up on Nathaniel’s arms so she could run the knife along his chest instead. “Fucking son of a whore!”

Despite the pain, Nathaniel laughed; so what if he died, at least he knew now that there had been some meaning to Seattle, that his mother hadn’t died entirely for nothing. “Better a… whore than… than a cu-cunt,” he managed to spit out, knowing now that his best hope was to enrage Lola to the point that her anger drove her to do something hasty.

The pain of the cut across his healing wounds made Nathaniel jerk, once again pulling on his bound hands; this time he thought that there was some give in the lamp shade. Lola swung her hand back and twisted the knife as if to stab him, but Romero called out her name as he reached out to stop her. Nathaniel struggled to breathe through the agony and hunched forward, hands still jerking against the lamp, while Romero fought with his sister.

“Not yet,” the large man argued. “We need more answers, about that other kid and the money.”

“Shitty, smart-mouth brat. He’s the damn whore’s spawn, through and through.” Lola glared at Nathaniel with blatant hatred, and he bared his teeth at her with gleeful contempt to feed that out of control rage while he felt plaster rain down on his head.

“Fuck you, bitch” he managed to grit out through the pain, and while Lola shrieked in rage, the door to the motel room burst open; Romero was too busy holding Lola back and Lola focused on trying to gut Nathaniel for either of them to react immediately, which was how Andrew had those precious few seconds to dive across the room and drive the knife in his right hand into Romero’s lower back, around where his kidneys were.

While Romero hollered in pain and shock, Nathaniel gave the lamp one final tug then rolled to the side when it finally came free, his half-numb hands scrambling for anything and latching onto the phone. He swung it with a desperate strength and hit Lola with more blind luck than anything, smashing her in the back of the head as she lunged toward Andrew. While she shrieked again, this time in pain, and stumbled, Andrew finished with her brother and spun around to lash out with the souvenir knife, his face a blank mask, and sliced it across her throat. The shriek sputtered off as she crumbled to the floor as if an abandoned doll, leaving Nathaniel to stand there facing a now blood-splattered Andrew.

*******

Sticky with warm blood splashed across his face and dripping from his right hand which ached from the impact of the knife sinking into flesh, Andrew stared at an even bloodier and battered Alex who wavered on his feet before dropping the busted phone held in his tied hands. “You… you came back,” Alex whispered before he sunk down on the far bed.

“I told you to run,” Andrew snapped as he tossed the knife onto the woman’s crumpled body then took a step toward Alex; he stopped just out of arm’s reach and waited for… he didn’t know what, exactly. Waited for Alex to yell at him? To shudder in horror at what he’d just done? There were two dead bodies around them yet Andrew couldn’t find it within himself to care, not when he could see the damage they’d done to his- to Alex. “You stupid little martyr, why didn’t you run?”

Alex shook his head and nearly tumbled onto the floor from the abrupt motion, his pupils blown in a clear sign of a concussion which wasn’t a surprise with the darkening bruises on his face. “I… I couldn’t. They were waiting for me here.” He reached out for Andrew with his bound hands but stopped short, as if unwilling to touch him. When Andrew glared at the fact, Alex shrunk back and gathered his hands to his bare and bleeding chest.

About to tell the kid that it was time to call that emergency number and even reaching for his phone to hand it over so he could then get out of there, could forget the sign of a flinching Alex, Andrew was shocked by what Alex said next.

“Th-thank you.” Alex closed his eyes as he took to swaying on the bed as if caught in a cross wind. “You were… it was amazing, you coming in here like that.”

Andrew stared at Alex in something he suspected as close to shock and needed a moment to process what had just been said. “You’re thanking me.” No one thanked him, no one, let alone for – no one thanked him.

“Yeah.” Alex frowned and moved his hands as if to gesture about the room, which caused him to wince. “I’d… I’d be dead otherwise.”

That was true, but still, it was probably the blood loss and the pain and the shock and all, Alex thanking Andrew for killing two people. “Just so we’re clear, there are two bodies here, which I’m responsible for. Most people freak out over that part.” It had to be the head injury.

Alex sighed and opened his eyes. “You think I haven’t seen dead people before?” He stared at the woman lying by his feet and frowned as if consulted with something as simple as a dirty carpet. “Only problem is maybe things were a bit too quick.”

Yeah, way too much blood loss. “Okay, just how many times did they smack you around?” Andrew bridged the space between them again and hesitated only a moment before reaching for Alex; the problem was trying to find a bit of flesh that wasn’t cut up or bruised at this point. “What the hell are we going to do with you?” Then, thinking of what was all around them, he added as an afterthought, “and this mess?”

Alex hissed as he was more or less lifted up by a hold to his right elbow. “Supplies in my bag, we can patch me up in the bathroom. And Lola – that’s her on the floor – said they paid off the management to look the other way for the mess and all.” A disturbing smile Andrew had never seen before crossed over Alex’s multi-colored face as he was half carried to the bathroom. “Check Romero’s pocket for car keys, they had to come here in something. We can use that to-“ he hissed in pain as he sank down on the toilet seat once Andrew flipped down the cover and had to breathe for a few seconds. “Check the car and bring me my bag. Please,” he added after a moment’s pause.

Having the shaky suspicion that Alex may have helped hide a few bodies before, Andrew gave him a narrowed look. “Don’t move.” That earned him a quiet laugh that immediately turned into a low moan of pain.

The room was beginning to stink when Andrew stepped back in it, from the stench of blood and voided bowels. He grimaced in disgust as he patted down the body of the large man sprawled across the one bed, and was happy to relieve it of a wallet filled with cash, a set of keys and a Glock – all of which he intended to keep. Once that was done, he took a moment to fetch the one bedspread from beneath the bed and rolled the body within it, both to hide the corpse and because he figured they’d need to cover them up with something before leaving. The woman on the floor would require some more effort, so he’d wait until Alex could help him.

Once outside, all it took was clicking the button to unlock the car’s door a couple of times to figure out that the keys belonged to the very nice Cadillac parked on the far end of the parking lot. Andrew went over to it and drove it closer to the room, and checked out the trunk; not only did it have plenty of room to hold two bodies, but there were two suitcases in there as well. The designer clothes should fetch a nice price at some consignment shops, and he smiled when he found the bottle of high-end vodka.

Taking the vodka, he returned to the room and picked up Alex’s abandoned bag along with his abandoned backpack, both of which were near the door, and went right to the bathroom. He found Alex dabbing at the blood on his face with one of the towels and internally winced once more at the damage that had been inflicted upon the kid. “They really hated you.”

“No kidding.” Alex hissed as he touched his face and dropped the towel. “A lot of these need stitches.”

“No kidding,” Andrew repeated, just because it was funny to him. “You want me to take you to the emergency room?” When all Alex did was stare back at him, he huffed. “Seriously?”

“My mother and I did it ourselves all the time. I can do some of them, and can talk you through the rest.” He noticed the vodka in Andrew’s hand and some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to relax. “Oh thank god, that’ll help a lot.”

“Somehow I figured that.” Andrew threw the duffel bag near Alex’s feet then sighed when the kid nearly toppled over when he tried to bend down. “What do I need to do?” He left his backpack near the door and approached the idiot.

“There’s some silk thread in there, rubber gloves, a needle, scissors, some betadine and bottled water. Grab some glasses and pour in some water and betadine, just follow the instructions on the back. Soak the thread and the needle in one, and we’ll need the others to clean the gloves and to flush out the wounds.” Oh yeah, this wasn’t the first time Alex had been through this procedure, which made Andrew consider some of the scars snaking their way across that scrawny chest.

Still, he nodded to show that he was following along and grabbed back the bag so he could get the stuff ready. “When do you want the alcohol?”

Alex’s lips pressed into a grim line. “Not until after you flush out the wounds.”

For once doing as he’d been told without stirring up any shit since he figured Alex had lost enough blood, Andrew got everything ready, first mixing up some solution to prep a sterile area on the sink counter and then getting some ready so he could clean the wounds. When he had enough prepared, Alex went to stand in the tub so Andrew could pour the solution on the wounds there and not get it and blood everywhere.

As if the kid’s poor lips weren’t cut up enough, he bit into them some more as Andrew poured the disinfectant on his face and then his chest, but couldn’t help letting out a low scream when he got to the sliced up arms. As soon as Andrew was done, Alex leaned forward and threw up, just a bit of water and some dry-heaving, his left hand braced against the tiled wall of the shower.

“You done being a baby?” Andrew asked after about a minute, not about to show some sympathy when Alex obviously was doing his best to hold it all together.

“Fu—fuck you.” Alex’s voice was as ragged as his arms just then, but he summoned up a glare and held out his right hand for the bottle of vodka as he stepped out of the shower.

Andrew let him drink while he rinsed down the mess. “Leave me some, you inconsiderate little shit. Besides, you probably shouldn’t drink too much with a concussion, and you have to help me get rid of that mess out there.”

Alex had about a third of the alcohol before he lowered the bottle and gave a weak laugh. “How could I forget that part?” His hand trembled a little as he set the vodka aside. “You any idea on how to do this?”

“I’m a bright guy, just talk me through it.” Andrew snapped on the gloves that had been soaking in the disinfecting solution, along with the needle and some of the thread, and then sat on the edge of the tub. “Good thing you’re not worried about scars, right?”

“Such an asshole,” Alex muttered, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips and his eyes were no longer filled with nothing but shadows.

It wasn’t as easy as they made it look in the movies, and the first few cuts weren’t going to heal very pretty, but Andrew soon got the hang of it while Alex’s voice grew even scratchier, his eyes sunken and his skin took on an awful pallor. Once or twice Andrew thought the kid was going to pass out, yet all it took was for Andrew to dig in his fingers to one of the wounds and Alex would snap back, his pale blue eyes wide and breath coming in uneven pants.

“So that guy, Morris.” Andrew noticed that talking to Alex helped to keep him conscious.

“Wha-what about him?”

“You think he ratted you out?” He paused to tie off a suture. “I came back because I realized that he had basically told me to get my ass out of here.”

Alex made to shake his head and then moaned, the sound low and anxious as if he was struggling not to throw up again. “No, guys like him… like him can only survive if they’re neutral.” He swallowed, the action loud and painful to hear. “He probably heard about-“ His gaze at Andrew just then was significant, and then he let out a slow breath. “Probably heard about my father and put two and two together.”

That was the first time that Andrew had heard anything about Alex’s father. “Your dad have anything to do with those bastards out there?”

That wrung an almost hysterical laugh from the kid. “Could say that.”

“Hmm.” Andrew finished the last of the cuts on Alex’s arms and rocked back; all that was left that really needed sewed up were two cuts on Alex’s chest and the one on his face. “I heard a little of it, you know. Heard that guy say that they wanted to know about ‘the kid’ and the money.”

Alex swallowed again and nodded, the motion curt as if it hurt too much to move, which it probably did. “They… they knew about you. Knew your name.”

Andrew wondered if they knew more than that, but it could wait, especially since Alex still looked him in the eye. “So, it seems to me that we completed our previous deal, right?”

“Yes.” Alex took to frowning again, as if he didn’t know where Andrew was going with all of this. Good, because Andrew hated being the only one a bit confused at the moment.

But what he hated worse was how he couldn’t get Alex out of his thoughts, couldn’t shake that awful longing for someone who dared to help him out when everyone else wrote him off as a lost cause, who was the only one willing to give up anything for him without asking for Andrew’s soul in return. “So, it’s time for a new deal.”

“But… what could you want?”

“The truth.” Andrew threaded the needle with ease by now and reached out to touch the cut above Alex’s heart. “I want the entire truth – your real name, why you ran, who really is after you, *everything*.”

Instead of flinching, Alex went still for a moment before he let out a slow breath. “And what do I get in return?” It was all right to ask such a thing from Alex, because Alex knew better, knew that nothing came without a price and had proven to Andrew that he could be trusted in paying back his end.

“You get me.” Andrew glared over the way that had come out, blaming it on the shocking events of the night. “I’ll stick around and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. No one will hurt you again, I promise.”

Alex’s eyes went wide with surprise. “But that’s – you can’t! That’s too much!” Then he winced as Andrew dug in his fingers.

“Do you doubt me? Do you think I can’t protect you?”

“I….” Alex went to move his right arm as if to run his hand through his hair and winced again, probably from the pull of the new stitches. “No, I don’t doubt you, but it’s dangerous.” Then he stared out past Andrew, toward the room and the mess which waited for them, and something cold, something much too old and hard for someone his age settled on his face for a few seconds. “But… Lola said….” He seemed to think about something for about a minute while that disturbing expression remained.

“Tick tock,” Andrew warned with a tap against the wound when he grew impatient; he could really, really use a cigarette right now, but it would have to wait until this was all finished.

“Asshole,” Alex hissed while he shook his head, which caused him to waver a little and that uncomfortable expression to change into something Andrew much better preferred. “Fine, but it’s an open ended agreement, okay?” When Andrew dug in his fingers again, he scowled some more. “If things get too dangerous, we renegotiate!”

“We’ll see. And no, you shut up now,” he warned as he held up the threaded curved needle. “You shut up and sit there, or else the next thing I stitch closed are going to be your lips.” Now Alex’s expression was wary, as if he had already learned in their short time together that Andrew didn’t make idle threats, yet he didn’t flinch away as the needle neared his head. Instead, he closed his eyes and worried even more at his gnawed and split bottom lip while Andrew patched together his cut eyebrow.

And that, *that* was in large part why Andrew was here. “No damn sense of preservation,” Andrew grumbled as he held the split skin together with his gloved left fingers and got to work. “How you’ve lived this long, is one of the wonders of the world.”

“I-“

“What did I say about shutting up?” He felt as well as heard Alex’s sigh. “Save it for while we’re getting rid of that mess out there.”

“Okay.” Despite the needle piercing through his skin again and again, some of the tension left Alex’s battered body as Andrew dealt with the head wound that had been leaking a thin trail of blood down Alex’s bruised and swollen face.

Andrew was going to be an expert at stitches by the time this was all done, and he paused so Alex could have a bit more vodka before he finished with the chest wounds. Alex was going to be in a world of hurt - *more* of a world of hurt – in a few hours, but it didn’t look like anything was broken. Through it all he sat there, bottom lip worried ragged and palms scoured by fingernails, but he allowed Andrew to treat him like a damn pincushion again and again. The amount of trust behind the act would have taken Andrew’s breath away if they had the time or if he was one to give in to such sentimentality.

As it was, he’d given in enough, had allowed himself to return to the motel and to make another deal, to extend a promise to another person. Maybe he’d regret it when another set of bastards like the ones rotting in the other room tracked them down… but in his sixteen miserable years of existence, only one other person had claimed that she wanted Andrew, and she hadn’t really *seen* him, had she?

“Ah!”

He realized that he was pressing a little too hard against Alex’s chest while he thought about Cass and- well, while he thought about Cass and shook his head. “Was checking your ribs, wanted to make sure they weren’t broken,” he lied and gave the bruised skin another pat.

“Thanks,” Alex mumbled as he hunched over a little more. “Least they weren’t.”

“So what are we going to do with the bodies?”

Alex shuddered a little when Andrew began to stitch up the cut across his chest. “We… we put them in the car and drive… drive out, either east or west. Maybe east. Lot of nothing out east. Get off the main road and… and dump ‘em. Set fire, bury, something.” He sounded to be fading fast, which wasn’t a surprise.

“And the room?”

That wrung a weak laugh from Alex, which was quickly arrested, probably from the pain of his wounds and Andrew jabbing a needled through his torn flesh. “Lola handled it for us, remember? We just need to get out of here before anyone sees us.”

“Still, think I’ll use those handy picks of yours and grab some bleach from cleaning closet before we go, see if we can’t muddle things up here a little first.” Andrew didn’t like leaving matters in the hands of others if he could take care of things on his own. “You gonna be able to help me out any? Follow me in my car?” It wouldn’t be a good idea to drive around too long in a shiny sedan that belonged to someone else, not if friends of those bastards came looking for them, and not when it had been carrying bodies. Still, it was a shame because the Cadillac was much nicer than the Miata.

It took Alex a moment to answer. “Gu-get me some coffee and yeah.” There was a stubborn set to the kid’s jaw just then, which reminded Andrew of how he’d stayed awake on the bus ride to Sacramento, of how he’d fought sleeping at first on the ride to Reno until Andrew had threatened to punch him out.

“It’s a stick shift.” Wasn’t someone going to have fun with all those cuts to his arms? Andrew would offer to switch, but if anyone was going to drive a car stuffed with dead bodies, it would be the person who didn’t look suspicious as fuck, could at least pass as sixteen and wouldn’t pass out behind the wheel at any moment.

“I’ll be fine, I learned to drive in Germany.”

Ah, and now the guttural cursing made sense. “I foresee an interesting story, when we finally have that chat.” Andrew was now down to the last cut, so it looked like he’d get some of that vodka after all – the night was looking up, wasn’t it? “It’ll give us something to do once we leave a nice meal for the coyotes and head… hmm, where will we go next?” He waited for Alex’s response as a mini test of sorts, to see if he’d be told or given a say in the matter.

Alex – and he was also waiting for the truth behind the name, but that would be a little longer at his own insistence – took a few ragged breaths while Andrew worked on the last cut. “I don’t… Lola said *he’s* in jail.” There was so much hatred and pain and fear in that one word that Andrew knew that Alex was talking about blood, was talking about his father. “That… that changes things.” He closed his eyes again, and for a moment it was as if all the weight of his years of running weighed Alex down, pressed upon him as his shoulders slumped and his expression fell, as water welled up in his thick eyelashes. Then he shook it off, which made Andrew hiss out a warning since Alex pulled away as he attempted to tie off a suture, and that disturbing smile flashed once more across Alex’s battered face. “But maybe it gives us options. Maybe some breathing room.”

Andrew considered that as he finished with the stitches, his fingers sore from all the knot tying and his left wrist aching as well. “So where does that ‘maybe’ leave us?” He motioned to the disinfectant and grinned when Alex both nodded and cringed; he grabbed some cotton pads and began to wipe down the new sutures while Alex did his best not to throw up again, then did as decent a job he could wrapping up the wounds.

“That leaves us – oh *hell*… we don’t….” Alex paused to gag for a few seconds. “Don’t know… what they… they found here. Don’t know what they told the others. So… so new IDs.”

“Well, it’s your money.” Andrew shrugged at that and continued wrapping up the kid, who now looked more like the Mummy than Frankenstein. “So another contact, right?”

“Yeah.” Alex took several deep breaths – or as deep as he could with those ribs and stitches – before he continued. “I’m thinking… Chicago or New York.”

It took a moment for Andrew to realize that he was being asked a question there, not being told two possible destinations. In the process of taping up the cut over Alex’s right eye, which was going to leave a rakish scar, he paused to think about the two options and what he had been considering last night. Then he went over to remove the gloves and wash his hands. “Chicago.”

All bandaged up, Alex groaned as he got up from the toilet seat, moving about as if he was an old man and not a fifteen-year old teenager. “Chicago. Probably the better of the two choices, since it’s farther from *his* territory and puts us closer to the border if something goes wrong.” He attempted to reach for his bag, and would have fallen flat on his face if it wasn’t for Andrew’s intervention.

“What the hell are you trying to do now?” It was going to be like babysitting, Andrew knew it.

“Want some meds,” the kid ground out. “And clean clothes."

“Oh for-“ Andrew snatched up the bag and set it on top of the toilet, then fished out a bottle of pain relievers, which he made sure wouldn’t interact negatively with the alcohol before he slapped it into Alex’s hand. “Take those with this.” He grabbed his backpack and handed over an energy drink. “You’re going to need something to stay awake.”

Alex did what he’d been told, and had to be helped into a shirt because of the wounds once the drink was finished. Andrew allowed himself a few swallows of the vodka and then motioned for Alex to follow him into the other room so they could get to work cleaning up; the sooner it was done, the sooner they would be on the road to Chicago.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> We're starting to get to the actual Neil and Andrew part. GAH! I feel like there's so much that has to happen to these poor guys before they can just breathe together and be like 'hi!'. But we're getting there! Next chapter is actually a good bit written already (what does it say about me that the torture scene cranked out SO FAST! Followed by the snark...).
> 
> Any mistakes are all my own, no beta but I try to read through and catch what I can. 
> 
> And once again, OMFG thank you so much for the kudos and the wonderful comments! So, SO very much appreciated and loved.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting written up a lot faster than I had anticipated.... Wow. Then again these boys are just so adorable and broken and I want to hug them as I write them, and the feedback is also so greatly appreciated as well.
> 
> Now, on to the fic.  
> *******

*******

Andrew handed over an energy drink to Alex and, after seeing how much the kid’s hands shook around it, clicked his tongue in disgust and snatched it back so he could open it. “You going to need a straw or something?”

“No, I’m fine.”

He was learning to hate those last two words, and had to suppress the urge to smack Alex every time he heard them – it was a common litany ever since they had left the motel in Reno; any popped stitches? ‘I’m fine’. Able to drive? ‘Yeah, I’m fine’. Going to pass out? ‘No, I’m fine’. Still got a few working brain cells in that addled head? ‘I’m fine, fuck off.’ Andrew had promised to put those words on the kid’s tombstone, and had gotten a different response for once, an obscene gesture.

He made a point of watching Alex choke down the sugary drink before he fetched his own then set the bag from the convenience store in Alex’s foot well of the car yet within easy reach before opening the can to take a quick sip. That taken care of, he placed it in the nearest drink holder and finally pulled out onto the highway; at that time of the morning, there wasn’t another car in sight.

“Okay, so we’re gassed up, have a destination in mind and enough food to last us a few hours. Start talking. Tell me about that little bonfire we’ve left behind us and your father.” Andrew wanted to know what he had in store for him, what he had to stand between in order to keep – “oh, and what’s your real name?”

In the process of pulling up the bag, probably to get something to eat, Alex sighed and let it drop back to the floor. “It’s… it’s Nathaniel. Nathaniel Wesninski.” He twisted about in the small seat of the sports car, the motion making him wince, and waited as if expecting some sort of reaction from Andrew.

“And that’s supposed to mean something?” Andrew finished his drink, tossed it out the open crack of the window then reached for his pack of cigarettes; while he tapped one out, Alex – no, *Nathaniel*, attempted to chew on his bottom lip and winced again because of its rawness. Andrew made a mental note to get the kid some chapstick or something at their next stop.

“It would if you were from the East Coast, and I’m surprised it hasn’t made the news here yet. My father,” again with the loathing and fear when he mentioned the man, “is Nathan Wesninski, otherwise known as the Butcher. He’s in charge of a good bit of the underworld on the mid-Atlantic East Coast.” His eyes, even more bruised and shadowed than hours ago, glazed over as he ran his right hand along his abdomen.

Andrew was beginning to get a sense of where this was going. “So your mother didn’t know what she was getting into when she married him?”

Or maybe not, judging from the bitter laugh that question wrung from Nathaniel despite all of those awful injuries. “Mother? Oh no, she knew, or at least she had a good idea.” He gave a cautious rub to the bandages that covered the abraded flesh of his left wrist, where the rope had rubbed the skin raw. “She’s from another mob family – the Hatfords. They’re big in the UK.” He finally looked up from his wrist to give Andrew a slight smile. “That’s who I was going to call if you ran off with the binder, you know. She told me to call Uncle Stuart if things… well, he’s a last resort.”

“Because you don’t know him? Or is he like your father?” This was a lot more complex than Andrew had assumed, but what else was new? He took a drag on the cigarette and wished that there was still some vodka left.

“No, I’ve met him a couple of times, and we spent a week in the UK when we left the US.” Nathaniel frowned as if remembering something. “But unless I committed to that life… it’s a cage, you know.”

“So what, die young and free instead?” Andrew scoffed a little, and waved aside Nathaniel’s furious look. “Hey, it’s your life, do what you want.”

“I will,” the kid spit out, and then his expression crumbled as he once more took to rubbing his wrist despite the fact that it had to hurt. “I don’t want to turn out like… like *him*,” he explained in a quiet yet affected voice. “Before she grabbed the money and me and ran away… he was having Lola teach me to use knives.”

Andrew remembered the look Nathaniel had given him as he’d gathered up the knife kit from the bed and tucked it into his backpack; he hadn’t seen the point in tossing aside what were perfectly good weapons, not when there were powerful people after them. Yet despite Nathaniel appearing two seconds away from throwing up again, he’d just nodded and went on with sprinkling bleach around the room, then helped Andrew carry a dead body out to the car as if it was nothing. Bodies that he’d help to set fire out in the middle of nowhere a couple of hours later without any remorse at all. Yeah, the kid was messed up.

But who wasn’t?

“So your mother stole some money and ran because your dad was raising you up to be a mini-mobster?” Andrew had to force himself to mostly obey the speed limit, at least until they got out of Nevada.

“Yeah. I guess.” Nathaniel closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and then jerked in the seat, his hand once more twisting on his left wrist; Andrew had the impression he was doing that in an effort to stay awake and focused. “All I know is that one day I was at Castle Evermore playing Exy with Kevin Day and Riko Moriyama and everything was great, that I was having fun and… and….” His eyes grew glassy again and his teeth once more worried at his torn lip as if the pain was nothing.

Ah, the obsession. Andrew tapped the ash off of his cigarette and blared the car radio when the silence dragged on, which startled his companion back to reality. “Stay with me, or I will make you chug three of those drinks, one right after the other, even if you puke.”

This time the look of loathing was for him, and he smiled in the face of it.

“You….” Nathaniel went to rub at his face this time, and stopped with a painful moan when his fingers touched the bruised and swollen flesh. “Evermore,” he groaned after a moment. “I was there and it was fine. My mom had enrolled me in Exy under an alias, no one knew I was the son of the Butcher. But Kevin and Riko knew who I was.” He paused to glance over his shoulder at where the duffel bag was stashed despite what twisting his torso like that had to do to all those stitches and his ribs. “And then we went up in the Tower, the three of us, and watched my father chop up some guy into all these bloody bits of pieces.” For a moment Andrew thought that Nathaniel was going to throw up in his car and prepared to pull over to the side of the road, then Nathaniel shuddered and once more rubbed his abused left wrist. “The next day, my mom stole five million and we… well, I haven’t stopped running since.”

That raised at least three questions in Andrew’s mind, and he asked the most important one first. “I saw half a million or so.”

Nathaniel’s lips quirked as he resettled in the seat. “That’s what we – well, I carry on me, between cash and bonds. There’s another half a million or more stashed away that I can access, but it’ll take a little time.” At Andrew’s raised eyebrow, he sighed and shook his head, which caused the grey hoodie he was wearing to slip down a little. “It costs money to buy good passports and the like.”

That made sense, considering that Nathaniel had put down at least twenty-five grand on their last IDs. “So you’re a millionaire, you sure don’t look like it,” Andrew drawled as he passed some idiot in a Civic. He reached over to tug on the kid’s simple long-sleeved t-shirt to illustrate his point.

There was silence for about a minute before Nathaniel answered. “We’re millionaires.” He summoned a weak smile when Andrew swerved into the other lane for a moment in reaction to that. “How does it feel to be rich?”

Andrew’s response was to roll down the window some more and flick out the remains of his cigarette; there was a thousand snarky retorts to a comment like that, yet all he did was give Nathaniel an assessing look instead. He wasn’t here for the money, hadn’t gone back to that crappy motel room and killed two people for the chance at what was in that binder. Yet he also knew that Nathaniel wasn’t trying to bribe him or anything, which was why he kept his mouth shut for a mile or two. “What really happened to your mother?”

He suspected that the latest wince of pain had nothing to do with all those fresh wounds. “It’s tied to why my father’s in jail.” For a moment Nathaniel stared at the fresh bandages around his left wrist instead of adding to the damage – at least for a few seconds. “He caught up to us in Seattle, had a couple of people waiting. She shot two of them, but then he got his hands on her. Well, more like he beat her with a lead pipe, bad enough that even though we managed to get away, she could only hold out until we made it to the coast.” His face slowly grew devoid of emotion as he stared out the window to the flat stretch of road in front of them, at the sun rising in the cloudy sky. “Lola told me that she had turned in some evidence to the Feds, and there must have been some security cameras around… I’m amazed that he hadn’t spotted them. Probably too caught up in a rage, too happy at the chance of taking out the stain on his name and reputation.” There was a spot of blood on the bandages now. “Between whatever my mom gave them and the footage, it was enough to press charges, though I’m sure the Feds are hoping to get their hands on me so I can tie up a lot of loose ends.”

Which meant that the Butcher’s people would want to make sure that Nathaniel couldn’t testify. Andrew didn’t point that out, though, instead he reached over to grasp onto the kid’s left arm, well aware of how his fingers dug into the fresh wounds. “Stop that or I’ll cut off the damn hand for you,” he warned, no longer willing to put up with the self-mutilation.

Nathaniel wheezed in pain and attempted to jerk away, only to stop when Andrew gave another warning squeeze. “I said I’d protect you, even if it’s just from yourself,” he explained when Nathaniel stared at him with blue eyes gone wide, daring to look away from the road for a precious few seconds. “Don’t make my job harder than it has to be.”

He received a jerky nod in response, so decided it was fine to let go; it hurt his left wrist to drive one-handed for too long, especially after everything they’d done during the night. “Now, back to the Exy crap – why would your father do something like that at Evermore?”

Nathaniel went to touch his left wrist then stopped, the motion arrested, and cradled his hands against his chest instead. “I don’t know.” He shook his head when Andrew made a scoffing sound. “No, honestly, I don’t, and I’ve been trying to puzzle it out all these years. Did he have some business there? Are the Moriyamas involved somehow? I just don’t know, and my mother never said anything. She’d….” He shook his head again as his expression grew closed off. “She didn’t like that topic.”

Andrew had the suspicion that Nathan Wesninski hadn’t been the only abusive parent but wasn’t about to get into it right now, not when the woman was dead and there was no changing the past.

Things were quiet after that for a few miles, with Nathaniel huddled over as if a wounded animal and Andrew driving with his fingers tapping against the steering wheel. “Should we stop at some point?” he asked, well aware of how exhausted Nathaniel was and feeling tired himself.

There was no answer at first, just Nathaniel reaching for another energy drink. “I’d rather put more distance between us and… more distance first,” he said as he handed over one to Andrew then fetched another for himself. “I can drive for a while if you want.” Andrew’s derisive sneer was enough of an answer at that, and he thought that Nathaniel flushed in response but the kid’s face was too many colors just then to truly tell. “No, I’m fi-“ Andrew’s right hand covered his raw lips to cut off the rest of that annoying answer.

“No, don’t say it, I’m putting a moratorium on that word for the rest of the day, do you understand? Blink once for yes.”

Those pale blue eyes, made even more startling due to the vivid dark blue and purple mottling around them, narrowed at first then eventually blinked closed. “Good. So, no shit-hole motel for now?” He removed his hand, mindful of how chapped and warm Nathaniel’s lips had felt against his palm. Definitely some lip balm at the next stop, he told himself as his fingers curled inward for a few seconds before he forced them to wrap around the steering wheel instead.

“No, not for tonight.” Nathaniel didn’t look happy at the moment as he gazed at his bandaged wrists. “Best to just pull over somewhere out of the way and crash in the car.”

Andrew considered that before he nodded. “I hate you right now.” He felt that should be known as he pondered a night spent sleeping in the tiny car.

As usual, someone seemed to take delight in his suffering as a slight smile curved those abused lips. “To make it up to you, how about a real hotel tomorrow? It should help confuse anyone following us.”

For a peace offering, it was semi-decent. “I hate you five percent less right now. Throw in a decent restaurant, and it might, just might, creep up to ten percent.”

“That depends on how far east you can get us,” Nathaniel had to shoot back. Andrew’s amusement went up when the kid once more attempted to rub at his face and stopped at the reminder of all the bruises. “Dammit.” He glared at nothing in particular while he sipped the drink instead.

“Yeah, impressive learning curve there,” Andrew taunted while he opened his own drink, and ignored the trembling middle finger that was held up in his direction. He had just thrown the empty can out the window when Nathaniel spoke up once more.

“They… they looked you up, you know.” He had taken to fussing over the empty can held between his hands, turning it around and around between his fingertips as he stared into it as if it held something important. “They know about you – at least Lola and Romero did. Not sure if they had the time to report back to anyone.”

Andrew had wondered when they were going to get into this. “I heard them mention ‘the other kid’. So what did they say?” When Nathaniel was quiet, he purposely swerved the car into the oncoming lane. “Are you going to tell me now?”

“What the hell?” Nathaniel reached for the wheel, but it was easy to bat his arm away with it all cut up like that. “Dammit, they asked me who was doing the fucking, you or me!”

“And?” There was a truck in the distance coming toward them, but Andrew was going to stay in the lane until he got his answers.

“And nothing else! I told them to fuck off, and they were more interested in finding out about my mother at that point, enough to do all of this to me.” Nathaniel glanced through the windshield and did that guttural cursing before looking at the steering wheel again with his fingers twitching, but he didn’t go for it again. That convinced Andrew that he was telling the truth so he swerved back into the right lane while the truck took to blaring its horn.

“And?”

“What now?” Nathaniel slumped against the passenger door as if the last minute had been one thing too much for him, face sweaty and body limp, voice drained of emotions and eyes once more shadowed. “I told you everything.”

“No, what about them asking you that?” Andrew focused his eyes on the road ahead while his hands griped the steering wheel hard enough to hurt; why was it that no matter where he went, no matter how many new starts, some things were never left behind?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nathaniel curl up a little more in the seat. “It doesn’t matter to me.” He didn’t sound like he was lying or talking out of pity, he just sounded drained and done with the world. “You asked me for the truth and I gave it to you – not the other way around. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, and Lola wouldn’t tell me something unless she thought it would it make someone, preferably me, bleed a dozen different ways. Now, unless there’s anything else or you want me to drive, I just… I just want to sleep.”

Andrew wasn’t sure that it was that easy, that Nathaniel would just dismiss his past like that… but Nathaniel was good at running away from things, wasn’t he? Had sparked the flame to light the gasoline pooled around the bodies of his torturers and walked away without a second glance only after making sure that the flames had taken, had been able to leave his own mother’s body behind. Maybe he could teach Andrew how to walk away, too.

“Go ahead, obviously you’re the whiny type when you’re sleep deprived,” he chided as he turned up the radio a little more, certain that at this point, Nathaniel would crash hard if given the chance. Nathaniel made an odd choking sound and tugged the hood of his shirt a little more over his face, then curled up as much as his abused body could manage before going still.

Andrew wanted to be out of Nevada before he stopped for his own nap, so he sped up as much as he dared and focused on the road ahead instead of everything they were leaving behind.

*******

They’d left the motel in Rockford at… Nathaniel didn’t want to think how early they’d left the motel, and he was going to be sick if he drank much more of Andrew’s sugary caffeine drinks. All that mattered was beating the morning traffic in to Chicago and finding parking near the Chicago French Market, where the Miata wouldn’t stick out too much even with its Nevada parking plates, and they could walk the few blocks to where his mother’s contact had a small office.

It hadn’t been ideal, driving across country in a small convertible during late October, but they hadn’t run across any snow and Nathaniel’s injuries had time to heal over the last few days even while sitting cramped in a car most of the time; by some rare bout of good luck none of them had gotten infected and he’d soon be able to remove the rest of the stitches if they continued to improve. Andrew had refused to let him drive the first two days which meant that he’d caught up on some much needed sleep, albeit interrupted by several nightmares of his father tracking him down or him burying his mother’s body in the sand only to have her drag him down with her.

Now at least people didn’t give him too much of a glance as he walked along side of Andrew, huddled in several layers and resolved to buy some warmer clothes when they had a chance. Durand’s office should be around here somewhere….

“If you tell me we’re headed to a thrift shop after this, I will slit your throat myself,” Andrew threatened, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and a murderous expression on his face which ensured that everyone else on the sidewalk kept a safe distance away. “I’m not wearing hand-me downs, I don’t care about your Puritanical money ethic.”

Nathaniel sometimes wondered just how masochistic he really was, to have agreed to keep the other teen on as his personal bodyguard – and how long it would take for Andrew to do his father one big favor by getting rid of him in a fit of pique. “There should be an Army surplus store around here somewhere.” He derived some satisfaction out of the angry shake of the cigarette pack. “Did I claw back that five percent yet?”

“I didn’t think it possible, but you’re in the negatives.” Andrew sounded churlish just then, which was so much better than that bland tone of his even if Nathaniel’s life was in danger. So what – he was used to his life being in danger.

Fortunately – well, maybe not for Durand – they reached the office, which wiped the slight smile off of Nathaniel’s face. “Look… this guy is… well, he deals with….” He gestured around them and pointed toward the skyscrapers looming in the distance. “Please, be careful what you say and do, all right?”

Andrew’s upper lip curled a little as he removed the cigarette from his mouth. “I don’t like that word.”

“What, ‘careful’?”

“No, ‘please’,” he snapped before he tossed the half-finished cigarette aside and sidled past Nathaniel and through the door only marked ‘Durand’ and the office’s business hours.

Didn’t that just figure? Nathaniel tamped down the annoyance and curiosity that he felt, since he was keeping to the decision he’d made back in Nevada to leave Andrew’s past alone, to not dig into it unless Andrew offered anything up – and his new friend definitely wasn’t doing that. After glancing around the nearly empty street, he followed Andrew inside.

Durand was about the same age as Morris, maybe a little younger, and in much better health. He also was eying Andrew with obvious suspicion, and Nathaniel was willing to bet that the left hand beneath the desk rested on a weapon of some sort, probably a gun. Taking a guess on the man’s name and where he chose to do business, Nathaniel took a gamble and nodded to the saturnine gentleman. “I’m here to request an affirmation. Mary Hatford told me I could come to you if I needed anything,” he said in French.

The glum look on the man’s face smoothed out while he studied Nathaniel for a few seconds, while Andrew’s full lips twisted in obvious annoyance. “Mary has a son,” Durand observed in the same language. “He’d be about your age, if I remember correctly. Is she your only family?”

“May I just say that I am rather displeased by this turn of events,” Andrew remarked in an almost bored sounding tone; one could believe him, except for that gleam in his hazel eyes and that twist to his lips.

Nathaniel shot him an apologetic look yet continued, well out of reach of the man even if he came across as cultured and calm. “I have an uncle as well, Stuart.” He paused and brushed the first two fingers of his right hand along the cut through his eyebrow. “I think you know my father, too.”

Durand nodded. “I believe he’s probably why you’re here.” Durand placed both hands on the desk, his office also much nicer and less cluttered than Morris’, and glanced over at a fuming Andrew. “What I don’t understand is why you’re here with this one and not your mother.”

Nathaniel had figured that Durand, being tied into the Chicago underworld, might know his mother since the Hatfords had more interaction there than they did on the East Coast; from the little he had figured out, his mother had in part married his father to expand the family’s network, and hadn’t been able to put up with his brutality. He weighed the long-ingrained habit of staying quiet, of not sharing personal business but didn’t see where it hurt him to speak up now, not when Durand could get a message to his uncle, who deserved to know what had happened. “She’s dead,” he told Durand, whose only reaction was a slight arch of an elegant dark eyebrow. “If you could find a way to inform my uncle, it would be appreciated. It was shortly after that last… discussion with her husband in Seattle.” Durand should understand what that meant and pass that on to Uncle Stuart.

“Of course, consider it a courtesy.” He bowed his head again, and then switched into English. “So, two IDs, yes?”

“Finally,” Andrew ground out. “Yes.”

There was a hint of amusement in Durand’s dark brown eyes at Andrew’s answer. “Your appearances, do I need to enhance them?”

They had taken the time to re-dye their hair two days ago; Nathaniel had never lightened his to this extent and started every time he caught a glimpse of his now almost blond hair, which never failed to amuse Andrew – who had gone a bit darker in return. “We took care of it, but we need a script for contacts, if you can manage it.”

“That’s doable.” Durand studied them for a moment as he pulled the keyboard to his computer closer. “What are you hoping to achieve with these new identities? Will you be together or going your separate ways?”

“Together,” Andrew snapped out before Nathaniel could say anything, and his eyes narrowed when Durand looked to Nathaniel for confirmation. When Nathaniel nodded, the forger appeared thoughtful and typed for several seconds.

“Then it would be best to make you relatives of some sort, less likely for anyone to question two underage boys living together that way. Cousins, half-brothers, I leave the back story to you.” He waved off Nathaniel’s startled reaction while Andrew was the one to nod that time. “I won’t have to match up the names exactly, but ages and birth certificates… yes?”

“Half-brothers,” Andrew told him.

“Yes.” Durand continued to type. “Father or mother, whatever I can manage, about a year apart, it’s doable.” He nodded in what seemed to be satisfaction. “I would suggest similar color contacts – you are close in height and skin tone, add another common denominator so people overlook the differences.” He glanced away from the monitor to squint at them for just a second or two. “Green, that’ll work.”

Nathaniel waited for Andrew to blow up over the way Durand was taking control of things, but since the forger was working more with the older teen than him at the moment, he figured that soothed Andrew’s contrary nature just enough. “We’re also going to need a new license plate and a registration for a 2004 Miata,” Andrew informed him while he fished the old one for the car out of his backpack. “It’s not registered as stolen, but I never got it transferred from the old owner when I bought it.”

Durand gave the paper a cursory glance when Andrew slid it across the table then sniffed. “Doable. Now, this will take a couple of hours, so you two go and get something to eat.” He once more looked Nathaniel up and down before turning to Andrew. “Feed him some croissants or something. Terrible.” He sniffed again, but this time, Nathaniel had a feeling it was as an insult.

Andrew perked up upon hearing mention of sweets and grabbed onto the sleeve of Nathaniel’s hoodie. “You heard the man.”

Nathaniel grit his teeth together as he was dragged out of the office. “If you try to order me another white chocolate mocha frap-whatever, I will throw up on you, I swear it.”

Judging from the evil gleam in Andrew’s eyes just then, he had a feeling he had best be very careful if they came across a coffee shop.

*******

Andrew rolled his eyes as he watched Nathaniel tear into a croissant with obvious suspicion. “I thought you said you lived in France.”

“Yes, with my mother, who wasn’t trying to poison me.” As if convinced that there wasn’t anything inside of the pastry but flaky dough, Nathaniel picked up a piece of it and popped it inside of his mouth, all the while casting a baleful look Andrew’s way.

For his part, Andrew managed a melodramatic gasp and clutched his hands to his heart while meeting Nathaniel’s heat with a cool look of his own. “Like a little fat and sugar will hurt you.” The kid could stand to put on some weight.

“I’m not overly fond of sweets, unlike a certain person who seems to live on them.” He jabbed a finger toward the two chocolate croissants in front of Andrew, one of which was already halfway gone. “Why aren’t you like, diabetic already or something?”

“Superior genes,” Andrew quipped as he tore off another piece and then ate it.

“Well, being half Oompa-Loompa would explain a lot,” Nathaniel quipped, and smiled despite having a piece of his own snack thrown at him. “Aw come on, I thought that was good.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth, and I foresee that causing a lot of trouble for the both of us.” Andrew’s eyes narrowed while he took a sip of his double chocolate mocha cappuccino. “You’ve barely healed from the last fight you got in, don’t go starting a new one.”

“Hmm.” Nathaniel’s good mood seemed to fade away as he picked at the croissant; there was still some lingering bruising to his face and of course there was the new scar slicing through his right eyebrow and along his forehead to his temple, mostly covered by the thick pale brown bangs. The scabs had fallen off of the cuts on the sides of his face, leaving just thin red lines which would eventually fade away, but he still had some angry red scabs and rashes on his wrists that he did his best to keep covered by the long sleeves of his sweatshirt. Just another day or two for the stitches hidden beneath his sleeves and a few more for the ones on his chest… but Andrew had a feeling that his friend wasn’t going to want to walk around topless anytime soon – or ever again.

Still, he looked good enough that Andrew had noticed more than a few lingering glances sent his way, not that Nathaniel had picked up on them. Right now there was a couple of teenage girls who probably should be in class sitting back a couple of tables who kept looking their way, heads close together as they gestured with their hands in his and Nathaniel’s direction.

“Someone’s paying a lot of attention to us,” Andrew drawled, and the reaction was immediate – Nathaniel stilled, his body tense beneath the baggy clothes while his blue eyes began to dart around.

“Where? Who are they?” How many?” He kept his voice quiet, yet there was an underlying tension to the words that matched his body as he slowly began to lean back a little, his left hand falling down to the damn duffel bag he refused to go anywhere without.

Yeah, someone was more than a little paranoid, but Andrew couldn’t blame him, not after Reno. “It’s not what you think.” He refused to feel guilty just then – it was a horrible, useless emotion, after all – and let out a slow breath. “It’s just a couple of girls who are probably skipping school or something.

“What?” For a few seconds it looked as if Nathaniel didn’t believe him, and then the tension gradually left his body. “Seriously?” He didn’t even bother to look around, he just shook his head and grabbed his cup of coffee for another sip. “Don’t scare me like that over nothing.”

“Whatever.” Perhaps the kid hadn’t been lying when he had claimed that he didn’t ‘swing’ any way. “Next time I’ll put it in code so you’ll know the difference between someone checking out your ass and someone about to gut you, does that make you feel better?”

Moron that he was, Nathaniel actually paused to consider the comment for a moment. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.”

This. Was. His. Life. Andrew really needed a drink just then, but settled for a cigarette instead, screw the no smoking sign, and jabbed the lit stick in a certain pain in the ass’ direction. “110%.”

Nathaniel at least had the grace to grimace before he finished off his drink. “We’re still stuck with the Army Surplus store – I’ve a feeling that Durand won’t be cheap and I want to get an idea of how much our living expenses are going to be.”

Andrew leaned across the table and smiled as he swiped up the last bite of Nathaniel’s croissant. “115%,” he half-sang, then stood up while he wrapped his second croissant in a napkin to save for later.

A weary sigh let him know that Nathaniel wasn’t going to argue with the new percentage or the theft, and the kid scurried to grab his bag and fall in step beside Andrew. On a sort of whim after checking to find that the girls were still watching them and had even grabbed their purses as if to follow, Andrew cast a cold look in their direction and deliberately placed his left hand in the small of Nathaniel’s back; he could feel his friend tense at the contact and knew it was uncomfortable for both of them, but it made the girls stop in their tracks with expressions of surprise on their faces.

That taken care of, Andrew let his hand fall back to his side and waited for the usual unpleasant tingling from touching another person like that, but all that remained was a lingering sense of warmth from Nathaniel’s body. He supposed that after spending all that time patching up Nathaniel in Reno had given him some familiarity in touching him, some desensitization, has had the past several days spent together in the tiny Miata.

Things were quiet between them as they walked around the market to kill some more time, with him picking up some more snacks and Nathaniel, the junkie, some Exy magazines in French, and both of them some scarves and gloves. Andrew would just stand there the few times when Nathaniel talked to the vendors in French, his eyes lighting up and hands moving about – at least until he remembered about his wrists and then he would be careful to let his arms drop and to tug at the edges of his sleeves with the tips of his fingers.

They were leaving the market when Nathaniel handed over a bag of salted caramels he’d picked up, probably to help knock down the percentage a point or two, and sighed when Andrew didn’t accept it. “Oh come on, these are at least half sugar. I thought you’d love them.”

They looked delicious, but Andrew wasn’t so easily bought. “Last I checked this was America – where we talk English and Spanish.”

“Eh?” Nathaniel stated at him in confusion for a couple of seconds, right hand still outstretched with the bag of sweets. “What, are you upset with the French back there? It is called the French Market for a reason.”

“No, back with Durand.” Fine, Andrew snatched at the bag and shoved it into his backpack. “What did he say to you?”

“Durand?” Nathaniel ran his right hand through his hair, throwing the thick bangs into disarray. “He asked about my family, a way to make sure I was who I claimed to be. I was just letting him know I was my mother’s – Mary Hatford’s – son, and… I asked him to pass on to my uncle the news about her.” His expression just then was so very earnest that Andrew wanted to gag, and it was true that Andrew hadn’t caught him out in a lie since their new agreement back in Reno.

He considered that and other things for about half a block, then gave a slight nod. “I don’t like it when you talk like that in a language I don’t understand.”

“It was just a way to make Durand accept me, honest,” Nathaniel insisted. “I’m not going to betray you, not after-“ he motioned away from the city, toward Rockford, toward west, and then at himself. “Besides, betraying you would be like hurting myself, right? You said you’d protect me.” He offered Andrew a slight, shy smile as he spoke.

There was only one answer to that – Andrew scoffed, the sound disdainful and quiet as he reached over for the idiot’s left wrist and tugged back the thick sleeve of the sweatshirt. “Not the most convincing argument, you know.” His right forefinger tapped on the healing wounds that wrapped around the bony wrist like an angry, coiled snake. “Try a better one next time, and stop making me work so hard. 118%, and that’s *with* the caramels.” That said, he dropped the idiot’s wrist and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stalked ahead.

After a moment, the sound of Nathaniel’s laughter followed him, for the first time sounding truly amused and free of pain or darkness. Andrew don’t know what he hated himself for more – that he wanted to smile upon hearing it or that he felt warm despite the lack of a proper coat.

*******

Nathaniel tried not to wince when he handed over the money to Durand, at the thought of being another forty grand poorer, but the documents sitting on the forger’s desk did look good. “Congratulations,” Durand told him, his tone dry and elegant with that faint French accent. “You’re now Neil Josten.” He picked up the larger stack of documents, including the photo ID of Nathaniel, and handed it over. Nathaniel – no, Neil now, he’d have to get used to it, and as always was grateful to shed the name that tied him to his father – studied the card and noted that his birthday was now March 31st instead of January 19th. 

Beside the learner’s permit for the state of Illinois – he was still under age, but he supposed that he couldn’t complain too much, not as long as Andrew was able to drive – was a birth certificate, a debit and credit card, a check book, a forged doctor’s scripts for pain medication and antibiotics, an official looking school transcript and a card for a local optometrist. When Durand noticed that Nathaniel was studying the address, he reached over to tap the business card. “Go see him today – everything is arranged. He’ll measure your eyes and write you a prescription that’ll be good for two years, and he should have some contacts in stock that you can leave with as well. It’s already paid for, no questions will be asked and nothing will be said.”

Nathaniel nodded to show that he understood, then watched as Andrew picked up his stack of documents and cards, as well as a new license plate for the car. “So now I’m Aidan Hennon? That should be easy to remember.” He frowned at the birth certificate then looked over at Nathaniel. “Which one is it, mom or dad?”

“The mother,” Durand answered for Nathaniel. “Work out whatever story is best, the rest is up to you.” He tapped the fingers of his left hand on top of the pile of money that Nathaniel had given him, his dark gaze resting first on Andrew and then on Nathaniel. When he spoke again, it was in French. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me, except contact your uncle. That will take a few days, since I will go through the proper channels.”

Beside Nathaniel, Andrew shifted about; he could feel his friend’s anger even though he was certain that the expression on Andrew’s face was the usual blank look. “That’s okay,” he answered back in English, which earned him an arched eyebrow in response. “It can wait that long, my uncle finding out about… well, you telling him about his sister. There’s not much he can do to change the situation, anyway.”

“No, I suppose not,” Durand murmured in English while he bowed his head. He was quiet for a couple of seconds, and just when Nathaniel was about to say ‘goodbye’, he looked up, his eyes focused on Andrew. “Just be aware, young man, that the Hatfords look after their own.” Nathaniel stood there in amazement while Andrew returned Durand’s intent gaze with a cool one of his own.

“He’s a, well, no, he’s not a particularly bright young man,” Andrew ignored Nathaniel’s hiss of anger, “but he does what he wants. And he knows enough about the real world to make an informed choice about his future.”

Durand tilted his head to the side as if accepting what Andrew had said. “Fair enough. Bon chance to you both, then.”

Taking that as a cue to leave, Nathaniel nodded then motioned for Andrew to join him as he turned toward the door, and barely waited until they were outside to speak. “I think I’m feeling a bit of that ‘hate you’ thing myself right now,” he spat out, too angry just then to feel the cold.

All Andrew did was shrug in response while he pulled out his pack of cigarettes, a perfect pint-sized poster child of apathy if Nathaniel had ever seen one. “You know, the wonderful thing about hating your guts is, I don’t give a shit. Hate me back all you want.” He flicked his cheap disposable lighter in Nathaniel’s face once then focused on lighting the cigarette.

Nathaniel counted to ten in all three languages that he knew, then reversed the count order so he didn’t do something he *might* regret, like shoving Andrew out into the street – it would be a waste of perfectly good forged paperwork.

“I think I can see smoke coming out of those ears of yours – don’t hurt yourself over there,” Andrew drawled after about half a block.

“Oh, just wondering where I can find another foul-tempered, short, sugar-addicted sadist so your paperwork doesn’t go to waste when I shove you under the next passing bus.”

He thought he caught a flash of grudging respect on Andrew’s face before the half-smoked cigarette was flicked at his chest. “Yeah, good luck with that one. 120%.”

“Ask me if I care,” Nathaniel gritted out while he brushed aside the ash clinging to his sweatshirt and eyed the small hole that had burned through before the cigarette had been knocked aside.

“Oh Nathaniel, haven’t you learned yet?” Andrew stared straight ahead as a strange smile twisted his full lips. “It’s always best to never care.”

Yet for some reason, there was a sense of hollowness to the older teen’s words which Nathaniel felt best not to point out just then.

*******

Andrew was used to getting by without nice things, but seriously – a million dollars. A *million* dollars, at least. If he could, he’d go back to Nevada, find where they burned those bastards in the middle of some desert and then grind them to dust beneath a pair of twenty-five dollar discounted military boots because obviously there had been way too many blows to a certain idiot’s head in that Reno motel room – just how long did concussions last? At least the boots were heavy enough that when he was finished with the dead bastards, he could deliver a swift and decisive kick to said idiot’s ass. As he picked up another thick sweater as well, he shot a narrowed look at the source of his ire, who of course was oblivious to the waves of hate that Andrew did his best to send across the store. 125%, the bastard.

Still, he kept his eye on Nathaniel, since the kid seemed a magnet for trouble and Andrew wouldn’t put it past him to be attacked in a store of all places. It was while he was trailing after the walking disaster that he noticed them, around the outdoor section – a shelf of various colored arm guards, some made out of leather, some of cloth, some reinforced to protect against sharp objects and some for archery. Making sure that Nathaniel was occupied with checking out the coats for the time being, he set down his pile of clothes and the boots so he could go through the guards, and eventually settled on two of the smaller black cloth sets after making sure that the one was thick enough for what he needed.

Maybe idiotic martyrs could have decent ideas from time to time.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, things will start to creep along now, promise. Besides, there's only so many contact names in poor Nathaniel's binder.....
> 
> Again, thank you so much for the comments and kudos! They are all greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, probably going to be the last of the back to back updates, at least for a few days. LOL, I've been doing nothing but work and write, but I can't get this fic out of my head. It's finally getting to the slow burn part, too....  
> Not to be too confusing, but yeah, Andrew = Aidan.  
> *******

*******  
Neil looked at the row of duplexes across the street from where they were parked and then glanced back at And- at Aidan. Dammit, he had to get used to the new names or else risk a dangerous slip-up, especially since this looked to be their new home. “Are you sure she’ll help out?”

Aidan thumped his fingers against the steering wheel a couple of times and then shrugged. “She should.”

Well, that was reassuring, wasn’t it? However, Neil didn’t want to push, not after Aidan had been in a bad mood ever since they’d gotten up early again so as to be the first people to hit up the public library a couple of miles away – he didn’t know what Aidan had against libraries, but his friend had only spent the bare minimum of time it had taken to track down the address of this Anna Janowski inside the place, while Neil barely had been able to double-check their list of potential apartments.

Aidan stared at the non-descript duplex for another minute with its peeling beige paint and dirt-smudged windows blocked with blinds before he sighed and opened the car door; Neil took a deep breath of smoke-tinged air for courage and exited the car as well, his duffel bag in hand.

They had to wait for a passing car before they could cross the street, and during that time Aidan rubbed at his eyes; Neil was willing to bet that his friend had never worn contacts before and had a little trouble adjusting to them, especially with all the smoking he did. Once the street was clear, they crossed together and went up the steps of 56a Elm.

As could be expected of someone with the charm of an annoyed sadist, Aidan kept his right forefinger pressed against the doorbell and didn’t let up until about two minutes later, when there was a muttered curse on the other side of the door and it opened up with a loud creak to reveal an extremely disgruntled young woman wearing a faded red robe, her plain face flushed and dark brown hair in disarray. “What the fuck do you- wait, do I know you?” Her scowl turned into a confused expression as she stood in the doorway, the storm door still between them and her hands busy with the belt of the robe. “You look… Andrew?”

“You always were a sharp one, Anna,” Aidan remarked as he motioned toward the door. “Now are you going to let us in?”

“Uhm, okay.” She gave Neil a quick once-over as she opened the storm door, then turned her attention back on Aidan. “I thought you were stuck until you turned eighteen.”

“I got out on early parole.” There was a hint of a mocking edge to Aidan’s smile, and either Anna caught that or she was very smart – probably both – since she took a hasty step back even as she waved them into the small living room of the duplex.

“Right, that explains why you’ve shown up on my doorstep halfway across the country two years early, no longer looking like the Aryan poster child you used to be, with some kid I’ve never seen before.” She leaned against the doorway rather than sit down on the old yet comfortable loveseat or the equally old looking recliner chair.

Neil was surprised when Aidan sat down on the loveseat next to him, but they were small enough that they could set at either end and not touch. “This is Neil, consider him a project of mine.” Aidan turned his fake smile on Anna, and she must have seen it before because she jerked her hands through her shoulder-length hair and mumbled something about needing coffee.

“Look, just tell me why you tracked me down and if I should expect the cops at any minute, all right?”

“No cops, and I’m here with a business proposition for you.” Aidan lost the flaky smile and reached for his backpack, which he’d set down between his feet; Anna tensed up but didn’t run away or move to tackle him, just tracked his movements with her dark brown eyes. “How’s things going with school and waiting tables?”

She seemed to relax a little when she saw him pull out a piece of paper, which Neil knew to be the forged registration to the Miata outside. “Let me guess, Gaby told you what I’m doing, right?”

Aidan shrugged a little. “She is quite the gossip, and always so fond of sharing whatever news she receives via mail or calls.” He paused for a moment to look around the bare room, his gaze heavy with significance. “From what she’s said, you’re struggling to make ends meet.”

Anna’s back went rigid at the comment. “Yeah, well I’m doing the best I can, paying for this place by myself and for college, too. Not like they did much more than kick me out once I turned eighteen.”

“I thought you came out here because of family.” Aidan didn’t appear to be rather sympathetic to her plight, but Neil had learned in the past week or so that Aidan didn’t seem to care about much in the first place.

“I did, and they helped me find a cheap place to rent and a job – it’s not like they’re much better off than me. If they were, my mom never would have ended up in California in the first place, you know that.”

“Hmm.” Aidan’s slight hum of agreement didn’t appear to appease Anna much.

“Okay, you little shit, what do you want? I didn’t get my ass out of bed early to have you insult me. You’ve got five minutes before I kick you out so I can go back to sleep.” Neil noticed that she didn’t threaten Aidan with anything other than that, though.

Aidan smiled as he held up the registration slip. “Oh, it’s rather simple – or maybe not quite so simple, but we just need a little effort on your part and you’ll benefit from it in the end.” When Anna’s expression changed from angry to confused, he waved the slip of paper about in the air a couple of times. “In exchange for you signing off on a couple of things, I’ll give you this piece of paper.”

“Wait, is that what I think it is?” She stepped into the small room, but Neil noticed that she didn’t get too close to Andrew. “A registration paper for a car?”

“I always thought of you as a bright individual,” Aidan intoned in that flat, annoying tone of his, which Anna seemed able to ignore. “Yes indeed – if you look outside, you’ll see a mostly shiny Mazda Miata that I’m willing to transfer over to you.”

Anna tugged on the belt of her robe as she considered that, and this close up, Neil realized that she wasn’t so plain looking, just that she appeared tired and washed out. “A Miata? Not the most practical car for this region, but I suppose if it had snow tires on it, it would handle all right.”

“I’ll also throw in some money for them, and a little left over to take care of insurance and any maintenance for the first year.” Aidan was being awfully free with their cash, but they’d discussed this last night and agreed to everything, including that he’d handle the negotiations since he knew Anna best.

“Huh.” Anna seemed to be thinking it over, but Neil could tell she was excited as she once more craned her neck to look out through the window behind them. “It could work.” Then her features twisted with suspicion as she folded her arms over her chest. “What’s in it for you?”

Aidan mock-gasped as he pressed his left hand against his chest, over his heart. “Really? Do you think-“

“I *know* you, Andrew.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aidan dropped the act and waved the paper once again, as if it were a red flag in front of a charging bull. “It’s two-fold, mostly. First, we need you to head with us to sign a lease for an apartment and then to register for school. We’re both underage and we need someone who’s considered an adult for those things, so pretend you’re our cousin.”

“Me?” Anna took to studying Neil for a few seconds. “Who is he supposed to be again?”

“My half-brother – that’s all you need to know.” Aidan leaned forward and gave Anna a smile that was nothing more than bared teeth. “Just sign a couple of documents and answer your phone if anyone calls looking for our legal guardian, all right? And the car and cash will be yours.”

Anna gave a nervous tug to the belt. “I don’t know, I don’t want to be on the hook if you break some kid’s jaw or send a guy to the hospital… or worse.”

Aidan brushed aside her concern with a casual flick of his left hand. “It won’t happen, we’re staying below the radar while we’re here. Our intent is for there never to be a reason for you to get a call, but you’ll answer just in case.”

“Oh, I will?” Anna appeared a bit more confident now, which Neil could tell was a big mistake.

“Yes, you will.” Aidan’s voice took on a too-sharp edge. “I never told anyone about how those cigarettes and drugs got smuggled in to our Wayward home, now did I?”

Anna’s face lost even more color, which Neil hadn’t thought possible. “You… you know I didn’t have a choice in that.”

“Yes.” Aidan was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke next, he sounded back to normal. “Yes, which was why I never said anything before. Just remember that they’re using Gaby now, and that things can go bad for her if I end up back there.”

Now Anna tugged on the belt in obvious anger. “Okay, I get it, I don’t turn on you and you don’t turn on me, so to speak.”

“And we’re all happy in the end – well, as much as we can be.” There was a slight curl to Aidan’s lips as he sat back on the loveseat, the slip of paper held out to Anna. “So, it’ll be a bit of a tight fit, but want to try out your new car? How about on the way to an apartment we want to check out?”

Anna heaved a rather exaggerated sigh as she pushed back the hair falling onto her face. “Just give me about fifteen minutes to call a friend to ask her to take some notes for me today and then to get dressed.”

*******

Andrew paid more attention to the potential landlord than the apartment itself as they were shown around the second one on their list; as agreed yesterday, he was leaving all the talking when it came to the apartment and school to Nathaniel – or ‘Neil’, as he insisted on being called now – since the kid had more experience in such matters, just as ‘Neil’ had let him handle Anna. The other two were looking around and nodding at various things the landlord, an older guy Polish who apparently had an eye for the ladies, was pointing out.

“Like I said, it doesn’t look like much but these old buildings, they were built right.” He patted the white-painted walls and smiled at Anna, who managed a demure smile back; after her time on the streets, she had the act down pat… and could do him some serious harm if he went beyond the wide grins and flirty banter. At least this one was better behaved, unlike the last landlord, who had set off warning bells in Andrew’s head and made him grit out a ‘thanks, but we’re just looking around, we’ll get back to you’ and hustle Neil and Anna out of there in under five minutes flat. To give him credit, Neil hadn’t blinked an eye and had followed Andrew’s lead without any questions.

“So it’s six hundred a month, utilities included?” Neil went over to inspect the windows, and maybe a less oblivious soul would think he was glancing outside for the view or seeing if they were air-tight, but Andrew knew he was checking out if they were secure and looking for a possible escape route. It was a third floor apartment, but Neil must have liked what he’d seen because he nodded a moment later.

The landlord, Andrew had caught the last name Semovoski, nodded. “Rent is due on the first, and don’t let the news fool you, it’s a quiet neighborhood.” He flapped his hefty left hand about. “We mind our business here.” There was a warning note in his voice as he stared down at Andrew.

Anna stepped closer to the man. “Oh, if you’re worried about my cousins, don’t be.” She gave him a placating smile and reached out to pat him on the arm. “They’re good boys, and will be busy with school. Plus, my grandmother will be here to watch over them. She’s just….” Anna paused as she pulled back her hand. “Well, she’s not in the best of health, you know, so I’m helping her out today.”

Semovoski appeared a bit upset when he found out that Anna wouldn’t be living here, but the next look he directed toward Andrew was a lot less guarded. “Family is good, they keep you in line.”

Neil turned away from the window and spoke up before Andrew could disillusion the man. “We make sure to watch out for each other.” He shared a significant look with Andrew then gestured to the apartment. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure, I’ll be down in the office while you make up your mind.” He gave Anna one more grin, the expression a bit more subdued this time, and left the apartment.

They were quiet to make sure that he wasn’t waiting outside, then Anna spoke first. “He’s right, you know. It’s not the best area, hence why you’re getting a deal on the rent, but it’s not bad.” She huffed a little as she glanced at Andrew. “I know you can take care of yourself.”

Andrew fiddled with the new black arm guard which covered his left forearm, still adjusting to the feel of the material and the weight of the knives he’d hidden inside of them as he switched his gaze over to Na- to Neil. “Well?”

“I’ve lived in worse places,” the kid admitted, which didn’t come as a surprise. “It’s mostly clean, not too far from the highway and bus lines, and the benefit to a neighborhood like this is that people tend to mind their own business. As long as we don’t cause any problems, all anyone will care about is that we pay our rent on time and don’t bring the cops around.”

Someone had interesting criteria for an apartment, didn’t they? Still, Andrew had lived in way too many homes in his sixteen years, and he had to agree with Neil that this wasn’t too bad; it wasn’t that big, especially for a two bedroom apartment, but it didn’t appear infested with vermin, it came with an equipped if outdated kitchen, should keep them relatively warm during the winter, and keep out most people. “All right, we’ll take it.” He didn’t feel like spending half the day looking at apartments, not when the others on their list weren’t going to be any better.

Anna appeared relieved to hear that, especially since the sooner they crossed finding a place to live off of their list, she was partway through her obligation to them and that much closer to owning a car. “Great, let’s get the paperwork out of the way and then get you two registered for school.

Andrew motioned for them to precede him out of the small apartment, and when Neil hesitated, he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the store about our furniture.”

That provoked a grimace from his new roommate, probably recalling how much precious money had been spent yesterday at the IKEA near Chicago, but Andrew had won that battle and even granted a few points in Neil’s favor as a result; there was no way he was dealing with second-hand furniture, end of story. Now just to tell the store where to deliver it.

“Okay. Guess we can just sleep on the floor or something, if he lets us in tonight.”

After a night spent in the Miata and some of the motels on the way to Chicago, a night on the hardwood floor wouldn’t be that bad, in Andrew’s opinion. Still, he took a modicum of delight in arranging for the furniture to be delivered tomorrow afternoon, certain that Anna could sweet-talk the landlord into handing over the keys as soon as possible.

That taken care of, Andrew lingered in the apartment a little longer, an odd sense of… an odd sense of something in his chest as he thought of what it would be like to have a bedroom with a door he could lock and *know* that it would be secure, that he could sleep through the night in peace. To have a place that was his, where he wouldn’t have to leave until he grew tired of it, until he wanted to leave. It was… yeah, it was odd. Any other place before that he’d been in was someplace where he’d been told to go, had been dropped off at against his will. But here… this was his choice. For some reason the new contacts bothered him a little, but he forced himself not to rub at his eyes since he had to get used to the damn things.

He only allowed himself another minute or two before he left, careful to close the door behind him. By the time he reached the office at the front of the building on the first floor, he found Anna and Neil waiting for them, Anna with a smile on her face and Neil huddled in the too-big light grey coat he’d bought yesterday.

She threw a set of keys to him. “You’ll have to get some copies made, but it’s yours now. Neil paid the rent for the rest of this month and the next, along with the deposit.”

The keys felt oddly heavy in Andrew’s hand, too much for just a couple of pieces of metal. He frowned as he held them out to Neil. “Don’t you want them?”

There was a strange expression on the kid’s face as he looked at them. “Not… you hold on to them for now, until we get some copies made.” His voice sounded just as strange, leaving Andrew to wonder if Neil – if *Nathaniel* - was as unused to belonging anywhere as him.

The apartment taken care of, they went back outside to pile into the Miata – Andrew had no problem letting Neil, who was smaller if not shorter, climb into the tiny space behind the seats since the car was a two seater. “Bob said that there’s a small lot in the back, so stop by the office when you get the new car,” she informed them as they pulled back onto the highway.

“Oh, so it’s ‘Bob’ now, is it?” Andrew drawled as he pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his inner pocket, only for Anna to bat them away.

“Not before we get you registered for class, don’t go in reeking of smoke,” she chided. “And yes, *Bob*. It got you the apartment without a credit check and the rest, so be thankful.” She flashed him a too-cheerful smile for just a couple of seconds, one he’d seen a few times when she’d deliberately charmed the staff back at old Wayward, and he had wondered why she’d bothered with all the makeup and the tight sweater for just running them around. Still, he had to say that he appreciated the dedication.

The ride to their soon to be new high school was quiet after that, not that Andrew was in a talkative mood, especially when all he wanted was a cigarette. Neil appeared happy to be able to breathe once he got out of the car but didn’t complain, though he had a faraway look in his eyes as they entered the school; they’d discussed their options on the drive to Chicago, whether it was better to keep running or not, and the fact was, two teenagers on the run stood out more than a woman with her son. It was time to try something new, to pick a spot where they could blend in, someplace out of the way but not so much that they stood out, and let Nathan Wesninski’s people race right past them.

They had some of the best paperwork money could buy, and now they had someone to sign off for them, something that Mary Hatford Wesninski would never have allowed to happen in a thousand years. If this didn’t work… well, Andrew had no other clue what the hell to do, other than tell Nathaniel to call his uncle.

Anna checked the directory board near the door then motioned for them to follow her; the main office for Washington Park High School was a bit down a hallway decorated in blue and orange with lots of panther images scattered about – Andrew was sensing a poorly colored theme. “It’s a bit loud, isn’t it,” she whispered, as if she had picked up on his thoughts.

“I was thinking more along the lines of obnoxious, but that works, too.”

“All that matters is that it’s big,” Neil said. “No one should care about us here.”

Andrew glanced over at his friend, at the face which wasn’t marred in the least with the new scar, the now green eyes which seemed to glow due to the pale blue lurking beneath the contacts, the way that no matter how much ‘Neil’ tried to hide behind too big coats and clothes and long bangs that he just wasn’t plain enough to be ignored for long.

“Yeah, sure,” was all Andrew said as he tested the fit of his new arm guards, as he made sure that beneath his own overlarge sweater that he could access the knives quickly if needed.

Neil shot him a flat look but since they had reached the office, nothing more was said. Anna pasted on a cheerful grin as she opened the door, and after a couple of exchanges with the people inside, they soon found themselves crowded into the tiny office of a woman only a few years older than Anna, her black hair cut close to her scalp and pale blue eyeshadow in stark contrast to her clear, dark complexion. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Linda Mullen. So I understand that you’re here to transfer to Racine Park?” She gestured for them to sit down, but there were only two chairs. Anna sat in one of them, and Andrew was quick to place his hand on the back of Neil’s neck to force the idiot to sit in the other one then stood behind him.

Anna sent a warning look his way before she offered Linda a friendly grin. “Yes, we are – well, my cousins are.” She waved at him and Neil. “I’m afraid their mother… well, you know how things are these days, and her job and all.” She gave a bit of a nervous laugh. “Oh my, I’m not explaining things well, am I?”

Linda shook her head as a slight, sympathetic smile curled on her glossy lips and she reached for the computer mouse on the cluttered desk. “From the little I’ve heard, it’s a familiar story, I’m afraid. So you’re helping out for the time being?”

“Yes, me and some other family members. I’m just the lucky one who had the day off, and we didn’t want them to lose any more time from school so we we’re here today,” Anna agreed; they had worked on the story earlier, and all of them knew that the less that was said, the better.

“Oh yes, in transitions like this it’s best just to dive back in, especially when the school year has already started.” Linda gave Andrew and Neil a bright smile then returned her attention to Anna. “Do you have any information on their previous school?”

Anna reached into her purse for the transcripts Durand had prepared for them. “It was a small school so they sent the boys along with these.” She handed them over without any sign of nervousness.

“We usually prefer digital transcripts.”

“Oh really? Well, I think they included an email address,” Anna added as if an afterthought. “I’m sure if you email them, they’ll send you a copy that way.”

Linda frowned a little as she looked through the paperwork, but seemed relieved at the sight of the ‘official’ seals. “If there’s a problem, I’ll do that.” Judging from the numerous stacks of folders on her desk and the size of the school, Andrew was willing to bet she’d never get around to doing it – if so, Neil had paid Durand more than enough for the forger to fire off an email or two.

If she found anything odd about them having two different last names, she didn’t say anything, but in a school this big, she probably saw a lot of unusual things. She asked for some personal information such as address and emergency contacts, which Anna provided, then they got down to planning their class schedules. As a junior, Andrew had a little more leeway than Neil, a sophomore, but they were both given an option of choosing a language.

“German for me, French for him,” he insisted, his right hand creeping out once more to press against the back of Neil’s neck for a couple of seconds; that had been another ‘discussion’ he had won, at his insistence that Neil was no longer going to be able to carry on private conversations around him. Andrew would study German at school, and use Neil’s French textbooks and lesson plans to learn the other language while at home.

Linda gave him an appraising stare for a moment, even though she shouldn’t have been able to see his hand, then directed it at Neil. “Neil, is that fine with you?”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s fine.”

Andrew twitched upon hearing the detested ‘F’ word, but since it hadn’t been preceded by ‘I’m’, he let it slip for once.

“Well, I’m sure the girls will love having someone like you in the class – usually the boys go for Spanish or German, like your brother,” Linda remarked, which for some reason irked Andrew. She typed away for minute or two and then smiled again. “Now we have some great extra-curricular groups for you to join, especially our sports. I’m sure you’ve heard about the football, baseball and basketball teams, right? There’s track as well, wrestling and gymnastics, or you can join the drama club or some of the honor societies.” She tapped a stack of folders to her left. “We encourage it for new students to help you integrate.”

Just having to play devil’s advocate, Andrew plastered on a mild smile before he spoke up. “What about Exy?” In front of him, the little junkie’s shoulders grew tense.

Linda tapped twice on the stack of folders then brushed her long fingers against them as if wiping away a speck of dust. “I’m afraid to say that team hasn’t done as well as some of our other ones – it’s not as popular up here as football and basketball.” She shrugged as if to imply what was one to do. “But Coach Beal is doing his best and can always use a few players, especially since poor Carl Heber broke his ankle earlier this month.”

“We’ll look into that,” Andrew murmured, making no promises, while he was certain that Neil was only a breath or two away from a panic attack. “So, anything else? We have a lot to do if we’re going to start school tomorrow.”

Linda directed a wry smile Anna’s way, who shrugged in response. “Eldest child, what can I say? He’s used to taking care of things.”

“Yes, we have a few of – well, a lot of them like that here.” Linda stared at the stacks of folders around her for a couple of seconds, her expression almost mournful, then resumed smiling at Anna. “It’s a good thing he has family here now.” She quickly included Andrew and Neil in it as well. “Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your time at Park a good one.”

As if Andrew would trust simple things like a smile and hollow words. “Yeah,” he mumbled while Neil scrambled to get out of the chair as if it was comprised of rusted nails, leaving Anna to play nice with the lady. She gave them a disapproving look while she stuck around long enough to collect their schedules and the rest of the information that they’d need for tomorrow.

“I’d say that could have gone better… but I know one of you so yeah, it went great.” She sounded a little sour as she handed over the documents to Andrew as soon as they got back into the car. “Do me a favor and don’t maim anyone for at least a month, all right?”

Andrew pointedly shook out a cigarette in front of her while Neil made a groaning sound as he contorted his body behind them. “No promises.”

“Yeah, thought you might say that.” She sighed as she ran her fingers through her artfully tousled brown hair then clenched them around the steering wheel. “All right, so I’ve lived up to my end of the deal, barring any phone calls from you being the psychotic little bastard you can be when the mood strikes. What now?”

Andrew handed over a slip of paper with an address he had written down last night. “You drive us here so we can get another car, hopefully before Neil breaks those poor ribs of his-“

“Maybe too late,” Neil wheezed.

“Suck it up,” Andrew told him, then paused to light the cigarette. “As I was saying, we get our new car, go deal with the registrations, and then part ways.”

“Thank god,” Anna drawled. “I’d like to have a couple of hours to de-stress from after dealing with you before my shift starts tonight.”

“This is me caring.” Andrew waved his left hand around to indicate the blank expression on his face. “The sooner you get us there, the sooner we’re done with each other.”

“The sooner I can breathe again,” Neil complained.

Andrew reached over his shoulder to flick ash on the whiny bastard.

*******

Neil put the last of the bags down on the floor of the small living room, everything they’d thought to buy for the apartment after getting the used Nissan 370z Aidan had insisted upon; he was sensing a pattern here, a pattern of not the most practical cars that could go fast as if Aidan hoped to outrun his demons in one way or another. They would definitely need snow tires in the next couple of weeks, even more money going out at a rate that made Neil want to cry… though he supposed that he should remember that Lola and Romero were picking up some of the recent expenses thanks to the money Aidan had found hidden in their car when he’d searched it one last time before they’d torched it along with the bodies.

Thoughts of Lola and Romero reminded Neil of his father, which reminded him of… too many things, really. Of how his ribs still hurt somewhat, especially after half a day spent crammed into a too-small car, of the stitches that probably should come tonight before people asked embarrassing questions, about-

“What, don’t tell me you’re still freaking out over how much we spent today. You’re just finally back in the black, *Josten*, don’t fuck things up so soon.”

Aidan’s voice jostled Neil out of his thoughts, and judging from the emphasis on his new last name, ‘Aidan’ was still resisting fully embracing his own new identity.

“No, I agree that we needed the stuff.” Well, maybe not a rear wheel drive sports car when they lived in the snow belt, but he was learning that living with Aidan meant carefully choosing one’s battles – and still losing half of them. Maybe if he was by himself he could have found some place to squat for a few months, but there was no way the two of them could manage that so an apartment was a necessity, along with everything that went with it. “It’s just… why did you bring up Exy?” That’s what had bothered him ever since they had registered earlier at the high school.

Done putting the groceries away, Aidan came to join him in the small living room, mindful as always to stay just out of reach. “Because I know you better than you think, and a junkie like you would have been stalking the team within a week.” He cast a baleful glance over at Neil’s duffel bag and the binder stashed inside of it. “You’d be the kid hanging out at the practices and the games but never saying a word to anyone, and that would attract more attention than if you just join the team.” He gave Neil a scathing look before he shook out two cigarettes, lit both of them then handed over one.

Accepting it with a trembling hand, Neil shook his head. “But I can’t join it – they know I played-“

“You played what, five or six years ago? How many kids play the game now?” Aidan blew out a lungful of smoke while Neil inhaled the tainted air to calm himself down. “Ignore what I said in Reno, okay? It’s time to break the rules.” He gestured to the mostly empty apartment around them, then to himself, to the green contacts in his eyes and the dark brown hair. “No more running, no more being afraid because of *them*.” He glared as he reached out for Neil, and only Neil’s faith in Aidan kept him still as fingers grasped the sleeve of his overlarge grey sweater to pull it back; beneath it was the black arm band that Aidan had given him yesterday, the solid swathe of material that covered the wounds Lola had left in Reno. “You can consider what’s under here as brands of failure or marks of how they tried to break you and couldn’t, but choose soon. The longer it’s in there,” he jabbed the fingers holding onto the cigarette toward Neil’s head, “the harder it is to undo.”

Neil wanted to ask Aidan how he viewed his own scars, why he had chosen to keep them covered most of the time they’d known each other… but he also had watched while Aidan had crafted his own bands to hold Lola’s knives. Maybe part of the intent was to cover a weakness, but somehow it seemed like such an ‘Andrew’ thing to do in it such a manner that would also allow him to strike back.

So Neil took in a deep breath of tobacco-laden air, his own cigarette held cupped in his right hand, and nodded. “Fine, no more running, no more playing by their rules. But what about you?”

That earned him a rather displeased look. “I am not following, which is not a good thing for you,” Aidan warned.

Neil summoned a weak grin as he pulled his left arm free. “It’ll look less suspicious if both of us join up, instead of just me.” When Aidan’s displeasure turned into outright disgust, Neil knew that he had him. “I mean, that woman said that they push for *all* new students to join group activities. But I suppose you can join the football team instead. Oh, wait, *basketball*. I’m sure the team will love you… as a mascot.” Years of facing down his father’s men enabled him to smile in the face of the blatant loathing evident in Aidan’s newly green eyes just then.

“Fuck the black, you are so far into the red right now that it would be unbelievable if one didn’t know the amount of hatred and homicidal urges you can inspire in people.” As if to prove his point, Aidan tugged down on the collar of Neil’s sweater to revel the edge of some stitches before turning away.

Neil watched on in bemusement while his friend stomped back into the kitchen. “So… back to 125%?”

“One-fucking-fifty,” Aidan snarled while he slammed about the cupboard doors as if searching for something, probably one of the bottles of whiskey they’d shoplifted back in Chicago.

Wow, he’d never jumped so many points at a time, Neil thought to himself as he smiled and raised the cigarette to his face.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> Hmm, the next chapter, a mini-preview. Someone doesn't deal well with other people finding someone cute. Just saying....
> 
> And while I've spent some time in Milwaukee... yeah, just grabbing what little information I have about Racine and going with it. My apologies to the kind people who live there!
> 
> As always, the kudos and comments are truly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have one more completed chapter after this, and then it'll slow down a little, the updates. Hopefully still be a couple a week, we'll see (because OMFG, this story is riding me hard. I haven't been on Tumblr all week, WTF! I have to get on there, TG:Re update this weekend! All my fandoms, what's going on??? *ahem*, yeah, sorry). I think in part because this is one of the most plotted out fics I've ever done (it's all figured out, now to just get it done), and because I just love these boys so much.
> 
> *******

*******

Andrew had been through several schools over the years because of all the foster homes, and he had to admit that it never got better over time. Still, he knew what to expect and he knew how to handle himself, and there was nothing any of these assholes at Park could throw at him to break him – him or Neil. The same couldn’t be said for them.

“We’re getting you a phone after school today,” he warned Neil as they pulled into the school parking lot.

“Eh?” Neil paused in undoing the seat belt to give him a displeased look.  “Why?”

“Because I want a way to reach you.” Remembering the near panic attack back in Sacramento, Andrew slashed his right hand through the air. “No, *no*, I’m going along with that Exy bullshit of yours, you *owe* me. One phone, which I pick out, and if I find out that you’re not carrying it on you or letting the charge die down on purpose, I will break your damn leg so you can’t play.”

Neil glared as he snatched up the plain light blue demin backpack he’d bought to carry around the abridged version of his precious binder and any schoolwork before he opened the car door. “Fine!” Despite the huffiness, he waited near the car for Andrew to grab his stuff as well, and walked beside him in clear disgruntlement until they found his locker.

The school was large and noisy as fuck, and they drew more attention than Andrew liked – than Neil liked, judging from the way he hunched forward and ducked his head. Andrew thought he heard someone say something along the lines of ‘hey, look at the midgets’, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before.

Once they found Neil’s assigned locker, Andrew waited for him to open it and figured out that his own had to be in the west wing. “Wait for me here at the end of the day, all right?”

Despite his lingering resentment over the phone, Neil nodded. “Okay.” He might be a suicidal shit and could work on Andrew’s last nerve like no one else, but the kid knew when to listen; Andrew figured it had been drilled into him by his mother or something.

“What, no snark for once? Try not to get yourself killed for a few hours and I’ll see you at lunch. Ta.” Andrew waved goodbye as he headed for his own locker, and couldn’t help but noticed that there were already a couple of people looking over at Neil with interest. He bared his teeth in a parody of a smile at one of the girls, and had to resist shoving another one into a locker when he walked past.

It didn’t take him long to find his own, and he was busy shoving his coat into it when the person on the right to it, a girl with ombré dyed brown hair, cleared her throat. “So, you must be new since I’ve never seen you before.”

“Killer observation skills you have there.” He gave her a scant look-over, figured she was probably on the pep-squad or something, and went back to affixing the new padlock onto the locker’s handle.

“Ah, okay. So, I’m Heather. You are?” She held out her right hand.

“Not interested.” Locker taken care of, Andrew turned away, adjusted himself to the direction of where his first class of the day should be, and left her behind so he could make it to Calculus on time.

There was the usual ‘oh look, we have a new student joining us, let’s have him stand up and introduce himself to us’ spiel that got real old, real fast, to which Andrew mumbled his name and gave everyone an apathetic look. A few people attempted to approach him, but a cold shoulder and silence in return soon discouraged them to the point that he was left alone; he was here to keep some stupid social worker from raising a fuss, not to make friends.

Third period every other day was that wonderful mandatory torture known as ‘gym’, and as he changed out, he wondered how Neil was going to fair when it came to his own fifth period that day; last night they’d removed the stitches in his arms, but the ones in his chest still needed a little longer. Andrew could hide his scars by leaving the black arm guards on even after he changed into the mandatory shorts and t-shirt, though he hoped there was enough room in the showers that he could take them off in there while he washed up.

As if Neil had cursed him last night, the bastard, today’s sport was basketball. There were several amused glances directed his way when the class gathered out in the gym, and everyone was made to line up in alphabetical order so they could split up into two teams as every other person. Andrew’s team wasn’t so happy to have him on it, and immediately set him aside as a reserve player.

It was while he was standing along the wall that one of the coaches, an older guy with balding grey hair, came over to him. “Hey, new kid! You’re out of uniform.” He gestured to the arm guards. “You need to take those off.”

Andrew sighed and waited for the old guy to approach him, away from everyone else. “I would, except….” As soon as the guy was close enough, he slid the left guard down about an inch or two, mindful of the thin knives inside. The guy blanched when he saw the scars.

“What the he-ah. Heck.” His frown deepened as he looked up from the scars to Andrew’s blank face. “You okay, kid? Need to see a couns-“

Mindful of the other students around them, Andrew slid the guard back in place and gave the man a cold smile. “There’s a reason my mother isn’t married anymore,” he lied. “It’s old news, however, and keep in mind that my brother has this class in two more periods, so I’d appreciate you remembering this and making an exception for him as well – his name is Neil Josten. No need for putting the both of us through some unnecessary trauma, yes?”

The coach’s face became flushed as he nodded. “Josten, got it.” He worked his jaw a little as he once more looked at Andrew’s now covered arm. “But seriously, talk to-“

“Thank you,” Andrew insisted in his most chilling tone. “Now you might want to talk to the kid with the blond undercut, since that was one of the most blatant fouls I’ve seen in months.”

“What?” The coach spun around and watched the game for a couple of seconds, where the blond kid once more jammed his left elbow into some poor kid’s liver. “Bridge! What have I told you about that? Get the heck off that court, this isn’t football, you idiot!”

It was toward the end of the period that some other assistant coach came running over to Andrew, after he had spent a few minutes in the game and then quickly been subbed out after he made a few lazy passes with the ball. “Hey, you’re, uh, Hennon, right? The older brother?” This one was younger than the nosy guy from before, still all shiny and eager and probably stared at his degree each morning as if it meant something. People like him annoyed Andrew on the principle of it alone.

“Yeah, something wrong?” If he heard the word ‘counselor’, Andrew was going to end up in detention on his first day – or worse.

A huge smile spread over the guy’s ruddy face. “Li- ah, Ms. Mullen told me about you, you and your brother. Said you were interested in Exy, eh? I’m Coach Beal.” He held out his hand and didn’t appear to take it personally when Andrew didn’t shake it. “We could really use some fresh blood on the team.”

Oh there would be blood if he had to put up with this over-eager puppy on a daily basis, but Andrew supposed that it was better than Sanchez’s smug attitude and insistence that it was for his ‘own good’, followed by allusions of blackmail. Still, Neil would *owe* him.

“Yeah, we were going to show up in a day or two to check out the team,” he said while behind him, he heard the other coach yell at Bridge again.

“Great!” Beal really did look like an excited puppy. “Have you played before?”

They’d decided that it would be best to downplay the experience they’d had, just in case word did get out about them. Andrew shook his head while he tugged at the edge of his left arm guard. “I’ve played goalie for hockey a lot, and Neil and I played a little lacrosse.”

Beal didn’t appear disappointed with their ‘lack’ of experience. “Well, if you can defend a goal while skating on ice, you should be great on a more solid surface! We practice every afternoon in gym E, so come see us when you can.” He waved goodbye before running off.

That would make a certain junkie happy to hear, and Andrew looked up to find that everyone else was headed to the showers now. Since he had barely done anything at all, he went straight to his locker to change, not bothering to wash off.

The next class was a free period, supposedly to encourage the students to spend time in the libraries or the computer labs, but Andrew figured he’d use the ‘I don’t where I’m going’ excuse and slipped outside so he could have a cigarette. It didn’t matter how big the school was or how small, there always were a few secluded spots where one could sneak away to and steal a smoke or two.

Of course, it was time to get another thing out of the way, so when he found a couple of people already there, he mentally shrugged as he fished out the pack of cigarettes out of his backpack and lit it up.

“Hey, you’re that new kid, right? Henson or something?” A kid who had at least half a foot on Andrew and much more expensive clothes frowned as he spoke around an already lit cigarette.

“No, it’s Hennon.” Andrew wasn’t surprised when Bridge, from gym class, came to join the small group. He was wearing expensive athletic sneakers but clothes that looked as generic and cheap as Neil’s. “I just had gym class with him. Thanks for costing us the game, asshole.”

Andrew flicked his lit cigarette in the kid’s direction even though it didn’t have any ash on it yet. “You didn’t need me for that, not when you were fouling out every two seconds. Anger issues much?”

 

Bridge’s dark blue eyes flashed for a moment, and then he smiled. “Maybe. What was it that you said that made Swenson back off from you, eh? You have some issues of your own?”

“More than you can possibly imagine.” Andrew took a slow drag on his cigarette while he kept a careful mental note of where all four of the other teens were, mindful of their reach and pretty certain that they weren’t carrying any weapons.

The tallest one, over by the rich kid’s left, scowled at Andrew as he dropped the butt of his cigarette to the ground. “You certainly have a problem being civil, you little shit. Tessa said she and Jovita tried to welcome you and you flat out ignored them.”

Andrew positioned his back a little better to the wall while he gave these annoyances a bored look. “I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m not suffering through institutionalized education so I can make friends. A helpful hint – leave me and mine alone and we’ll get along fine.”

Of course it was Bridge who smiled as he took a step forward. “And if we don’t?”

Andrew was mindful of where he dropped his cigarette before he lashed out with his left foot – hmm, the thick-soled military boots were a good buy after all – and knocked Bridge into the wall. Tallest guy stood there with mouth agape and dark skin shocked an ashen color, which gave him time to punch Rich kid in the kidneys, which always took the fight out of someone unless they were really determined. Bridge’s buddy tried to hit him back, but he was too slow and being short did have a few advantages; Andrew kept his hits below the shoulders, so the evidence wouldn’t be that noticeable, and his knives sheathed even if that meant it wasn’t as fun. A couple of hits to the stomach, a nasty kick to the side of the knee and that one was down, right before a blur to the side warned him to turn in time to take the hit to the left side of the head.

His ear rang with the blow, but it had been glancing enough that he could shake it off and get his fists up in time to deflect Bridge’s next hit, then return it with an undercut that left Bridge on his knees trying not to throw up. Seeing the other two still down and Tallest guy still shell-shocked – yeah, so not a fighter – Andrew snatched up the still smoldering cigarette and grabbed Bridge’s chin as he held the stick near the guy’s right eye.

“So, I’m going to repeat myself,” he said, probably a bit loud because of the ear. “Leave me and mine alone, I’ll leave you alone. Understand?” He moved the cigarette close enough to make Tallest guy gasp and Bridge’s eyes begin to tear up.

“Yes, yes, fuck yes!” Bridge insisted, his voice hoarse and eyes wide with panic.

For a moment there was the so very strong impulse to just shove the cigarette forward, to make Bridge scream… and then Andrew let go, let go and stepped back as he dropped the cigarette to the ground and wiped his left hand against his jeans to put an end to the crawling sensation from touching someone. “Great, nice chat with you guys. Let’s not do it again.” He waved them off as he went back inside.

Dammit, he hadn’t finished that cigarette, he realized once he was back inside.

*******

“So we usually sit over there,” Bethany explained as she waved to a round table where at least four other girls and two guys were already seated, “if you want to join us.” She smiled at Neil, her light brown eyes bright as she leaned in a little too close. “Everyone’s really nice.”

“Thanks, but I’m supposed to meet up with my brother.” He didn’t get it, all he had done was tell her his name when she’d introduced herself as they’d been partnered up in French class, and she wouldn’t leave him alone despite the many hints he’d given. Was this some sort of hazing? His skin was crawling with all of the attention she was paying him, with the need to pull up the hood of his white t-shirt, to tug on his bangs to make sure that the new scar was covered and-

“Oh, well, there’s enough seats left, he can join us.” Bethany waved aside his latest attempt to turn her down and reached for his arm as if to drag him over by force, and before Neil could flinch away, another hand beat her to her goal.

“There you are.” Aidan’s large, square hand was firm around Neil’s upper arm, and despite that fact, Neil felt relieved, felt a sense of peace for the first time since stepping inside of school that day. “We need to put a flag on you or something, couldn’t see you in this crowd.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Neil shot back with a hint of a smile; he found it amusing that the boots Aidan had bought the other day had added an inch to his height, so they were even right now.

Bethany had recoiled somewhat with Aidan’s sudden arrival, though now she seemed to rally. “Ah, Neil, is this your brother?” She summoned up a smile and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Bethany. Neil was just coming over to join us for-“

“Nope, sorry, he has other plans.” Aidan didn’t even look at the girl as he pulled Neil away, toward the nearest exit. Neil gave her a slight wave ‘goodbye’ as he allowed himself to be dragged out of the noisy lunchroom.

Several students stared at them as Aidan pulled him through the hallways, probably because they made such a contrasting sight, Aidan in his black sweater and dark jeans, and Neil with his light colored jeans and tops. And, well, the whole pulling thing.

As soon as they stepped outside of the building, Aidan let go, his expression confused as if he had just realized that he had still been holding on to Neil’s arm. “Found a fangirl, did you? Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

It was cold outside, but they were sheltered from the wind by a wall so it wasn’t too bad; Neil reached into his backpack while Aidan predictably lit up a cigarette. “I wouldn’t go that far – she’s in my French class,” a class he was taking because of Aidan, when he could be picking up another language, “and wouldn’t leave me alone for some reason.” He pulled out two energy bars, a peanut butter one for himself and a dark chocolate caramel one for the sugar addict.

Aidan gave him an odd look for a moment, which only intensified when he realized the other bar was for him; he accepted it as if he thought it might bite him. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?” Why was he upset? If anyone should be angry, it was Neil because of the whole phone thing – he had been fighting getting a new one for himself for the past week, not wanting a reminder of what he’d left behind on the West Coast.

“I detest dealing with the mentally deficient. 152%,” Aidan snapped before he used his teeth to tear into the bar’s wrapping. Once it was open, he alternated between bites of the energy – well, more of a supped-up candy bar, and drags of his cigarette. Neil watched on in bemusement, deciding that it was in his best interest to remain quiet until Aidan’s temper settled and content to breathe in the exhaled smoke.

It was when Aidan turned to look at some people crossing the grounds – probably to make sure they weren’t teachers – that Neil noticed that his left ear appeared red. “Hey, did something happen?” He gestured to Aidan’s head but was careful to not touch.

Aidan went still for a moment at the question then flicked the ash from his cigarette. “I’m fine.” There was a contemptuous look on his face as he said the two words in a mocking tone.

“You’re an asshole, is what you are.” Still, Neil couldn’t say too much more, not with Aidan throwing those words back in his face so he began to eat his own energy bar instead.

“Hmm, but an asshole who talked to the Exy coach during gym today.” Aidan finished his own lunch and dropped the wrapper to the ground, as usual unconcerned about social niceties or leaving a mess behind.

Neil felt his chest seize upon hearing that, still conflicted at the possibility of playing the sport once again. He knew his mother would be furious about it, would drag him by the hair from the school and shove him into the first car she found to drive him far away…. But she wasn’t here and Aidan was, and his father…. “What did he say?” He hated how his voice cracked on the words.

Aidan gave him a condescending look and dropped the cigarette butt onto the ground as well. “Eager to have two newbies on the team – it must be worse than we heard.”

“Good. If it’s bad, no one will pay us any attention.” The last thing they needed was anyone paying them any attention.

“Hmm, I don’t know, looks like you’ve already got the start of a fan club.” When Neil stared at Aidan in confusion, his friend motioned toward the door. “You could have joined *Bethany* for lunch.”

It took him a moment to remember the girl. “What? But I didn’t want to.” Besides, he didn’t remember being given a choice, not that it mattered. “She was just being nice to the new kid, I’m sure.”

For some reason, Aidan appeared furious just then. “You really think that?”

“What else would it be?”

Aidan’s right hand, fingers calloused and reeking of smoke, spread out in front of Neil’s face as if to smother it but stopped just shy of touching. “Shh, what did I say about telling me the truth?”

“But I am!” Neil closed his eyes and stood still, willing to let Aidan do whatever he needed to get past this weird spell. “Sometimes the kids get like that, all intrusive and curious and… and… but they’ll back off when I don’t talk much. When they figure out that I want to be left alone.”

“And do you want to be left alone? To have Bethany leave you alone?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes.” Maybe it would have been different a couple of years ago when he had found girls interesting, but when he looked at her with her light brown curls and bright pink lips, all he could think about was his mother pulling on his hair and beating him on the head, on her yelling at him about how girls weren’t to be trusted, how affection was a trap for the unwary. “There’s nothing interesting about her, and she’d consider everything about the real me to be a nightmare.” Not that she’d get a chance to find it out.

There was a sense of heat for a moment, and then it was gone, followed by the soft tread of feet on concrete as if Aidan moved a few steps.

Then Neil felt a tug at his backpack, and he opened his eyes to watch Aidan pull it from his left shoulder. “Well what do you expect, the sheltered little sheep that she is.” Aidan grimaced in disgust as he dug about in the bag but appeared pleased when he unearthed the other two sugary energy bars that Neil had packed for him. “Hmm, 147%. Keep quiet about the phone and maybe you’ll get below 145 by the end of the day.” Then he cocked his head to the side as if he had just considered what he’d said. “Maybe.”

Neil wondered if it would be more amusing or disturbing to figure out Aidan’s ‘hate’ percentage system, then figured he probably didn’t want to know. “No promises,” he said, figuring that if his friend could steal his line, he should return the favor.

“Ha, ha, very funny.” Still, it didn’t seem to cost him any more percentage, at least not while Aidan had something half-sugar to eat.

Aidan had finished one of the new bars and tossed him his backpack before anything else was said. “You should be fine to wear the guards during gym.”

“Eh?” That was a bit off-topic, so it took Neil a moment to figure out that Aidan was referring to the new black bands around his lower arms. “Oh, these.” He held up his left forearm after he shrugged the backpack onto his shoulder. “That’ll be… helpful.”

“Won’t it?” Aidan’s tone was too dry for words just then, his eyes focused on Neil’s chest – more likely on the mostly healed wounds hidden beneath the t-shirt and sweatshirt. “I wonder what little Bethany would make out of your ouchies.”

Why was he so obsessed with the girl? “I don’t intend for her to ever find out.” Neil ran his right hand through his hair, his fingers tangled in the strands above the nape so he could give them a harsh tug. “Seriously, are you all right? Did someone start some shit or something?” For all of Bethany’s cheerfulness, there had been several other people who had commented on his short stature and cheap clothes; it was the same thing as always, people picking on the new kid because they could, and eventually they’d leave him alone when they figured out that he wouldn’t provide them with any reaction yet wouldn’t cower away, either – they wanted fear or respect or *something*, an easy target, not indifference.

Aidan gave him an indiscernible look for a couple of seconds before glancing aside and reaching for the pack of cigarettes again. “Just be at your locker as soon as the final bell rings, since we won’t have too much time to get the phone and then back home before the furniture arrives. I refuse to sleep on the floor again.”

Neil almost said they could put off buying the phone for another day, but had been warned not to bring it up. Besides, for some reason it bothered him, this strange mood, and if he could do something to put Aidan at ease…. “Okay. My last class is only down the hall so I’ll be there waiting for you.”

All Aidan did was huff upon hearing that, and they spent the rest of their lunch break standing next to each other in silence. Still, it was the highlight of Neil’s first day back in school.

*******

Gym E turned out to be a half-sized court for indoor Exy practice. “We’ve a full indoor stadium that we share with the soccer team, but this is it for practice,” Coach Beal explained as he showed Andrew and Neil around, the team, such as it was, already warming up. “We can practice on the full court when it’s set up for games, but this is it until then.”

The Racine Panthers was comprised of two goalkeepers, three backliners, three dealers, and two stikers now that the one kid had broken his ankle; Andrew had a feeling he knew where the puppy coach was going to place them, especially since he had already claimed some ‘goalie’ experience. “Aidan, Frank and Chris can bring you up to speed, while Neil, we can really use another striker with Carl being out for the rest of the season.”

Andrew could see Neil hesitate since he’d played as a backliner before, but in the end, the junkie part of him won out. “I’ll do my best,” Neil murmured as he watched the other students run around in their garish blue and orange gear.

“Great!” Beal went to pat Neil on the shoulder, but Neil managed to sidestep away just in time and not appear too obvious about it. “Uhm, how about you two just sit in on the practice today, get to know the rest of the team while I scrounge up some gear for you? You’ll have your official jerseys before our next game!”

“I so can’t wait,” Andrew said, his voice as dead as he could make it. Beal gave him a puzzled look, but his enthusiasm didn’t flag for long.

“Hey! We just got two more Panthers!” he called out to everyone.

“155%,” Andrew murmured as the damn pack came running toward them.

Neil sighed, his eyes a bit wild as if he hadn’t factored in the whole ‘teammates’ thing. “We can go and pick up a new tv this weekend.”

As bribery went, it wasn’t that bad. “Would rather get a new pc first.” They didn’t have time for anything else before they were swarmed by the idiots.

It took a rather virulent look to get the point across that no, no group hug as a ‘welcome to the team’, and no handshakes, but then things settled down – Andrew wondered if word about him and Neil had spread already, especially since he recognized Brennen, one of the backliners, as Drew Bridge’s buddy. Chris came across as annoying but Frank bearable, Kathy – the only girl on the team and a striker – rather happy about Neil but more focused on how fast he thought he could pick up the position, and the team’s captain, Ed, rather blasé about everything. The rest were what Andrew considered typical jocks, and yes, Neil would be buying him a very nice computer for putting up with all of this shit.

Still, he felt something other than boredom as he sat on the bleachers beside the idiot and glanced over to see a slight smile on Neil’s face while he watched the rather pathetic team practice. “No wonder they get their asses kicked,” Andrew remarked as he tried to figure out what the strange emotion was and why this one person brought it out in him.

“Why do you care? It’s not like you’re playing to win, right?”

“No, I’ll be playing because it’ll be mildly amusing, stopping those balls and firing them back at your head.” Andrew bared his teeth when Neil stopped paying attention to the losers running around in front of them and looked at him instead. “Consider yourself warned.”

Neil’s smile strengthened, and that weird feeling intensified; maybe Andrew should cut back on the cigarettes or something. “It’s a good thing that I’ve got a pretty tough head then, yeah?”

“More like you’ve taken so many blows to it, I doubt a few more will make any difference.”

There it was again, that laugh which Andrew both hated and… and something. “And another good thing that I’m getting a helmet. Maybe I should just wear it all of the time.”

“It would spare the rest of us the sight of your ugly face,” Andrew agreed.

Something in what he said wiped the smile from Neil’s face and made him look forward, facing the team but eyes focused on something else – something that wasn’t there, if Andrew had to guess. “Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice.” He sounded almost wistful just then.

It was on the tip of Andrew’s tongue to comment that such a thing would make all of the Bethanys in the world so upset, being deprived of their Neil fix, but.... He looked forward and glared as well, upset at all of these emotions churning inside of him when for so long, there had been so few. When he had pushed away everything he could, because he couldn’t exist in constant fear and pain and hopelessness anymore.

But that was the problem, wasn’t it? He’d taken a chance on this insane, equally messed up kid beside him, and now there were all these new emotions, new situations, and-

“Did I just see a kid trip over his own racquet?”

“Uhm, yeah.” Even Neil sounded incredulous by the pathetic show in front of them.

“175%, Josten.  If you don’t want it to be 200%, we’ll be getting a laptop *and* a tv.”

Neil made an odd whining sound in the back of his throat, but considering that two players just ran into each other, he wisely chose to otherwise remain silent.

******

Exhausted from two days of school and grateful that tomorrow was Friday, Neil brushed his teeth and finished getting ready for bed, all the while barely glancing at the bathroom mirror; he hated how with each passing year he grew to look more and more like his father, save for his lack of height, and hearing Lola comment on that fact back in Reno hadn’t helped. The stares from all of his new classmates hadn’t helped either, as he kept waiting for the words ‘Butcher of Baltimore’ to follow him down the halls….

Fear and hatred twisting his guts, he had to lean over the sink and take several deep breaths to calm down. It was a new beginning, he reminded himself. He’d done everything he could to leave ‘Nathaniel Wesninski’ behind, so there was no reason to believe these people would connect that person to Neil Josten – not unless he fucked things up. And he wouldn’t – Aidan wouldn’t let him. For some reason, that outrageous thought comforted him enough to allow a small smile to curve his lips; maybe it was the sight of the tube of lip balm on the glass shelf above the sink, or the vivid pink contact case which Aidan had picked out for him, the asshole.

Tired and wanting to go to bed, Neil finished up for the night by removing his contacts and swiping some of the balm over his healed lips before leaving the small bathroom. He noticed that Aidan was already in his own bedroom, the door closed and probably locked; Aidan had installed a new door knob the other night, one that locked from the inside and would take more than a few seconds to break into – not that Neil was inclined to try. He didn’t take the action as anything against him personally, not after what Lola had said back in that motel room, and hoped that Aidan found some peace here in Racine.

Neil went into the smaller of the two bedrooms, and spent a couple of minutes staring at the practice striker racquet that Coach Beal had sent him home with that afternoon; he couldn’t believe that he’d be playing Exy again after all of these years, and a new position at that. He’d always played defense, not offense… but he’d be playing. For a moment he was so excited that he felt skittish, felt the urge to pull on his sneakers and go running… but Aidan would probably kill him for doing such a thing this late at night, in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

He couldn’t wait to get out there on the field, to feel the weight of the gear on him and to face down the other team. He missed it, missed it so much… all he’d had these last few years had been running, an outlet for nervous energy around bland tracks while his mother had sat in the bleachers, cups of tea in her hands while she’d watched over him like a nervous hawk until he’d done his best to wear himself out, to numb his mind.

Exy was more than that, was a challenge, a thrill, a way to push himself to his limits.

He gave an experimental tug to the net for a moment before he set it aside, next to the simple nightstand near his bed. As he did so, he caught sight of the set of keys and the phone on top of the wooden surface, and some of his anxiety from earlier returned; the phone wasn’t anything fancy, though Aidan had insisted on something that allowed him to text back and forth and had programmed it with some ridiculous ringtone as soon as it was activated. At the moment it had two numbers programmed in it, Aidan’s and Anna’s… but that was one number more than Neil’s old phone ever had. He brushed the tips of his fingers over it before they skimmed across the set of keys, shiny copies to the apartment, the mailbox and the car. Keys to somewhere he belonged, to something that wasn’t a motel or a hostel or… or….

This was a first time in how many years that he had a proper bedroom, a bed that was all his own with the sheets he’d picked out, a duvet that was so comfortable and warm after what seemed an eternity of thin and scratchy bedding. Keys that weren’t keycards or worn copies expected to be turned in after a few days or weeks, or something to be tossed away while on the run. This… this was a home, something that couldn’t ever be said for that place back in Baltimore.

Neil sat down on his simple twin bed and took it all in, took in the Exy racquet and the blue backpack, at the coat hung on the back of the door and the plain white walls where Aidan slept behind… and he turned off the light to curl up alone in his own bed to sleep. Maybe there would be nightmares… probably there would be nightmares, but he would wake up and touch the duvet, would reach out to grab the phone and see Aidan’s name in it, would sit up and see the shadow of the racquet and know where he was and when, and it would be okay. Maybe not for long, but he would hold on to it for as long as possible.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Neil (I love them both), but seriously... that boy can be SO CLUELESS (I mean, yes, poor boy has issues but seriously...).
> 
> Hmm, there will start being some time jumps with the next chapter (smallish in that one, then bigger moving forward). Time to start moving things along a little, and get them to the point that a few familiar faces can be brought in.
> 
> As always, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the kudos and comments, they make me so happy and smile and scare the cats with high pitched noises when I see new ones come in.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, so, yeah, this chapter is a little shorter than others, but the next one will make up for it. Promise.
> 
> Again, Aidan = Andrew
> 
> *******

*******

“For fu-ah, for crying out loud, Bridge, how many times do I have to tell you, this isn’t football! Just… just go sit out for a few minutes, okay?”

“But he was-“

“Sit out!”

Some things never changed, Andrew thought to himself, bored to the point of tears and counting down the remaining minutes of his gym class.

“I see you’re still holding up the wall, Hennon.”

“And I see you still have those anger issues, Bridge.” Andrew stood along the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest while Drew, a cocky grin on his face, joined him; despite how they had started out, the hotheaded jock had taken a mild sort of liking to him. As far as he could figure out it, Drew Bridge came from a single-parent home and was helping to raise two younger siblings, and was bound and determined to make it to college on a sports’ scholarship – talk was he’d most likely make it, since he was really good at football and baseball – as long as he kept his temper in check. Hence why he had taken offense at Andrew last week, for ‘slacking off’ during class/the game, but once the idiot had figured out that Andrew’s comment about ‘me and mine’ had pertained to his ‘younger brother’ and that he had joined another sport’s team…. Yeah, all was forgiven. And having the grudging approval of one of the school’s top athletes meant that he was more or less being left alone by a good bit of the other students. That was high school for you.

There was a reason Andrew loathed humanity on general principle. Well, several to be exact, but this wasn’t helping things any.

Still, he grimaced in exaggerated disgust when Drew grinned at him while he wiped at the sweat dotting his face with the bottom of his blue t-shirt. “So, is there any reason you’re over here infecting my air space with the smell of your nauseating sweat?”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a real people person, hmm?”

“All the time, right before they rave about my charm and outgoing nature.”

That prompted a laugh from Drew, though his attention wandered back to the game. “Yeah, sounds just like you.”

Andrew’s skin twitched at the proximity of the other teen. “Seriously, if you’re just going to stand there-“

“Seen Neil lately?”

The question cut short Andrew’s tirade and made him shift about to better face Drew as his right hand slid along his left arm guard. “This morning, at his locker. Why?” He didn’t make a habit of talking about Neil to Drew – or to anyone here at school.

Drew glared when their team gave up a point, then seemed to notice that he had Andrew’s attention. “Hmm, I figured that you hadn’t, because you’re much too calm.” He smiled a little, the expression fading when Andrew let sign of the anger he was feeling slip. “Yeah, okay, you definitely don’t know.”

“Know what?” He fought to keep his voice calm and quiet, mindful of the two coaches not so far away. “What did the impetuous idiot do now?”

“I don’t know about ‘impetuous’, but from what I heard, he was sticking up for himself.” Drew let out a breath while he swiped back the blond bangs clinging to his sweaty forehead. “Look, Peters has a history of being a bully, and Marquis,” Andrew associated the name with Tallest guy from the fight, “said he got in Neil’s face because he’s annoyed with how the girls are fussing over him. Thinks he’s putting on the shy act to make ‘em more interested and all that.”

“He’s not,” Andrew gritted out. “He’s just not interested, period.”

“Really?” Drew seemed surprised to hear that, but something in Andrew’s expression made him hold his hands up in the air. “Whatever, it’s good, I’m not one to judge, honest. More for the rest of us, right?”

“Peters,” Andrew spat out. “What did the asshole do to my brother?” This was taking much too long when there was a body waiting to be broken.

“Yeah.” Drew shot a nervous glance over to where Swenson was yelling at the guys on the court to stop hoarding the ball and dribble the darn thing. “Anyway, he pushed, Neil brushed him off at first, he pushed a little more, your brother mouthed off, and that made him even angrier. Long story short, a couple of punches were exchanged and your brother didn’t fare so well, especially since Peters has about fifty pounds and half a foot on him, not to mention two buddies. I hear he’s telling Neil to hand over his phone by the end of the day if he doesn’t want to lose all of his teeth, and he’ll probably start shaking him down for money after that. All of this happened around homeroom.”

Neil could have texted him, but maybe the idiot was waiting until lunch to talk to him in person. Maybe. Either way, it was going to be handled by then. “Where do I find this Peters?”

“Yeah, I figured you’d want to know that.” Drew smiled, the expression similar to that day outside when they’d met. “Right now? Try the bathroom by the Chem lab on the third floor – he likes to smoke there. Usually sneaks out a few minutes before class so....” His expression sharpened. “I’ll tell Swenson that you have a headache or something,” he called out as Andrew headed to the locker room to change.

It felt as if he owed the teen for all of this, but Andrew had the suspicion that if he pointed it out, Drew would come back with something as asinine as ‘you’d do the same if it was my sister/brother’ (unlikely since Andrew didn’t even know them) or ‘just win a damn game, you slacker’. The second was more probable, even if it made him want to lose an Exy game just to annoy Drew. However, he had more important matters at the moment, such as getting to the bathroom on the third floor without being caught and then dealing with Peters.

It was only their first full week at school, and Andrew was already hearing them referred to as ‘*those* brothers’. The ones who took their lunches together, away from everyone else, who drove to and from school together, who had joined the same sport’s team, who didn’t really socialize with anyone else. Drew’s friend Stef had made a comment once about him having a brother complex, but he had a feeling that it was something that had been directed at Drew a time or two since the other teen had told the boy to shut the fuck up.

At least those annoying girls had taken to gawking at Neil from a distance as opposed to hanging all over him, so it was an improvement in Andrew’s mind. He didn’t know if Drew was going to say anything after their talk in the gym and didn’t care, and doubted that Neil would even notice – he’d never known someone to be so oblivious to things in his entire life. Notice that someone was tailing him? Yeah, Neil could pick up on that. That half of the shitty French Club had a crush on him? No fucking clue, and for some unknown reason, that made Andrew furious enough that he wanted to grab someone and not stop punching until his knuckles bled.

Lucky for him, he would soon have someone to vent upon in a few minutes. He began to play with the arm guards, until he forced himself to stop; he couldn’t risk getting expelled or worse, brought up on charges.

He hefted himself up onto one of the white sinks set along the right side of the wall while he waited, and after about five minutes, the door opened to admit a pair of laughing idiots: judging from the fat lip on the shorter kid’s face and the bruised right cheek on the other’s, he’d say these were the two he’d been waiting for to show up.

It took them a few seconds to realize that they didn’t have the place to themselves – they paused in pulling packs of cigarettes out of their over-sized jeans and glared; Andrew had seen their type before, desperate to appear tough by wearing what they thought were ‘street clothes’ and hair-cuts that they took from music videos, when those who did grow up on the streets would have nothing to do with them. Posers. Misfits who were probably ignored by their parents or felt they had it rough because they didn’t get enough attention. These were the type of kids he detested even more than others, who made him want to break out the knives and show them *real* pain. Wanted to make them catch a glimpse of what it felt like to be truly abandoned, to never know what it felt like to have a home, to have a safe place to return to each night, to never know what it felt like to be loved and protected.

These assholes had so much, and all he had… all he had was Neil, was a promise he’d made in a motel room in Reno, surrounded by blood and gore, and now he was going to honor that promise.

“Who the fuck are you?” the taller kid asked with a sneer; he must be Peters.

“Chad, I think he’s Josten’s brother – Dan or something,” the other told him while tugging on the oversized football jersey Peters wore. “Heard he was just as short, too.”

Andrew jumped down, the sound his boots made as they hit the tiled floor loud and echoing in the bathroom. “Hello.” He gave them the smile that always made the therapists nervous and watched how the smaller kid flinched and Peters’ brown eyes widen. “Fancy running into you here.”

“What do you want?” Peters was probably going for indignant but it came across as whiny. “This about your brother? He go running to you or something?”

“Neil? Oh no, Neil’s the quiet type, which I’m sure you know.” Andrew stalked closer to the two boys. “I’m sure he’s planning on dealing with you on his own.”

Peters scoffed and shoved the other kid away. “As if, he’ll just get his ass handed to him again, just like you will, too.” He tilted up his chin as if to illustrate how he was able to look down on Andrew – as if Andrew hadn’t learned from a young age how to take down kids bigger than him.

“You think? Tell me, aren’t you wondering why I’m here by myself?”

“Probably to beg me to leave your baby brother alone,” Peters sneered again, “or to-“

Andrew was finished talking – surprise was such a wonderful advantage, and he wouldn’t be able to hold on to his temper if he listened to much more of this shit. Lashing out with his left foot, he drove it with as much force and momentum as possible into Peter’s stomach, causing the pompous airbag to double over in pain while at the same time he swung his fist at the other kid’s head.

The other kid smashed into the metal wall between the two stalls hard enough to dent it, wailing in pain all the while, but Andrew merely took the opportunity to slam one of the stall doors on the hand braced on the edge of the divider before he focused his attention and ire on Peters first; he kicked Peters on the chin to make him sprawl back onto the floor then stomped him hard twice, once on the stomach and once on the chest. As Peters struggled to breathe, he grabbed onto the asshole’s hair and yanked him upright and only then slid one of the knives free.

By that point the other kid had stumbled around, his back against the metal wall, and his eyes went wide when he saw Andrew hold the knife to Peters’ throat.

“What the he-“

“Go lock the door,” Andrew ordered, mindful that classes would let out soon and unwilling to have anyone walk in.

“But-“

“Now.” He gave him a cold look and pressed the knife a little closer to a wheezing Peters’ throat.

Finally getting it, the kid nodded and staggered forward, his swollen left hand held clutched to his chest. As soon as it was locked, Andrew shook Peters’ head to make sure the asshole was paying attention. “You still there?”

Peters made a louder wheezing sound, his eyes bloodshot and face covered with snot.

“Good, because you do *not* want me to have to wake you up,” Andrew warned, before he glanced up at the other teen. “You paying attention, too?”

“Yuh-yes!” He tried to nod his head, before wincing in pain.

“You better, because I’m not going to repeat myself.” Andrew bared his teeth before he pulled back the knife a little, the temptation too much to make Peters bleed just then. “I thought I’d done a good job of getting the word out that Neil wasn’t to be touched, but it seems I have to work a little harder at it. Now the two of you are going to help me, right?” He yanked on Peters’ hair until the asshole yelped, then glared at the other teen who nodded back despite the obvious pain. “You’re not going to touch him again, you’re not going to even talk to him, and if I find out that you’ve even looked at him, we’ll have another little ‘talk’.” Andrew allowed the hate and anger he felt just then show in his eyes, which caused the teen by the door to flinch and look aside. “Make sure everyone else knows that he’s off-limits, got it?” When there was nothing but silence at first, he held up the knife. “*Got* *it*?”

“Yuh-yes,” the other teen stuttered, while Peters attempted to nod even with his hair caught in Andrew’s hand.

“Good. Nice chat, let’s not do it again unless you’re willing to lose a few fingers and other body parts.” He let go of Peters’ hair, the asshole falling onto the floor afterward, went back for his backpack then headed to the door while putting away the knife and wiping his hand along the side of his jeans. “And if I get called in to discuss this with a teacher or any other staff, I will be very upset with you two,” he warned while the other teen scrambled to get out of his way. “Just saying.”

“Uh-okay.” The kid looked ready to shit his pants, so it was a good thing there were plenty of toilets for him to use.

Now that he’d dealt with that little issue, he checked the time and realized that classes would be out any minute now – perfect time to head outside for a cigarette or two. Drew probably would want to know how things had turned out, maybe that would be adequate payback for the information he’d given Andrew, and then it would be lunchtime. Should be interesting to see what a certain idiot had to say then.

*******

Neil picked up several sandwiches and a milk for himself, chocolate milk for Aidan then went out into the hallway to wait for his friend; there were still some energy bars in his backpack, but they needed something a bit more substantial since they’d be staying after class for Exy practice. He noticed a few odd looks because of the black eye and fat lip he’d gotten earlier in the day – why did it seem that his lips had finally healed and then this had happened – and he wasn’t looking forward to when-

“So what, is it pheromones? Ingrained habit? Can you just not go more than two weeks without encouraging someone to smack you around?”

Yeah, wasn’t looking forward to Aidan’s reaction. Neil sighed as he tossed the carton of chocolate milk at the asshole. “Just what are you implying?”

“Masochistic tendencies, most likely, but it’s just a working hypothesis. Give it a couple of months of more data and I’ll know better.” Aidan appeared rather pleased with himself for some reason, which never was a good sign for Neil. “Though if it is that, let me know and I can figure out a way for us to make a fortune and for you to get your rocks off.”

Neil gave the asshole the finger while they made their way outside; he’d learned to grab his coat before getting lunch, since Aidan never wanted to stay inside during the ‘free’ period. Things should get interesting when winter truly hit, along with the snow and sleet, but for now it wasn’t bad. “How about I start keeping track of how much I hate *you*?”

“Hate me all you want, just text me next time a couple of guys hold you down and beat up your face.” Aidan sounded as if he was talking about telling Neil to text him that they were running out of that sugary crap he considered cereal, but his eyes were blazing with potent emotions… and the knuckles of his right hand were red, as if they’d hit something.

“Wait – what did you do?” Neil made to grab that hand before he realized that Aidan hated to be touched, his fingers stopping just short while Aidan stilled. “Can… may I?” he asked, the words forced past a throat gone tight.

It took a few seconds, but Aidan finally nodded. “Yes.”

Neil’s fingers trembled as he touched his friend’s hand, the skin so warm and a bit rough, as he twisted it about so he could see the reddened flesh. “You could have broken something.”

“I doubt it, his head isn’t solid bone, like yours,” Aidan sneered as he gave a gentle tug to free his hand so he could resume shaking free a smoke. “Now that would be a challenge.”

Why did he put up with this abuse? Neil huffed as he snatched away the pack once Aidan had his own cigarette. “I’d say that I’d like to see you try, but then you would.” He caught the slight smirk hidden behind the flicker of flame and sighed. “I was going to handle it, you know.”

Aidan tossed him the lighter, and as he fumbled to catch it, went still as that warm, rough hand weighed heavy upon the back of his neck, right where the skin was left bare between the collar of his shirts and the edges of his hair. “Yes, but it’s *my* job to deal with it, remember?” That strange light was back in Aidan’s eyes, and for a moment Neil missed their hazel color. “You tell me the truth, and I take care of the assholes.”

“All right,” he admitted with some reluctance after a few seconds, “though-“

“No,” Aidan insisted. “Just stand there quiet for once, and see if you can’t get through the day without making me hate you more. It’ll be a novel thing, but who knows, miracles happen, they say.” He didn’t look like he believed in them, though.

For someone who claimed to hate him so much, he sure went through a lot of effort on Neil’s behalf, hunting down a few bullies, learning two languages, and suffering – Aidan’s word -  Exy practice. Still, Neil knew by now that there were indeed times when it was best to shut up so he lit the cigarette and stood there inhaling the thin streams of smoke it emitted, eyed by Aidan the entire time as if he was a ticking bomb, and then crushed it out against the concrete platform when it was done. After that, he reached into his backpack so they could have their lunch.

*******

Covered with sweat from practice, Andrew removed his goalkeeper helmet and watched on with apathy as the rest of the Panthers gathered around Beal – well, Neil held back a little, as did Ryan, one of the backliners, who hovered by Andrew. “So I want all of you here as soon as class lets out on Friday so we can play Freeport, okay?” They all cheered and waved their rackets in the air.

“We’re going to get our asses kicked by Pretzels, how exciting is that?” Ryan remarked with a sarcastic air. “I can’t hardly wait.”

“Are they that good?” Not that Andrew really cared, but Neil would want to know.

Ryan shrugged as he began to loosen the protective guard around his neck. “They’re not bad, but they’ve got it together better than us.” Then he shrugged again as he looked Andrew up and down. “Maybe if you and your brother had joined up at the start of the school year, or better yet, last year, we’d have a fighting chance.”

Andrew was doing his best not to play at his optimal level, but even at 80%, he was better than Chris and Frank, which had made Coach Beal’s day. And for all that Neil was learning a new position and a new racquet, he was quick as lightning on his feet, agile and driven, so he was picking up being a striker rather fast – Coach Beal was doing an awful lot of gushing about answered prayers, while Andrew muttered under his breath about lousy teammates.

“So in other words, no one’s expecting a win.”

Ryan shrugged again. “Nope, but then, no one ever does with us. However, Beal’s been singing praises high and low about the two of you so I think we may have a few more people show up at the game just to check you out.” Ryan’s lazy smile changed into something a bit more interested as he once more looked Andrew up and down. “They’ll probably like what they see.” With that said, he waved goodbye. “Have fun with the extra practice session.”

Huh, that was interesting; Andrew knew that he was gay but also knew that he didn’t make it obvious – well, there was the fact that he didn’t give any of the girls who’d tried to talk to him a moment of his time, but he hadn’t thought he’d paid any particular attention to any of the guys at school, either.

Between the whole Hemmick mess and then Neil barreling into his life, he hadn’t had much time to sit back and breathe, so it had been a month or two since he’d even toyed with the idea of finding someone compatible, someone who would fit his requirements, who would follow orders and provide a bit of relief. There had been a few like that back at Wayward, enough like Andrew in that they were just looking for someone to experiment with, to figure out a few things and find acceptable boundaries, and it had worked out. Watching Ryan leave the gym for the showers, he had to wonder if maybe a similar arrangement couldn’t work out here since he was beginning to get restless. Living with someone, living with Neil… it was both more and less difficult than he had thought.

He was still staring off in the direction of the gym when Neil approached, helmet in place yet mask raised and racquet in hand. “So, ready?” He was a little flushed from the earlier practice, cheeks reddened and bangs pulled back from his face by an orange bandana, which brought out the startling color of his eyes and highlighted just how thick and long his eyelashes were without the light brown hair always falling onto them. Andrew looked at him and wanted… wanted… dammit, he hated how Neil being by him anymore could twist him up so much inside, yet instead of that emotion driving him away, it just made him want - *want* of all awful things – to be near him even more.

And the worst part? Neil appeared utterly unaffected.

Andrew bared his teeth as he shoved the helmet back on. “Come on, let’s see if you can get any inside the net today.” Even if he did, Andrew intended to send all of them back at the idiot’s head.

Neil flushed at that as he flipped down his mask and began to back up. “Hey, you try learning a new position!”

“No excuses, they’re beneath you.” Andrew began to back up as well. “And pick up where we left off in German.” They’d practice that for a while, then switch to French later.

“Are you going to help me with my English paper tonight?” Neil griped as he went to fetch a basket of balls.

“We can go home now to work on it,” Andrew called out in a sweet tone of voice, and knew he won when the idiot shut up. Some people were just so easy to play. Then he considered the fact here he was, spending his free time practicing Exy, and decided that he wasn’t going to pull his punches when he returned the balls back at said idiot.

*******

Neil had never seen a group of people so happy to lose a game. “Did you see that?! Did you see that score?” Tony, one of the dealers, crowed as he waved his racquet around in the already crowded locker room. “Two more points and we would have had them!”

“I’m more impressed by the fact that we kept them under ten points for the entire game myself.” Stuart made as if to reach over to pat Aidan on the back and then seemed to think better of it. “You were incredible, Aidan.”

“Yes you were!” It didn’t seem as if Ed had Stuart’s restraint, but fortunately, Kathy swept in to give their captain a high-five while he had his arm up.

Aidan frowned as if puzzled by the praise, then shrugged. “Thought a goalkeeper was supposed to guard the damn goal. Maybe if you losers did a better job at defense and offense, we wouldn’t have to work so hard.”

Instead of being offended at Aidan’s harsh words, everyone laughed. “Yeah, we’re working on that,” Brad insisted. “Give us a little more time to polish up your brother, and he’ll be a big help.” He gave Neil’s damp hair a quick tousle, his smile fading as Aidan’s frown deepened and Neil found himself tugged closer to the grouch. “Though I have to admit, all that extra practicing the two of you have been putting in has been paying off.”

“It better, I’m getting tired of being hit all the time,” Neil admitted; Aidan’s aim was dead-on and his arm very powerful.

The comment seemed to improve his friend’s good mood. “Yes, but it’s a great learning incentive, isn’t it?” A slight smile tugged at the corner of his full lips.

“No comment.” Neil smiled back a little, feeling a slight bubble of happiness despite the noise and the crowd and the frantic people around them. Mindful of the looks Coach Beal was giving everyone, Neil shook himself and pushed away from the locker he was leaning on. “I’m going to run a couple of laps, burn off a little energy before calling it a night.” By now everyone was used to how he always stuck around for extra practice or something while they left to shower and go home.

Busy talking to Sam, Ryan paused to look over at Neil and then at Aidan, who was following him out to the gym with the track. “Wait, aren’t you two coming? We’re heading to Mineo’s for pizza to celebrate.”

Aidan waved him off. “This one has a thing about pizza, traumatic experience with his fifth birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese and all that.”

“Oh, okay. I’m sure we can figure out something different another time.”

“Don’t count on it, there were an awful lot of horrible birthday parties. Our mother isn’t big on learning from experience – hence why I have a little brother.” Aidan smiled at the stunned faces of their teammates while Neil just shook his head and left the now quiet gym.

Neil waited until they were at the other gym before he spoke. “Well, guess I won’t be eating pizza in front of anyone. Are you going to take any hits or is it going to be me who has his diet restricted by those ‘horrible parties’?” Somehow, he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

Aidan flicked his fingers in Neil’s direction. “You wanted this, you pay the price.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Neil sighed as he began to stretch his legs. “Was it so awful, tonight? To play a game, to be part of something?” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “You said we had to do something different, to break the rules. What about you? Why don’t you try something different and give a shit for once? To let yourself want something, to have some fun?” Knowing that he had probably said enough just then, he spun around and began to run, to leave Aidan, *Andrew*, think about what he’d said.

*******

Andrew sat up on the bleachers while Neil ran around in circles – was that a fitting metaphor or what for the kid – and wished that he’d thought to grab his cigarettes. Everyone would be gone by now, so Neil should only be a few more laps; they only needed to do this long enough for the locker room to clear out so Neil could shower in private, thanks to his scars.

He thought about what his friend had said, about allowing himself to want something, to take that chance and reach for it. All his life, he had been told that he was nothing, a nobody, was Andrew Doe. He didn’t even have a name. Then he had found out that he had belonged to someone, but she hadn’t wanted him – but she had wanted his brother. His *twin* brother. Identical to him in every way, yet he was the one tossed aside. Wasn’t that something to make you feel good about yourself?

Then had come… well, people had wanted him for *something*, but never for long. Not until Cass, Cass and Drake. He let out a shaky breath as he ran his right hand over the black arm guard hiding the scars that lined his left forearm, the scars and the knives. No, he wasn’t going to think about that.

So why was he here? Because some insane, broken boy way in over his head had cared enough about a stranger to give him a warning? Had dared to trust Andrew – not like he had much of a choice at the time – when no one who knew Andrew did? Had kept his word when everyone else had broken theirs to him?

Andrew didn’t get Neil/Alex/Nathaniel, had a feeling that he would struggle with the kid even if he had years with him, there were just that many facets… but he wanted to. There it was, that awful *want*. Something that Andrew had thought he’d broken himself of doing years ago, had carved out of himself when he’d taken those knives to his own flesh.

And now he was being told that it was okay to want again. Being *dared* to want again. Outright taunted by the person who was dredging up that very same emotion in the first place.

But he wasn’t just Andrew now, was he? He was also Aidan Hennon, and maybe that was the important part in all of this. All the pain, all the nightmares and the taint and… and enough.

Maybe it was time to listen to his own advice. He’d listened to so many others in the past and it had gotten him nowhere, after all.

Aidan watched Neil run around the track with that unfamiliar sense of want building in his chest.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> OMFG, the next chapter.... it's all written up but I need to review/edit it and all. But seriously, yeah, a LOT happens. Rating will go up then, too. I'm so excited.
> 
> Once again, thank you so, so very much for all of the kudos and comments left!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the good news is this is a nice long chapter. And the rating goes up!
> 
> But, uhm, yeah... well, you'll see when you get to it. 
> 
> *runs off*
> 
> *******

*******

Before Thanksgiving break the Exy team had an away game up around Green Bay, and even though they lost again, the team was energized by the fact that the Trojans had only beaten them by three points. “Last year it was by twelve!” Sam claimed as they headed to the showers.

“Yeah, they’re one of the better teams in the league,” Ryan insisted as he began to remove his gear. “If we keep playing like this, we might win a game yet!”

Aidan, who had been busy checking his racquet at the moment, scoffed at that declaration. “First try to get through a game without someone getting a red card or the defense falling apart.”

Brennan, who’d been the player to collect a red card this time, flushed and paused in removing his chest guard. “Come on, that one striker was insulting me! What was I supposed to do?”

“You’re not supposed to swipe their feet out from under them when the ball’s halfway across the court, that’s what,” Coach Beal chided the backliner. When everyone else started commenting on what had gone wrong, Neil loosened his neck guard then went outside to get a breath of fresh air despite the night’s chill, needing a moment to focus his thoughts and a bit of quiet.

The parking lot was beginning to thin out, the fans probably eager to head home for the night since there was a chance for snow. Neil shivered a little as the cold air hit the sweat drying on his skin, but it still felt nice to be outside, to be away from everyone – that and he needed to give them a few minutes to wash off so when he returned, they would be mostly finished getting ready and he would have the showers to himself.

“For someone who’s an Exy junkie, you sure don’t seem happy right now.”

He didn’t start at the sound of Aidan’s voice, just reached out his hand and smiled when a lit cigarette was placed into between his fingers. “Maybe because we’re not playing right now.”

“Bullshit.” Aidan settled against the wall next to Neil, his own cigarette between his lips, stripped of the bulky goalkeeper armor so the breadth of his shoulders was evident beneath the tight orange shirt. “You know how this team shit goes – you play the game only a fraction of the time.”

“That’s not-“ He stopped when he caught Andrew’s assessing gaze and took a deep breath of smoke-laden air. “Yes, it’s great to be playing again, it’s just… it’s wearisome, dealing with them when….” With his left hand, the one not holding the cigarette, he motioned to his hair, his eyes, the black band covering his right forearm. “There’s an advantage to constantly moving.”

Aidan seemed to consider that as he took a long drag on his cigarette then dropped it to the ground, only to reach for Neil’s. “Do you think all of this isn’t worth it?”

Neil tried to glare at the theft of his cigarette and ended up shaking his head instead. “I said it was wearisome, not worthless.” He closed his eyes for a moment and shifted closer to Aidan, until they were only scant millimeters apart; it felt warmer, being this close together, and he could breathe in the smoke from the cigarette. “There’s the actual games themselves, the times when it’s just you and me practicing, and our apartment together.” Those were all things he wouldn’t have if he’d kept on running, if he hadn’t made any deals with back in California.

For about a minute he rested against the wall, content to put up with the cold when he could hear Aidan breathe in and then exhale, the air scented with tobacco and their drying sweat, and then there was the harsh sound of the door slamming. “Hey! What are you two doing out here? Hurry up if you want to wash off before we leave,” Ryan called out to them.

Startled out of a half-doze, Neil jerk away from the wall while he opened his eyes, and found Aidan glaring at Ryan harsh enough for the backliner to hold up his hands in a defensive manner. “Hey, just trying to be a nice guy here!”

They didn’t say anything as they went back inside; Neil shivered a little as it sunk in how cold it had been out there, but they were soon in the humid shower room, which was empty save for the two of them. Aidan took up a position closer to the entrance while Neil grabbed the stall farthest back, and made sure to dress as soon as he was clean. He felt his skin crawl the entire time he was in there, felt as if people were watching him and waited for someone to yell out something, to comment on his scars. As soon as his clothes were back on, the oversized sweater, baggy jeans and the black bands, he felt a sense of security. It only intensified as he grabbed the bag containing his gear and fell in step beside his friend, so they could go out to join the others already on the bus.

Everyone was still hyped up from the game, laughing and shouting back and forth, so they nabbed a pair of seats toward the back; Aidan to the very last one, and Neil slid in the one in front of it. To his surprise, Ryan came back and sat in the one opposite of his, though his attention seemed more focused on Aidan; Neil had noticed that the two of them seemed to have a sort of friendship going on, at least one where Ryan talked to Aidan and Aidan tolerated him enough to talk back sometimes.

“So, you two have any plans for tomorrow? Think we’re going to get back too late to do much of anything tonight.”

Neil shrugged a little as he settled back into the seat, the large bag a barrier between him and any teammates who might think to join him. “Sleep in, take a certain grouch out to breakfast since he did such a good job tonight, then practice a little.” He only winced a little when he felt the back of his head be smacked since he’d been expecting it.

“It’s breakfast and lunch now,” Aidan informed him.

Ryan laughed at their antics. “Yeah, Aidan did a great job in keeping the score down – if there was a way to have him play the whole game, we might have a shot at winning!” He smiled at Aidan for a couple of seconds before turning back to Neil. “You’re coming along really well, guess if you’re practicing on weekends, too, that explain things.”

“He has added incentive,” Andrew explained. “Learn to handle the ball or take the hits.”

Neil winced again, this time at the thought of all the wonderful bruises he sported from those ‘hits’; Aidan had taken to alternating aiming at his head and his legs, so yes, Neil had every incentive to improve his ability to catch the ball in midair. Since Aidan would only give him a break if he managed to get a goal, he also was desperate to improve his aim with the new – to him – racquet. As trainings went, it was probably among the more sadistic… but it was indeed effective.

“Ah well, I was going to see if you wanted to join a few of us who are going to the movies, but sounds like your day is already planned out.” Ryan waved to them as he got up and returned to the more crowded front of the bus.

About halfway back to Racine, Coach Beal started a singalong, with everyone laughing and shouting out lyrics to some songs that Neil had never heard before while they bounced around in their seats and waved their hands about. He didn’t even need to turn around to confirm Aidan’s displeasure just then as he eyed their ridiculous antics, instead he reached for the phone tucked inside of his jacket and sent a short text.

**Dinner too?

The response was instant, as if a certain someone was about to text him, probably with a percentage.

**Both nights. It won’t be cheap.

Yeah, that wasn’t a good sign. Neil bit into his bottom lip as he wondered if they could stop on the way back to the apartment for some ice cream or something else sugary enough to calm Aidan’s homicidal urges for the night.

*******

“Ah hell, I can’t wait, a break from this place! Just another day,” Drew complained as he changed into his gym outfit.

“Yeah, and then you’ll be back here complaining about your grandmother’s lousy cooking,” Jorge pointed out with a huge grin. “Too bad you can’t come to my family’s dinner – my mother and aunts pull out all the stops!”

“Each year you torment us by telling us all about how much they cook, and each year after the break we don’t see no love, bro.” Tommy slammed the gym locker shut as he gave a friendly glare to the shorter kid. “How about actual proof this year? And I’m talking leftovers, not pictures.”

“Aw, man, you’ve seen my uncles eat! You were there for my cousin’s birthday party this summer!”

“Yeah, yeah, always the cheap excuses with you. I think to make it up, you’re gonna let me look at your Physics homework-“

Aidan was grateful when they left the locker room, his ears sore from their loud voices. Done changing into his own clothes, he adjusted the black guards on his arms and went to turn around to head out into the gym for another day of holding up the wall – word was that they’d switch to something other than basketball after the Christmas break – when he noticed that Drew appeared to be waiting for him.

“What, you’re not getting in on Jorge’s Physics homework, too?” His eyes narrowed when the other teen fell into step beside him. “Or did some moron fail to listen to my rather simple warning and take another swing at Neil?”

Drew laughed at that as they entered the already noisy gym. “No, no, not after what you did with Peters. I was just wondering what you’re doing for Thanksgiving – everyone’s talking about it but you.” His face became a little flushed as he rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, you got that grandmother, right? Your mom will be back in town and all?”

“If you’re about to invite me and Neil to what I’ve already heard a couple of people mention will be a horrible dinner of you own, *don’t*.” Aidan didn’t know why Drew was bothering with this, except the guy seemed to think they were friends – maybe he should have burned his eye out or something. Still, staying on Drew’s good side was logical, since it kept the assholes away from Aidan which meant he was less likely to get into fights and henceforth in trouble, and the teen knew things like if someone was going after Neil. “There’s a few other relatives here in town, it’s the reason why our mom dumped us here,” he lied. “We’ll be meeting up with them, and I bet they can cook better than yours.”

That wrung a surprisingly deep laugh from Drew. “What can I say, Gram Jones can’t cook worth shit, but she tries at least. Mom’s too tired from working to do much other than help out, and it’s nice just for all of us to be together.” His blue eyes flashed with something as he stared out over the court. “One day I’ll have enough to pay for someone to cook the meal for us, or for us to go out. Just gotta keep working on it.”

Seeing that Swenson was calling for the teams to form up, Aidan scoffed as he motioned for Drew to get on the court. “Try not to get fouled for an entire game for once, that’ll be a good start.”

That seemed to break Drew’s odd mood. “Yeah, well at least my team wins their damn games, you shitty dwarf.” He gave Aidan the finger as he ran to join the others.

“As if I care,” Aidan shouted back, just to piss him off.

Still, as he stood there and watched the idiots race around after a stupid ball, he had to wonder what he and Neil were going to do – this was the first Thanksgiving that he wasn’t at old Wayward or stuck in a foster home. A first proper holiday when he wasn’t stuck with a bunch of people he loathed – he refused to think about Cass, of how she had tried to make an effort and then *he* had been home.

No, it had been odd enough over Halloween, when he had realized that he could do anything he wanted, that there was no curfew or asshole telling him to dress up or not dress up. Neil had been a bit perplexed, seeing as how he had spent the last few years in Europe, over the fuss everyone had made for the day, and had just been pleased that he could stock up on bags of candy for Aidan while they were on discount. Bags of candy not for other children, candy that Aidan would have been denied because he wasn’t special enough, because some asshole foster parent didn’t believe in spoiling children or some ‘pagan’ holiday or just was that much of an asshole. Bags because a certain idiot thought it was great to get them while on sale and knew that Aidan loved chocolate.

So what if they had just spent the night inside of their apartment, exhausted from Exy practice and busy with schoolwork? Aidan had worked on a History paper stretched out on the couch, a bag of candy open beside him, while Neil was sprawled out on the floor with his Math homework. It had been… it had been the best Halloween.

The thought of the upcoming holiday gnawed at the back of his mind until he met up with Neil at lunch, his friend handing over a carton of chocolate milk which Aidan shoved into the pocket of his coat so he could drink it once he finished a cigarette. “So, everyone’s talking about Thanksgiving.”

“Hmm, I’d forgotten all about it,” Neil admitted as he pulled out one of the sandwiches from his backpack for him to eat. “It gets confusing, keeping track of all the holidays. There’s a lot more over in Europe, we had to focus on the ones which would shut down the stores or restrict the public transportation, stuff like that.”

“So, it’s been a while since you celebrated it, yeah?” Aidan watched him while he drew on the cigarette.

For a moment, it looked as if Neil lost his appetite, his complexion washing out and his eyes growing shadowed, and then he shook his head. “I’d say we never really celebrated it.” He stared at the turkey sandwich in his hand as if it was an odd thing. “My… well, he’d have people over, people like… well, you met them.” A slight smile curved his lips, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. “I wasn’t allowed there for the whole dinner, but I sat through some of it. Had to be on my best behavior and all of that or else.”

It sounded as if Neil had loved the holiday as much as Aidan had. “Did you manage it?” He didn’t know why he asked the question, other than to see if Neil was still willing to tell him the truth.

“Of course not, I was a kid.” Neil’s voice was so bitter just then that even Aidan could taste it, could feel the pain and the unfairness of it all, what Nathan Wesninski had put his young son through. “Never could be still enough, never quiet enough, never….” He let out a shuddering breath and shook his head. “So, Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah, Thanksgiving.” Aidan dropped the cigarette to the ground and grabbed the rest of the sandwich, since it seemed Neil no longer had a taste for it. “I’m thinking to hell with turkey and all that shit, especially since it’s just the two of us.”

Neil watched on as he had a couple of bites, and managed a smile after a few seconds. “It would almost be amusing, to see the two of us try. To cook it, you know.”

“What ‘two of us’?” Aidan asked after he swallowed a mouthful of sandwich. Even though they were able to manage some simple meals on their own, neither of them were experts in the kitchen. “It would be me watching you make a spectacular ass out of yourself.”

“Ah yes, one of your favorite past times.” Neil’s smile strengthened and he reached into the bag for another sandwich, one that looked to be tuna salad. “So, take-out? There has to be something open that day, right?”

“You’re pathetic,” Aidan felt it should be known. “Yes, there is indeed something open, it’s called ‘Chinese’ and you will be buying us some.” Even though Neil was living up to that whole ‘our’ money thing and Aidan had access to it with his own debit card, he still enjoyed making Neil pay for stuff.

“Good thing we both like Chinese, then.” Neil appeared at peace as he ate his sandwich. “Since we have the day off-“

“Mention Exy practice to me and I will shove the rest of that sandwich down your throat all at once,” Aidan warned.

“What?” Neil gave him an innocent look that Aidan wasn’t buying at the least, then laughed a little. “What do we do, then?” There was a hint of that darkness back in his eyes, probably as he thought about all those other holidays spent in Baltimore.

Like Aidan had much of a clue himself. “We’ll figure it out. Watch some movies or something. Sleep. Just no Exy – it’s a holiday, so no damn Exy.”

“Okay,” Neil agreed. “Just the two of us and enough Chinese food to make us sick.”

Now that sounded like a plan. “We’ll hit a store on the way home.” Aidan made a swiping motion with his right hand, now that the sandwich was gone. “See if we can’t pick up some liquor to make it a real celebration,” he said as he reached into Neil’s backpack for another sandwich, and hummed when he snagged a roast beef.

“Just make sure that we leave the one bottle of vodka,” Neil warned.

“I know, for ‘medicinal purposes’. You’re paranoid.”

“Hmm.” Neil didn’t argue over the accusation, but all one had to do was look at the scar on his face and the hint of a black arm guard peeking out of the sleeve of his coat to remember that he had good cause for it.

Still, all dark thoughts pushed aside for the moment, Aidan focused on having a few days away from school, away from the annoying people, when he could rest and laze about as much as possible between Neil’s precious Exy practices.

*******

Neil groaned as he set the carton of Singapore-style noodles aside on the floor beside him. “I’m full. Isn’t the point of this day to be full? Well I’m full.” He tilted his bead backwards to look at Aidan, who was curled up on the couch behind him. His friend sneered and bit into an egg roll as if to prove a point or something.

Once it was half gone, Aidan sneered some more and set the remainder of the roll into his own carton of Sweet and Sour chicken. “You suck at life, Josten.”

“No, I just can’t eat two cartons of Chinese food. Guess that just means more for you.” Neil made a show of licking one of his chopsticks before he threw it back at the asshole, and began a mental countdown before he felt a foot hit into the back of his head. “Ow.”

“You got off lucky after inflicting your germs on me. I should stick it in your ear or something, except then I’d have to take you to the hospital.”

“Yeah, not sure I can figure out how to manage stitches for that,” Neil joked. “Now, ready for the movies? Maybe we can start with ‘Run Lola Run’.”

“In a minute.” Andrew fussed with something on the couch then swung his legs around next to Neil. “Have some of this.” He handed over one of the bottles of vodka that they had ‘picked up’ the other day.

Neil eyed it with some trepidation; before, he had mainly drank whenever he needed to dull the pain when injured, when his mother and then when Aidan had stitched up his wounds since going to the hospital was out of the question. There had been the one time back in Austria when he’d had a few shots to warm himself back up, after he and his mother had spent the day trudging through the cold rain in an effort to evade the person following them. Other than that….

“We said we’d have something to drink,” Aidan reminded him. “Holiday cheer and all that.” As if sensing his doubts, Aidan clicked his tongue and shook the bottle. “What are you worried about? You’re safe here, right?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you to shave my eyebrows or something if I pass out, I have to admit.” Still, he reached for the bottle.

“Juvenile antics, Josten. More like I’d write ‘I’m an Exy whore’ all over your face in permanent marker.” Still, Aidan seemed pleased when Neil unscrewed the lid and lifted the bottle to his lips.

The strong scent of alcohol and the sharp bite of it as it flowed into his mouth brought back memories – first of that night in Reno, of the fire along his arms and chest and face, and of that time in Germany. Still, it was preferable to the cheap whisky his mother usually bought….

“Don’t hog it all to yourself,” Aidan chided after Neil had managed several swallows.

“Right, speak for yourself.” Neil shook his head while Aidan managed a good third of the bottle without any difficulty. “Now, are we going to watch this movie or not?”

“Whatever.” Aidan leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, the bottle still held in his hands, while Neil put on the DVD. “Wait, does this have subtitles?”

“Come on, I thought you wanted to improve your German,” Neil told him with a smile.

“Someone’s determined to work their way through the emergency stash today, aren’t they? 205%,” Aidan informed him while he reached for his pack of cigarettes, though he appeared a bit mollified when Neil sat down near him in his spot on the floor once more and reached for the bottle of vodka. “You better not be one of those talkative drunks.”

“We’ll find out, won’t we?” Neil gave him a salute with the bottle then had another swallow.

*******

Tipsy from the alcohol, Aidan wavered a little when he stood up after leaning down to fetch Neil’s neglected carton of food; the room was beginning to stink from the leftovers, and it was clear that his friend wasn’t going to eat anything more, not when he was curled up on the floor asleep.

Damn lightweight.

It had been a good day – being able to order what he wanted for food, to eat as much as he wanted, then the alcohol and the movies. To spend it with someone bearable, to joke and tease without any stress or fear. Aidan supposed that it was similar to how most people spent the holiday, only they managed with a lot more assholes around and crappy food, and thought that today was a better way to do it.

He returned to the living room after throwing away the food and stared down at Neil, who was still curled up on the floor, seemingly uncaring at always about the hard wood as long as he had a pillow for his head. The light grey sweatshirt he was wearing had pulled up a little, revealing a toned abdomen marred by those long, snaking scars, and a jutting hipbone since his jeans were loose as always. His hair was a tousled mess falling onto his face, and Aidan felt such a strong, sudden urge to kneel down beside him, to push back that wavy hair and skim his fingers along that exposed skin while he leaned in to-

His breath came in a sharp gasp as his fingernails bit into the palms of his hands, his fists clenched so tightly as he forced himself not to reach out, not to *touch*. Dammit, he refused to be like *them*, to *take*, to see the fear and disgust and hatred on Neil’s face when he woke up to Aidan looming over him.

But would those emotions be there? a niggling little voice asked inside of Aidan’s head as he stormed toward the bathroom, *away* from Neil. He had Neil’s trust, knew that the other teen didn’t let anyone else as close as he did Aidan…. But he also didn’t have a fucking clue when someone wanted him, didn’t spare a lingering glance at either a girl or a guy in any way other than to see if they were a potential threat of some kind.

Aidan didn’t know what was worse, to have these feelings for someone who was straight, who at least had a reason to not want him, or for someone who was gay but didn’t want him back. Neil… Neil was just this nebulous unknown, this great big taunting uncertainty, and it was driving Aidan slowly insane. He wasn’t used to wanting anyone – not really, not for more than a temporary relief – so of fucking course Fate would arrange it that when he did, the guy would be… he didn’t know, Ace or something like that.

Aidan already knew that the powers that be or whatever hated him, that they reveled in his misery, but he figured that they at least owed him Neil remaining passed out long enough for him to take a fucking shower in peace for a desperate jerk-off session.

*******

“Do you want the last sandwich?”

“No.”

Neil waited a moment to see if Aidan would change his mind before he let the chicken salad sandwich fall back into his bag; he wasn’t hungry anymore and Aidan had only eaten two so far for lunch, maybe Aidan would want it before the period was over. Instead, he pulled his copy of The Grapes of Wrath out of the bag and flipped to the bookmarked page, leaned a little more against the wall and resumed reading the book for his English class.

He didn’t know what it was that he’d done over Thanksgiving break to make Aidan so upset with him, to drive this wedge between them. He didn’t remember anything odd, had thought that they’d had a fun time that Thursday with their Chinese food and watching the movies while tipsy with alcohol. But looking back, Aidan had been a bit quiet the next day when they’d practiced Exy, a quiet that had stretched onward.

They still took their lunches together, still did their extra practices, still studied French and German… but Aidan was a bit more scathing with his verbal jabs, put a touch more force behind his returned volleys in Exy, and was a lot more quiet unless he was answering a direct question or cutting into Neil for being some sort of idiot. Neil had tried to apologize for whatever it was that he’d done, but apparently, Aidan didn’t care for the word ‘sorry’, either.

Neil didn’t know what he was going to do; he’d found a home here against the odds, had finally stopped looking over his shoulder all of the time. Yet it was because of Aidan that it was possible, and if he was making his friend so miserable… then it was upon him to be the one to leave. Aidan had Anna here to help him out, so Neil should go back to Chicago, hit Durand up for a new ID and… well, maybe give Canada one more try since it was such a big country.

“I don’t like you staring at me,” Aidan informed him, his voice almost as cold as the winter itself. He didn’t look at Neil, just continued to gaze out onto the snow-covered campus while he smoked yet another cigarette.

“So-ah, yeah.” Neil forced himself to focus on the book instead, even if it was a bit ridiculous to stand outside to read when he could be warm inside of the library. However, Aidan still collected him each day for them to have ‘lunch’ together, so he would come out here for however much longer it lasted.

He’d give it until the end of the year, whatever was going on with Aidan. If it didn’t get better by then….

Chicago. Durand. Another name to the already too-long list. His next stop wouldn’t be anything like Racine… but maybe there was a lesson to be found here. Maybe his mother had been right, after all.

Or maybe it was time to face the truth and call his uncle. To realize that running never really got him anywhere in the first place, and while he refused to be his father… what other options did he have?

He started when something landed onto the open book, and blinked when he realized that it was an unlit cigarette. Aidan’s lighter followed a moment later. “Light the damn thing,” his friend ordered, voice still cold, eyes still focused onto the campus.

Neil didn’t say anything as he did as he’d been told, but he pushed away the dark thoughts as best he could and concentrated on the now, figuring that the new year would come soon enough and he’d deal with it all then.

*******

After receiving a text from Neil that he’d meet him at practice, Aidan went straight there after class; he was in a bad mood both from the disruption to his schedule, the uncertainty of why Neil hadn’t wanted them to go together, and the fact that since they’d actually come close to winning their last game before losing in overtime, Coach Beal was becoming unbearable. It wasn’t that the man was shouting at them to try harder or put in more practice time, just that he was even more of a fucking puppy, all enthusiastic about their chances to win a damn game this season. Aidan wanted to punch him.

He was almost finished with changing into his gear when Neil did show up, a bit harried but without any bruises and in possession of his backpack; maybe it wasn’t a case of him trying to avoid Aidan because of some assholes picking on him. “What’s going on?” Perhaps Aidan had put a bit too much heat into that, because Neil’s frown turned into confusion, while Ryan and Frank paused in getting ready as well as if to listen in.

“Ah, I have to go back and talk to my English teacher after class, something about my paper.” Neil waved his right hand about before he jerked it through his hair.

“Wait, you have Timsdale, right?” Frank laughed, the sound sympathetic as he fixed his shoulder pads. “Yeah, I dealt with him last year – barely made it out of that class alive. I’ve a few sophomore friends who are meeting with him this week to discuss the papers due this quarter.”

Neil nodded as he opened his locker to fetch his gear. “Something about I need more sources, so….” He looked back at Aidan. “I don’t know if you want to wait for me, or I can just grab a bus.” He sounded uncertain, as if it was a lot to ask.

Before Aidan could speak, Ryan broke in. “How about I give Aidan a ride home, okay? I mean, you can drive, right Neil? I’ve seen you drive the car before, so you can go home by yourself.”

Technically Neil was still on a learner’s permit, but it wasn’t as if they weren’t already breaking how many other laws. There was also the fact that Ryan was giving Aidan a slight smile, as if daring him to be alone with the other teen for once.

For himself, Aidan wasn’t sure about leaving *Neil* alone… but he was getting awfully tired of rushed jerk-off sessions in the shower as ways to deal with his growing frustration. If Ryan was bi or gay, he kept things quiet, and Aidan didn’t get the impression that Ryan was looking for a boyfriend or any type of commitment. No, why not take the opportunity presented here, have a little alone time in the apartment and see if the teen was good at following orders?

“Sounds good to me.” He glanced over at Neil, who had begun the complicated process of changing out in front of people without revealing any skin. “You know the way home by now, right?”

“Yes.” Neil glared at him for the sarcasm, then turned away so he could go about getting ready for practice.

Everyone was as excited as usual, and Beal should probably go coach the damn pep squad he was that damn hyper, but Aidan found himself a little less annoyed now that he knew there wasn’t another practice session afterward and that there might be some fun, too. Neil was quiet – well, quieter – during it all, focused on improving his game as always, and didn’t even react when Beal enthused over his passing ability.

Once the practice was done for the day, Neil started running laps around the half-court, answering Kathy that he wanted to work out a tender calf muscle a little before he showered and went to his meeting with the English teacher. Aidan only paused for a moment to watch him run, at how he looked with his flushed face and hair pulled back by the sweat-darkened bandana before he forced himself onward to the showers.

It felt weird, showering without Neil, and even odder to follow Ryan out to the parking lot, to walk past the Nissan and get into a vehicle with someone else. He had to tell Ryan how to get to the apartment, gritting his teeth when the teen took a couple of wrong turns, and fortunately there was parking on the street in front of it for once.

“Don’t think I’ve ever been in this neighborhood,” Ryan remarked as they climbed the steps to the third floor. “Think my car will be safe?” It was only a Civic, but it was brand new.

“You’ll have to go over a few more blocks if you’re worried about them stripping the thing before midnight.”

“Good to know.” Ryan flashed him a smile, his teeth bright against the almost caramel-like color of his skin. “So, I didn’t ask but I assume your grandmother isn’t home? If she is, this might be embarrassing.”

“What, having a friend from school over?” Aidan scoffed as they reached the third floor. “Relax, she’s out visiting some friends.”

“Oh, good.”

Ryan was quiet after that, until they got inside of the small apartment; one thing Aidan insisted upon was that it was kept clean, after some of the foster homes where he’d lived in the past. It wasn’t much to look at, since they hadn’t decorated anything, but there was a nice table with two chairs in the kitchen, the red couch with numerous pillows, the end table and entertainment center in the living room, and both bedroom doors were closed.

“Ah, I see that you don’t believe in much clutter,” Ryan remarked as he glanced around.

“We don’t believe in a lot of stuff.” Aidan shrugged as he removed his jacket and hung it up behind the door, then dropped his backpack near the couch. “So, back to that whole ‘embarrassing’ thing.” He stood in the living room as he folded his arms over his chest and waited for Ryan to make the first move.

“Shit, you don’t make this easy, do you?” Ryan flushed a little as he set his messenger bag down then unbuttoned his coat, which he hung up as well when Aidan pointed to the hooks. “Look, I notice how you don’t check out any of the girls at our games, not the girls on the cheering squad, none of our fans, such as they are, no one.” He took a step closer but stopped when Aidan held up his right hand. “And everyone knows how you don’t give any of them at school the time of day – I’ve heard more than a few complaints about that. Yet you’re friends with Drew Bridge and his gang, and you get along with the team.”

Aidan wouldn’t exactly say ‘friends’ with Drew Bridge, but yes, he did talk to the guy and a few others. “So that makes you think I’ll be fine with this?”

Ryan smiled a little as he toyed with the hem of his shirt. “Well, there is the fact that I’ve dropped more than a few hints to you, and you still let me come up here, right? I figured that yeah, you’ll be fine with this.”

Bastard. Still, Aidan could feel a low simmer of anticipation build in his gut as he looked on at Ryan, at the stocky build, the smiling face that wasn’t pale and fine-featured, the eyes that were a light golden brown instead of pale blue or green, the short, black hair gelled into spikes. Ryan was everything Neil wasn’t, and right now that was what Aidan needed. “If we do this, we follow my rules.”

“Hmm, okay. Should be interesting.” Ryan stepped forward again. “So, which room is yours?”

“Neither,” Aidan informed him; there was no way he was letting a casual hook-up into his bedroom, and of course Neil’s room was out. “We do this out here.”

“Uh, okay.” Ryan seemed a little surprised by that, but regained his smile when Aidan approached and tugged at the hem of his dark blue jersey. “What else?”

“No touching, and no kissing.” Aidan watched while Ryan got the hint and began to pull up the shirt; the teen had at least seven inches on him, which made it difficult for him to pull it all the way up, yet as soon as Ryan’s arms were in the air, he reached up to tug them back down behind his back, the shirt now twisted around them to help serve as impromptu restraints.

“Wait, what?” Ryan looked down at his bared chest and restrained arms, then back at Aidan. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Aidan gave him a blank look in return. “You don’t touch me unless I say so, and no kissing. You don’t like it, you can leave.”

There was a loud huff while Ryan shook his head. “A bit kinky, but okay, let’s see where this goes. Long as I don’t end up in a gimp suit or something.”

Someone talked too much; Aidan wasn’t sure how well this would work out past today, but he was in this far, might as well get what he could from out of it. “No promises,” he taunted Ryan as he pushed the other teen back against the wall.

“Very funny. Still, I don’t see what we’re going to… ooh.” He laughed a little when Aidan began to unbuckle his jeans. “All right, this has suddenly gotten a whole lot better.”

“Another rule, try shutting up now,” Aidan snapped as he tugged down on the zipper to the jeans.

“Fuck, you’re bossy. Do you-“ A harsh glare from Aidan as he pulled his hands away from Ryan’s crotch seemed to get the point across. “Okay, shutting up.”

Waiting a few seconds to make sure that the order took this time, Aidan then reached back to continue what he’d been doing. Part of him still felt a bit of revulsion at being so near another person, to someone he didn’t trust, but another part of him thrilled at having someone tied up before him, eager to be the one to obey for once. *He* was the one in charge here, the one who could walk away at any moment, and that was the most exhilarating thing about it all.

Ryan moaned as the jeans were pushed down and Aidan fished his stiffening cock out of the black boxer-briefs; he was circumcised and a decent size, nothing unusual in Aidan’s experience. Aidan gave his cock a couple of strokes to bring him to full erection, while Ryan worked his bound arms behind his back and cursed beneath his breath.

Aidan only paused a moment before going to his knees, and he got more of a rush from the sound of Ryan’s head smacking back against the wall and the choked off ‘fuck’ than in the fact that he was giving someone else pleasure. His own cock began to stir, the sensation slightly uncomfortable because of his position and the pull of his jeans, but he could ignore it as he slid his mouth back and forth along Ryan’s length. When the teen attempted to jerk his hips forward, he let Ryan’s cock slip free from his mouth and rocked back enough to glare up at the asshole.

“Don’t,” he warned. “Or this ends now.” Ryan whined in frustration when Aidan braced his left hand against the teen’s hips, then he took his time before licking along the hard length in front of him. He chose to ignore the whispered chants of ‘yes’ as he alternated sucking and licking, as he did his best to keep the image of it being Neil pressed to the wall in front of him instead of Ryan out of his head.

Aidan’s left hand dropped down into his lap for a moment at the glimpse of that mental image, to squeeze against his hard cock, and he forced it to return back to Ryan’s hip, for his mind to focus on *who* he was breaking down at the moment with his mouth and his hand. Dammit.

“Oh god, going to come.”

Aidan gave the base of Ryan’s cock a warning squeeze, not ready to hand over control just yet, and as the teen choked out his name, there was the scraping sound of the lock being turned in the front door. He froze at the sound of it, body unwilling to move, while Ryan gave a slight thrust of his hips just as the door opened.

“Aidan? Do you and Ryan want some take-out? I was tried to text but I-“ The door closed behind Neil as he stood there, green eyes huge and mouth open as he stared at Aidan down on his knees in front of a half-naked Ryan, Ryan’s cock in front of his face and his jeans stiff from his own now flagging erection.

“What the hell?” Ryan jerked away from Aidan’s left hand as if he could press back any further into the wall.

“Aa-aidan?” Neil looked as if he was going to throw up or something, his eyes still wide and his face ashen. “What-“

“Get out.”

Neil flinched at the amount of anger in his voice, and Ryan went still.

“But-“

“*Get* *out*,” Aidan snarled as he lunged to his feet, unwilling to see that look on Neil’s face any longer. “Get the fuck out of here, I don’t want to *see* you!” Even as he shouted, he reached for Neil, for- for *something*, but Neil was too good at running away. Aidan didn’t even get within a few feet of him before he had spun around and was out the door.

Rage. Rage and… and… dammit, it wasn’t shame, it wasn’t guilt, Aidan refused to feel such useless, terrible things. He screamed as he punched the wall with his left fist, pain a welcome distraction as he tried to push the image of Neil’s face out of his head.

There was something moving off to the side, so he swung around, fists ready to do more damage, only to find Ryan stumbling backward. “Hey! Hey, it’s me, okay! It’s just me. I, ah, think I should leave, yeah?”

“I’m not stopping you,” Aidan told him as he began to search for his cigarettes.

Ryan’s laugh just then was far from amused. “No, you’re not, but I sorta have my dick hanging out here and I can’t use my hands.” When all Aidan did was shake out a cigarette, he made a whining sound. “Come on, please?”

He almost snapped about how he hated that word, but it was Neil who knew that, who was careful not to bring it up. Feeling the black rage skittering inside his head, Aidan bared his teeth as he slid a knife free and approached a now wary Ryan.

“Whoa, whoa, I won’t tell anyone, I swear, I- wait!”

Aidan grabbed onto Ryan’s bound arms and used the knife to slice through the fabric, no longer willing to touch the other teen or have anything to do with him. “There, you’re free, now get the hell out of here.”

“Ah, for fuck’s… I liked that shirt.” The sight of Aidan flipping the knife a couple of times made Ryan back up even more while he tucked himself back into his briefs. “You know what, I can get another one.” He grabbed his coat from the wall rack, seemed to pause to look at the cracked dent near it and shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened. I’m sure if you just give him some time, he’ll be fine with it. I mean, he adores you, everyone knows that.”

Not about to have this conversation with Ryan of all people, Aidan flipped the knife again while he stared pointedly at the door.

“Okay, I get it. See you tomorrow.” Ryan gave a weak wave as he left, and then the apartment was quiet.

Aidan’s left hand hurt from where he had punched the wall, his chest ached for some unknown reason and his head felt as if it would explode, he was so full of rage and the need to vent it somehow. What he did was grab his keys and cigarettes, then his coat, before he left the apartment as well.

Since renting the place, he had discovered the stairwell leading to the roof after a few days and devised a way to jimmy the lock. No one else bothered to go up there, not during winter, and he doubted they would during the summer since there wasn’t much of a view at all. But it still gave him a place where he could find some privacy when the apartment got too small for both him and Neil, when he just wanted to have a place to smoke and be alone. It also gave him a place to clear his head when the nightmares got too bad, a way to replace one type of fear with another since he would go over to the edge of the roof and look down, to see the ground from seven stories up and imagine what it would feel like to fall. Didn’t do anything for his fear of heights, but it did help to clear his head.

He hoped for some of that clarity right now, some way to dampen the rage that wouldn’t lead him to destroy the home he’d built for himself or to end up back at a detention facility. That wouldn’t make him have to leave Neil, if he hadn’t driven his friend away already. His fingers dug into the black guards on his arms, against the old scars as he thought about what had happened to the last place he thought might be a home.

No, he wasn’t giving this one up without a fight, dammit. That time had already cost him way too much of himself, he didn’t know if there would be anything left if he walked away from Neil. From the one person who believed in a fucked up mess like himself.

They’d talk, and they’d figure it out, somehow. So what if Aidan had to lock up that side of him, had to put up with always wanting something he could never have? He was used to it by now. Some of nothing was better than nothing at all, he’d come to find out. What a fucking joke.

When he felt as if he’d calmed down enough, he went back downstairs, back to the apartment. It was quiet, but Neil was probably in his room, mindful of Aidan’s temper. “Neil? Neil, come the fuck out, okay? We need to talk.”

There was no answer, which wasn’t like Neil; he might get angry at Aidan from time to time, but he always responded even if it was just to be snarky. Aidan went over to Neil’s bedroom and knocked on the door. When he didn’t hear anything after several seconds he opened it up, only to find the room empty.

Feeling even more uneasy at the sight, Aidan went to fetch his phone, but there wasn’t any texts or messages from Neil, not since before practice. He dialed his friend’s number, only for it to go straight into voicemail – either the phone was dead or Neil had shut it off, the idiot. Grabbing his keys and coat once again, Aidan went running down the stairs and into the back parking lot, but he could see the Nissan parked in the usual spot they favored, so Neil hadn’t taken off in it after returning home.

Where could he be? He didn’t hang out at many places other than school during the day, the one field where they practiced Exy on the weekend, and the apartment. Aidan was almost tempted to go drive around to look for him, but he didn’t want to miss out on Neil returning home, either.

He did the only other thing he could think of, he dialed Anna. It took a few rings before she answered.

“Andrew?” It was obvious that she wasn’t too happy about him calling. “What did you do now?”

“I’m not in the mood,” he snapped as he headed back to the apartment. “Did Neil call you?”

“What, Neil?” There was noise in the background as if Anna was telling someone to be quiet. “Why would Neil call me? Are you in trouble? I thought you were trying to be good – I mean, I’m amazed you made it this long without needing me for something.”

“What part of ‘not in the mood’ don’t you get, dammit! I misplaced Neil and now I’m trying to find him.” Nope, no chance of Neil sneaking back in while Aidan had been outside.

“How do you misplace someone?” Anna’s voice rose in disbelief, and there was a banging sound in the background. “Dammit, Andrew, I like that kid, he’s nice. And you’re telling me you lost him or something? Why do you always have to fuck things up?”

“I don’t need this shit, I just want you to tell me if he shows up, okay?”

“No, not okay. Listen to me, I don’t know what’s going on, but you’ve got something here, all right? And I’m thinking it has to do with Neil because you were all types of fucked up back in California. So you find him, and you stop fucking things up, okay?”

“I don’t-“

“No, you tell me ‘okay’ and you go find him,” Anna yelled. “And then call me when you do.” There was a few seconds of silence while Aidan did his best not to hang up and throw his phone against the wall, and the next she spoke, Anna’s voice was a lot softer. “I’ll look out for him, and I’ll call you if I see or hear from him, but I’m serious, Andrew. He’s good for you. People like us need something good in our lives, so don’t misplace him or whatever such shit again.”

“Okay,” he managed to ground out before he did hang up, now that she’d promised to call him about Neil.

Still holding the phone in his hand after the call was ended, Aidan looked around the apartment for a minute or two before he went to fetch his backpack. Once he was done writing ‘stay here and call me you little shit’ on a piece of paper, which he then taped to Neil’s door, he grabbed his coat and went back outside again to start looking.

*******

Neil huddled in the locker room in Gym E, stretched out on a bench and wrapped in his coat; he always carried his lock picks in his abridged binder, and it hadn’t taken much to break into the school. As places to crash went, it wasn’t that bad – even if the heat wasn’t that great during the night, he had access to a bathroom and a shower, and water to drink. There was still an energy bar or two in his backpack, and he should have a sweater in his other locker. Might still look a little rough tomorrow, but he doubted anyone would notice.

As he tried to get some sleep, mindful that he needed to wake up before anyone started to arrive in the morning and wishing that he’d brought his charger so he could have programmed his phone for an alarm, his thoughts kept circling back to Aidan and what he’d seen in their apartment. He hadn’t known that Aidan was gay – Lola had said that the men in Aidan’s – in *Andrew’s* - foster homes had abused him. Did he still want anything to do with sex after all of that? Had what Neil walked into been consensual? But Aidan hadn’t been the one tied up, hadn’t appeared forced in any way – he’d still had on all of his clothes, and Neil had noticed that his friend had been aroused. So if it was consensual….

Why was Aidan so furious with him? Because he’d seen it? Or because he’d interrupted it? Timsdale had only needed to give Neil a document about resources and have a few words with him, so their discussion hadn’t lasted very long. Had Aidan expected more time with Ryan? For some reason, that thought bothered Neil.

So if Aidan wanted to be with Ryan… was he upset because Neil was around too much? Did he feel like he couldn’t be himself with Neil there? Neil thought about the distance between them the last week or two and concluded that maybe that was it – maybe Aidan and Ryan had been together longer than he suspected, and he was in the way.

Again, that thought bothered him. Confused and angry and…. He wished that he could run, that he could go around the track until he was too exhausted to think any more, Neil forced his eyes closed so he could at least get a couple of hours of sleep. Tomorrow, he would see if Aidan still wanted anything to do with him, or if he should leave for Chicago now instead of in January.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, next chapter, mostly done. Promise to get it up as soon as possible! 
> 
> Thank you so much for all of the kudos and the comments, they are so very much appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the good news this time is, yes, after how the last chapter left off, you're getting another fairly long chapter updated quickly!
> 
> Bad news? The next chapter is NOT finished, so yeah, it'll be at least another day or two before that's done. And we're getting really close to this part of the story wrapping up - I'm thinking... maybe two more chapters to it? We'll see.  
> *******

*******

Aidan pulled into the school parking lot a little early, and sat behind the steering wheel for several seconds while he gathered his thoughts; he’d driven around for several hours last night and hadn’t caught any sight of Neil. His friend hadn’t returned to the apartment, at least not that he could tell – he’d taken the time to search Neil’s room and hadn’t found anything missing. It was only the fact that he’d come across the charger to Neil’s phone lying on the floor, as if it had fallen there, that gave him hope that the idiot had forgotten to take it with him and so there was a reason why Neil’s phone wasn’t accepting calls.

So if Neil’s phone was turned off by accident and he hadn’t taken anything with him except his school books – Aidan was doing his best to not think about that damn binder with its access to contacts and bonds and everything Neil needed to start a new life – then there was a chance that Neil would return to school today. Perhaps he had gone to a motel last night, or a classmate’s… fuck, but Neil was too good at running away.

Aidan took a deep breath and got out of the car, uncertain what he would do next if Neil wasn’t here today. Go back to Chicago to see if he had hit up Durand for a new ID? Call Neil’s uncle? There hadn’t been an exact number in there to pinpoint the guy’s phone, but Aidan remembered seeing a few things that could be possible codes. He had the time and incentive to figure them out right now.

Having entered the school, he was struck by how much quieter it was this early in the morning, before the majority of people arrived. There was some staff roaming the halls, and a few students he assumed were there for certain duties and clubs. With the halls being so empty, it didn’t take him long to spot the huddled form curled up on the floor near Neil’s locker.

They were still as if asleep, but the sound of Aidan’s heavy boots on the linoleum floor preceded him, causing the figure to lift its head and look about; Neil recognized him from halfway down the hall and slowly began to stand up.

A tightness that had been wrapped around Aidan’s chest ever since yesterday afternoon finally began to loosen, even if he noticed the way that Neil didn’t look him in the face when he finally came within arm’s reach of the idiot. He also noticed the bags underneath Neil’s eyes, the ashen tone to his skin, the faint hint of auburn stubble on his chin. Neil was still wearing the same jeans and shoes as yesterday, but now sported a wrinkled light green sweater.

“Come on,” Aidan ordered, not about to get into it out in public. He waited a moment, and when Neil hesitated, huffed and grabbed onto the right sleeve of the sweater. “I brought along some stuff since you didn’t come home last night.”

“Eh?” Neil stumbled to keep up with him; Andrew took him to the men’s bathroom in the north wing on the third floor, since it was old and situated near labs which weren’t used until later in the day. “Lu-look, I’m sorry about-“

“Just shut up until we get there.” Aidan thought he saw Neil flinch at the sharp words and mentally cursed himself and his temper; this wasn’t how he wanted things to go, but he’d barely gotten any sleep and he wanted some privacy.

Once they were in the bathroom, Aidan made sure to lock the door behind them, then all but tossed the small bag he’d brought along at Neil. “Where the hell were you last night?” He wasn’t sure he could stand to hear that Neil had spent the night with Bethany or Thomas or anyone else from the French Club.

“Ah, here.” Some of the stress left Neil’s face when he found the change of clothes inside. “Thanks so much – I had my travel kit in the gym locker, but not much in the way of clothes.”

“You really spent the night here?” Aidan wasn’t sure he believed that.

“Yeah, the gym.” Neil motioned toward the blue backpack he’d set down on the ground so he could pull off his shirt. “Picked the locks.”

The junkie had spent the night in the gym – Aidan had lost sleep thinking that maybe the kid had been caught by his father’s people or picked up by some pervert, and he had slept on the damn Exy court or something. Aidan wanted to strangle him… at least until he caught the sight of Neil’s naked chest, of his abs, and then his thoughts got derailed for a moment.

“And the reason you couldn’t let me know that?” he snapped, temper already fraying despite his best efforts to remain calm.

Neil paused in pulling the clean long-sleeved t-shirt on to give him a sheepish look. “Uhm, yeah, my phone died. I was trying to tell you that when….” His cheeks turned a bright red and he focused his attention on fussing with the hem of the shirt.

“When you walked in on me blowing Ryan,” Aidan finished for him, seeing no point in dragging this out. “What, does that disgust you?” His hands clenched into fists as he waited for Neil to say ‘yes’, to reject him.

“What? No!” Neil’s eyes were once more huge as he shook his head; he was a decent liar when it came to talking about his past, but he didn’t have a perfect poker face when prodded on the spot like this, Aidan had learned. “I was just – I didn’t think you liked that stuff. After what Lola had said….” He shook his head again.

“After Lola said that I wanted to fuck you?” Aidan stalked closer to what appeared to be a panicked Neil. “What all exactly did she say about my past?”

Neil’s hands twisted in the hem of the shirt. “That you… the men where you lived….” He grimaced even as he kept his eyes trained on Aidan. “They abused you, okay? So yes, I didn’t think you’d want to do anything like that.”

“And what if I do want to do something like that?” All the stress and frustration and anger Aidan felt rushed to the fore. “What the hell are you going to do if I keep wanting to do it?”

Now the idiot appeared surprised to be asked such a question. “What do you want me to do?” Before Aidan could figure out a suitable answer, Neil shook his head again. “Look, if I’m the way, I’ll go, all right? If Ryan makes you happy, you deserve it.” There was such an odd note in his voice just then, yet he smiled at Aidan, the expression a little off. “You deserve whatever makes you happy.”

He sounded so fucking earnest just then, his smile so tremulous and eyes lacking any malice or duplicity, that something inside of Aidan finally snapped; before he knew what he was doing, before he could stop himself, he was reaching for Neil, had his hands buried in that sleep-tousled hair and pulled him forward for a kiss.

After a couple of seconds, it registered that Neil’s eyes remained just as wide, if not even wider, that his lips remained closed even though he didn’t struggle to pull away. Disgusted with himself, Aidan made a growling sound as he let go. “Fuck this shit, just forget everything!”

“Wait!” Before he could turn around, Neil latched on to his left arm, his fingers tangling in the sleeves of Aidan’s coat as if even then still mindful of touching him.

“For what?” Aidan couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice even as he stopped as he’d been asked.

Neil’s breath was ragged as he stepped closer, as if to bridge the space between them that Aidan had put there. “But… Ryan?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, there is no Ryan,” Aidan shouted. “It was just a one-off thing! *You’re* the one I can’t get out of my head!” How stupid could one person be?

“Oh.” Neil frowned as if it took a moment for the words to sink in. “Oh!”

Aidan had never wanted to kill someone and kiss them at the same time. “’Oh’? Really?” He turned around to better face the idiot, and something in his expression made Neil shake his head and hold up his hands.

“Give me a minute, this is a lot to take in.”

“Because I disgust you.” He knew it, knew it was too much to ask for, as always.

“No!” That came out fast and furious, came out as if Neil had no doubt at all. When Aidan arched an eyebrow at the denial, Neil took a shuddering breath and shook his head. “No, you don’t disgust me at all, it’s just… you hate me, you always say that-“

“Because I do, with every fiber of my being,” Aidan insisted. “I just also want to push you down to the floor and do some very interesting things to you as well.” He could all too easily imagine those things right now, which didn’t do him any favors.

“Oh, wow.”  Neil’s cheeks became flushed and he licked his lips, which again, *no* *favors*; Aidan wondered if Neil would notice him adjusting himself in his jeans right then. “Yeah… you… I….”

“It’s fine,” Aidan ground out. “I know you don’t care for that kind of stuff.”

That seemed to unfrazzle Neil a bit, since he frowned and cocked his head to the side. “What makes you say that?”

Maybe because half of the sophomore class had tried to hit on the idiot, all for nothing? “Do you think Bethany is just being friendly because you’re a good study partner?” he pointed out in his most scathing tone yet.

“Why are you so hung up on the girl, she’s just… oh.”

Yeah, *now* he got it. “My point exactly. So if you don’t even care for her, why should you-“

“Because it’s not the same thing?” Neil dared to reach out again for Aidan’s arm. “Could you try it again?”

“Try what again?” Aidan wasn’t sure they were speaking the same language anymore.

Neil gave him a look as if *he* was the idiot. “The kiss.” When Aidan sighed in annoyance, he tugged on Aidan’s coat. “You took me by surprise – one moment you’re saying I disgust you and the next you’re kissing me. Let’s try it now, when I’m not being screamed at and trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“It’s not a damn test.” Still, Aidan felt a faint flutter of… something as he leaned in again, and noticed that this time Neil closed his eyes. Idiot still kept his lips shut, but he wasn’t as tense as before, and he sighed into the kiss after a couple of seconds. When Aidan found himself stepping closer and sliding his right hand down Neil’s back – yeah, time to stop.

“Oh,” Neil repeated. “That was good.”

The idiot was trying to kill him. “I really hate you now.” All of that, and ‘it was good’? What did it even mean?

Neil glared as he was the one to step back. “What, for saying the truth? I’ve been kissed by one other person before, a girl up in Quebec, and that time felt nothing like this one. With her, it was just, uhm, her lips on mine. With you….” He shrugged as he tapped the fingers of his right hand against his lip. “I want to do it again.”

One other person… Aidan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s not going to happen any time soon.” Now that he knew that Neil didn’t hate him or feel disgusted with him…an almost sense of panic set in. What the hell were they doing? What if he messed this up? This wasn’t one of his experiments, wasn’t a fling.

“Eh? Why not?” Neil frowned and might have approached Aidan again, except that the homeroom bell rang just then.

“Because now isn’t the time or place for it,” Aidan reminded him. “Finish getting ready – looks like you’re going to have to skip homeroom today. And charge your damn phone as soon as possible!” As he yelled, he pulled out his own phone so he could text Anna to let her know he’d found Neil and that the idiot was fine.

“Yeah, yeah.” Neil hurried up to finish getting dressed, then dug through the bag so he could give himself a quick shave. “But we are going to talk about it, right? Whenever we have the time.”

Aidan hesitated just for a few seconds, but part of him wanted to see if Neil weaseled out of this or if he was still ‘interested’ after he had some time to think things through.

What was going to drive him crazy all day was waiting to find out for sure, and what he would do if Neil was telling him the truth.

*******

 

Neil followed Aidan up the stairs to their apartment, feeling excited and uncertain at the same time. They had barely spoken to each other since that time in the bathroom; lunch had been a quiet affair, with Aidan insisting that Neil eat his damn sandwiches and keep quiet. But it had been better than it had been for the past several days, without all of the anxious tension between them. Aidan had eaten as well, had complained about Neil grabbing too many tuna salads and thrown the crust from one of the sandwiches at him while ordering him to get something with real meat in it next time. Practice… practice had been a mixed bag, with Aidan being in an obvious bad mood; when Ryan had come up to Neil to ask if things were all right, Aidan had all but shoved the teen aside and then given him a cold shoulder during the entire session, and seemed to target him with his rebound shots.

Ryan had gotten the hint and avoided both Neil and Aidan after that.

At least Aidan’s temper had appeared to cool down a little when it was time for Neil and Aidan to practice by themselves – or at least Aidan had complained that Neil was getting good enough with his racquet skills that he was catching enough of Aidan’s rebound shots to ‘take the fun out of it’. Tired from the lack of sleep and still reeling a little from the morning’s revelation, Neil counted it a victory of sorts that he got through the practice without a broken ankle or concussion, and didn’t care that he hadn’t managed to score against his friend.

Still they were home now, so Neil hoped that they would at some point talk about what happened – though he was all for leaving behind the fact that Aidan had brought Ryan home to… yeah, willing to move past that. Slipping through the open door, he left it to Aidan to close and lock it and went to hang up his coat when he noticed the rather large dent in the wall. “Uhm, that’s new.”

Aidan gave him a sour look as he hung up his own coat.

“Ah, maybe we can patch it up or something before we move out.”

“Maybe you can stop talking about it before there’s another one, about the size of your head.”

Neil winced and mentally added the dent to the list of things not to bring up around Aidan, which seemed to grow all of the time. “All right then.” He was home, he was tired and he was a bit hungry. He also had no idea what to do next, with someone who seemed a bit on edge. “Uhm, what do you want for dinner? Should we order out, or do you want me to make something?” He could manage spaghetti, if they still had some meatballs in the freezer.

He got about two steps toward the kitchen when Aidan’s hand appeared in front of him, held up in front of his chest. “So you’re just going to ignore it?”

It took him a moment to figure out what ‘it’ was, considering how tired he was. “No,” he admitted as he turned a little to face his friend. “But you’ve told me all day to be quiet about it, so I figured I’d leave it up to you to bring it up when you were ready.”

Aidan stood in the middle of their living room, dressed in the dark clothes he seemed to favor, green eyes shadowed with circles as if he hadn’t sleep much last night, too, and handsome face marred with what appeared to be consternation. It wasn’t often when he expressed emotion so openly, and normally it was something along the lines of displeasure, mocking amusement or exasperation. Yet just then he seemed to care about what Neil had to say, and Neil had the feeling that he wasn’t happy about that… yes, Aidan would consider it a weakness.

So in light of that, Neil took a deep breath and did his best to organize his exhausted, jumbled thoughts. “I’ll admit, I was shocked yesterday. I didn’t know you… well, I didn’t expect to walk in on anything like that. But it doesn’t bother or disgust me, you liking someone that way.” He took another deep breath as he clarified that partial truth. “I mean, you liking me that way.”

Some of Aidan’s defenses came back up as his expression changed into that mock amusement. “Right, says the guy who ‘doesn’t swing’.”

Neil was confused for a moment, until he remembered telling Aidan that back when they started school. “I don’t,” he insisted. “I don’t care about girls or guys.” When he saw Aidan’s expression become that awful blank one, he shook his head and closed the distance between them, his right hand hovering near Aidan’s chest. “But I do… I do care about you.” His throat went tight as he forced the words out, and in the back of his mind he could hear his mother screaming at him, telling him that it was suicide to let anyone in, to like anyone. “You… she….” He hung his head as he tried to drown out her voice.

Things were quiet between them for what felt too long, and then there was that warm touch to the back of his neck. “They’re called ‘words’, and you move your mouth so they come out.”

“Asshole.” Neil’s voice was weak, but he found that he could speak again, could lift up his head and see Aidan looking at him with a thoughtful expression on his face. “She….”

“Your mother?”

“Yes.” Neil shuddered as he took a breath, his chest still tight. “She would….” He shook his head, not wanting to go there just now. “Never trust anyone, she said. It’s bad to like someone, to let them in because they’ll just use you.”  But he had promised Aidan the truth, so he tried to explain.

“So you never liked anyone,” Aidan finished for him.

“No… until you.”

There was almost no reaction from the other teen, save for a slight widening of his eyes. Then he let out a slow, hissing breath and pointed at Neil, his right forefinger stabbing as if to strike but stopping just short of Neil’s face. “You. *You*. You’re like a… like a pipe dream or something. You can’t be real, yet there you are. I think you’re here to torment me or something, a punishment for all the shit I’ve done.”

Okay, that was a bit contradictory, but Neil had a feeling he really would be stabbed if he pointed that out just then. “I don’t know what you want me to say, I’m just telling you the truth.”

“Which is the worst part of this - *I* must have been the one with the concussion when I made that deal.” Then Aidan seemed to think about something. “Oh, wait, I did have one… it explains a lot.”

That was news to Neil. “When did that happen?”

“Hush, let the grown-ups talk now.” Aidan waved him quiet and appeared to think about something. “I don’t know,” he admitted after about a minute. “You’ve been honest these last few weeks, from what I can tell. But this is too good to be true. Shit like this doesn’t happen to me.” His eyes flashed with anger as he spoke that last part.

“Then isn’t it about time that it did?” Despite everything that had happened to him, Neil felt so angry for Aidan just then, for everything that had been denied to his friend.

“Hush,” Aidan reminded him, his fingers a quick brush against Neil’s lips. He studied Neil’s face as if looking for something, and then Neil found himself spun around and pushed across the small living room until he was pressed against the wall.

“If we do this,” Aidan said, his arms braced on either side of Neil’s head, “you will listen to what I tell you, understand? If I tell you not to do a thing, you don’t it.”

Neil swallowed hard as he nodded, then managed to squeak out a weak “yes.”

“And you can tell me to stop at any time. You *will* tell me to stop if you don’t want it, if I think you don’t like it this will end right here.”

“Okay.” That came out better, and when Aidan gave Neil a narrowed look, he nodded. “Okay, I promise.”

“I must be losing my mind for doing this,” Aidan muttered as he shook his lowered head.

“You’re not,” Neil insisted. “You... you’ll see.” He wanted to touch Aidan just then, to do something to take away that look of confusion, that tone of self-castigation, but he stopped before his fingers touched Aidan’s cheek, mindful of pushing too far.

Still, Aidan noticed the gesture and raised his head to look at Neil, and after a couple of seconds, leaned in until their faces were scant centimeters apart. “Yes or no?”

“Eh?” It took Neil a moment to get it. “Yuh-yes.” A moment later he was kissed again, but unlike that morning, this one was more insistent, was more… more passionate. His hands began to reach for Aidan as his lips parted, but he remembered in time and pressed them back against the wall just as Aidan’s tongue slipped into his mouth.

Aidan tasted of cigarettes and something sweet, as if he’d snuck a candy bar before training. His mouth moved over Neil’s, his lips rough and hard, and Neil felt dizzy as he struggled to keep up, as new emotions burned inside of him. A slight moan escaped him when he felt Aidan’s hand skim down to his waist, and his hips gave a slight buck forward into Aidan’s.

As sudden as it began, the kiss ended as Aidan pulled away; Neil made another faint moan in complaint and made to reach for him, but again stopped just short. Aidan looked at him, eyes intent for a few seconds as if to confirm something then nodded. “So, dinner?”

Neil wanted to strangle the asshole just then. “Wuh- what about it?” He struggled to get his brain up to speed when he still needed the wall for support.

Something made Aidan smirk, just a little, just then. “You said you were going to make us dinner. I’m hungry, so hurry it up.”

“Ah, yeah, I was thinking spaghetti.” Neil was giving serious consideration to starting his own hate percentage against a certain person right about then.

“That’s fine, should be quick.” Aidan shrugged as he turned to leave.

“Wait!” Neil reached for Aidan but stopped short from grabbing on to his sleeve; either the command or the motion got his friend’s attention. “Uhm, why me?” That was one of the things that had puzzled him ever since that morning – why did Aidan want him, when he could have Ryan or, well, anyone else?

Fortunately – or maybe not – Aidan seemed better at picking up on things than him. “Why?” He waved to Neil’s right hand, which still hovered by Aidan’s elbow. “Because of this. Because I know you’ll stop when I tell you.” When all Neil did was stare at him while he thought about that statement, Aidan clicked his tongue. “I don’t see you making dinner.”

“Ah! Yeah, right on it.” Neil darted around a now glowering Aidan and into the kitchen, and hoped that they did indeed have everything they needed for dinner or else he’d have to put up with a lot of bitching.

*******

Aidan glared at the laughing idiots around him and gave Neil a nudge. “How’s the shoulder, and don’t you dare tell me it’s ‘fine’.”

The idiot blinked a few times, apparently still dazed despite what the nurse had assured them was ‘most likely not’ a concussion – there had been an offer to go get it checked out at a hospital, which Neil had staunchly refused, of course - and seemed to think about it for a moment. “Sore. But it’s… bearable.”

Considering that Aidan had spent over an hour stitching up the idiot the one time, ‘bearable’ could probably mean it was broken but still attached so Neil wasn’t about to complain. “Put it this way, how much of the good stuff are you going to need when we get home?” He braced himself for what was coming next and shoved a shoulder beneath Neil’s good arm so he could get the idiot onto his feet; he felt Neil tense up at first, probably in surprise, then slump against him.

Leaving the morons he had to call teammates to celebrate their first victory of the season, Aidan half-carried Neil off to the locker room so they could hurry up and get home – he had a feeling that this stupidity would drag on. Someone, a coach from the cheering squad from the looks of it, opened the door to the locker room for them, and Neil let out a soft grunt when he was set down on a bench in the room.

Memorial was similar to Park in size and in that they were trying to build up their Exy team, albeit they were so far having a bit more success. They had also been the victor in any games with Park up to this point, so when the Panthers had taken the lead after half-time, the Spartans had *not* been pleased with the prospect of losing to one of the worst-ranked teams in the district and so had decided to vent their frustrations out on court. One of the strikers in particular had targeted Neil, and considering that the asshole had almost a foot on him and over seventy pounds – why he wasn’t playing football, Aidan had no fucking clue – Neil had taken quite the beating. Neil and the walls and the floor, into which he had been repeatedly slammed. Two times, Ryan and Brennan had to restrain Aidan from going after him, and Aidan had been on the bench when Neil had been slammed hard enough to earn the asshole a red card and Neil being helped off the court.

Ewing. Aidan was going to remember that name and that face, even though it might take him some time to get around to it and make that asshole regret ever walking onto an Exy court.

Still, right now he had enough of a mess on his hands. “I’m beginning to reconsider that masochist theory,” he remarked as he helped Neil out of his uniform.

“Oh god, don’t make me laugh,” Neil wheezed. “Everything… just don’t.” He winced when he had to raise his left arm high enough for Aidan to pull off his jersey.

“No practice this weekend.” Upon seeing the idiot’s crestfallen expression, Aidan applied a bit of pressure to the injured shoulder. “Fight me on this, and there will be no practice for a week.”

Neil winced again, but had enough working brain cells left to keep his mouth shut. It was around then that the rest of the team gave up on celebrating with the crowd and chose to join them in the locker room – such a shame, as it was quieter without the moron squad.

“Hey, that’s where you two went off to!” Brad came charging forward as if to clap either of them on the back, but stopped abruptly when Aidan leveled an evil glare at him. “Uhm, so how is Neil doing?”

“Just fine, there’s nothing in his head to be affected by all those hits.”

Several of the team seemed to be taken back by the comment, but Neil just sighed and continued to allow Aidan to finish removing the rest of the protective gear. “I’ll survive,” he assured them.

“I can’t figure the two of you out,” Ed remarked as he went past them to his own locker. “But thanks for the great work tonight! Who wants to come back to my place to celebrate us kicking the Spartan’s asses?”

Aidan wouldn’t consider winning by one point ‘kicking ass’, but by that point everyone was cheering so much he doubted they’d hear him over the ruckus; Coach Beal showed up, but instead of telling them to calm down, the stupid puppy joined in. Since he couldn’t kill them, Aidan just shook his head and hurried to remove his own uniform, stripping down to the form-fitting pants and sweat-soaked shirt worn beneath the jersey and protective armor.

Frank noticed that him and Neil weren’t joining in and broke off from the chaos to hold out a hand. “Hey, you two going to come or what? You really should, for once.”

Aidan shook his head again as he gathered his and Neil’s coats from their lockers. “No, I’m taking him home, maybe even calling an aunt who’s a nurse to check on him just in case,” he lied as he tossed Neil his stuff. “She might not be around much, but I think Mom will be ticked off if I tell her that I broke her youngest and she has to get a new one.”

“You’ll have more fun without us there,” Neil said as he stood up, a little unsteady on his feet. “Can we leave now?”

“Just waiting for your whiny ass to get going,” Aidan reminded him. This time Neil didn’t flinch when Aidan offered him support, and didn’t manage to drag them down when they reached the snow-covered parking lot.

Aidan took his time getting home because of the roads, and Neil waited for his help to get inside and up the stairs; normally, being this close to a person, having them draped over him and their weight – such as it was – pressed against him would be unbearable, yet he didn’t mind. Well, that wasn’t true, he was furious at that Ewing bastard for targeting Neil, and at Neil for insisting on playing Exy. But he also knew that somehow, Neil had gotten past his defenses, that for whatever reason his mind didn’t see Neil as the enemy.

Of course, it might help that he’d spent the last couple of weeks making out with the idiot. It still amazed him, being able to approach Neil and ask ‘yes or no’ and to always be told ‘yes’ in return, to feel Neil respond to him. To feel Neil’s yearning and even frustration when Aidan set boundaries such as no touching in return or no moving his hands past Aidan’s shoulders, yet never once had Neil pushed beyond them.

Even Aidan was getting a little frustrated with the slow pace that he was setting, but part of him wanted to be certain, to know that this wasn’t going to backfire on him in some way. So little in his life had ever gone right before, and only once before had he wanted something like he wanted Neil.

Once in the apartment, he dumped Neil on the couch. “Are you going to be able to take a shower or do I have to put up with your stink all night?”

“Yeah, I feel a little better now.” Neil managed to stand up on his own and let his coat slip onto the couch after he unzipped it, then wavered a little on his feet on his way to the bathroom. Aidan dealt with both of their coats and their backpacks, then went to fetch the ‘medicinal’ vodka while Neil showered, waiting all the while for the sound of a loud ‘thud’.

Neil didn’t take long in there, but it seemed that he managed to wash off without falling down; he came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair slicked back from his face, the contacts gone from his eyes. Aidan felt a strong spike of desire upon seeing that lean body on display, the muscles honed from constant Exy practice, the long runner’s legs. Not even the numerous scars and the new bruises could detract from Neil’s beauty, they just defined it in Aidan’s opinion, illustrated the inner spirit that drove the teen on to keep fighting, to not give up when so many would have in order to escape the pain.

“Neil,” he called out, and hated himself for how hoarse he sounded.

“Yeah?” Neil motioned toward his bedroom, as if to ask if whatever it was that Aidan wanted, could it wait?

“Come here,” Aidan told him, and it only took a moment for Neil to get the picture.

He was a bit more certain on his feet as he crossed the room, and Aidan was mindful of the possible concussion and other injuries as he spun Neil around so that the teen’s back pressed against the wall. “Yes or no?”

Neil smiled at the question. “Yes, of course.”

“Don’t ‘of course’ me,” Aidan snapped, right before he leaned in for a kiss. Neil was quick to part his lips, and the taste of mint greeted Aidan when his tongue slipped inside.

Hmm, someone was a fast learner, and a responsive little shit. Aidan enjoyed how Neil arched his back as Aidan’s hands skimmed down his sides, and the breathless moan once he loosened the towel enough so it fell to the floor. Breaking off the kiss again, he pulled back enough to gaze at Neil’s now flushed face. “Yes or no?”

“Ye-yes,” Neil stuttered out while his nails scratched along the wall.

This time Aidan didn’t say anything as he grasped Neil’s wrists so he could rest the idiot’s hands on his shoulders, other than “keep them there.” Neil nodded twice, quick jerks of his head, and then moaned when Aidan kissed him again.

Neil was already beginning to grow hard by the time Aidan took him in hand, flesh warm and smooth beneath his calloused fingers. He wasn’t circumcised, and Aidan enjoyed the gasp he wrung from out from the teen as his fingers pulled back the loose collar of skin and rubbed over the sensitive skin.

“Oh… oh hell,” Neil stuttered out, his fingers digging into Aidan’s shoulders and his head hitting into the wall.

“Don’t break anything,” Aidan murmured as his mouth skimmed down the neck stretched taut before him, enjoying the taste of clean skin and water, the way Neil continued to shiver against him; he was growing so damn hard just hearing Neil gasp out his ‘name’, just feeling the way he jerked against him.

He bent his head a little more and sucked hard on one of Neil’s prominent collarbones, right next to an old scar, determined to leave a mark of his own. His right hand moving faster along Neil’s cock, his left teased along the teen’s arched back, down the prominent spine bump by bump until it rested on the firm curve of Neil’s ass.

“Ah, An-Aidan!” Feeling Neil’s body tense up, Aidan sped up the jerks of his hand and raised his head so he could watch Neil come, could see the flush on his cheeks and pupils blown wide with desire. A sudden thrill ran through him as Neil came, a sharp almost pain at the knowledge that he had done this to the teen, had brought him to release and made him want something in return.

Neil trembled as if from aftershocks of pleasure, and then slowly began to slide down the wall; Aidan held on to him long enough to make sure that he didn’t fall onto his face, then reached down to pick up the discarded towel so he could wipe clean his hand.

“How’s the shoulder and everything else now?”

“Eh?” Neil blinked his eyes a few time as if he didn’t understand what Aidan had just said.

“Yeah, thought so.” Aidan took a trembling step back, his pants tight as hell thanks to his own erection, and nudged at the now dirty towel lying next to Neil while he grabbed the bottle of vodka. “Cover yourself,” he snapped while he unscrewed the lid, and took several swallows straight from the bottle.

Neil fumbled for the towel and managed to drape it over his lap after two tries. “But… what about you?” He glanced at Aidan’s crotch for a moment, then looked up at his face, cheeks still flushed and expression dazed.

Aidan leaned over to tap the bottle against the idiot’s head and waited until Neil grab it. “Don’t worry about me,” he said, then spun around to retreat to the bathroom to clean up and jerk off, not necessarily in that order.

He wasn’t sure if he was happy or not about now having the mental image of a naked Neil to help speed things up.

*******

“Man, two wins! Two wins! We’ve never gone into winter break with two wins before,” Tony told Neil as they headed through the hall – Neil on his way to his French class, Tony to Biology. “We’re on a roll!”

Neil thought that was pushing things, considering that they were near the bottom of the district and would be facing higher-ranked teams next year, but he wasn’t about to argue with his teammate, not when he sensed it wasn’t worth the effort. They had barely beaten the Lumberjacks last week as it was, and two close wins weren’t exactly the stuff of legends.

Still, it was shaping up to be the best season so far for the Panthers – Aidan had quite a bit of derisive things to say about that fact – so Neil figured he’d allow the rest of the team to enjoy the moment while it lasted. There was no way they’d win their division or even make it to the play-offs, not without one hell of a miracle, but they would be ecstatic to not end up at the bottom for once.

“So, you guys doing anything special over the break? Your mom coming home and all that?”

It took a moment for Neil to catch up with the change of topic, considering that Tony normally just talked to him about Exy. “Uhm, yeah, she should be able to manage a few days in town,” he lied as he hitched his bag a little higher over his right shoulder. “How about you?”

Tony grimaced as he paused near the stairwell. “My dad says we have to go hang out with my grandparents in Green Bay, so we’ll be heading up there for most of it. I’m sure you’ll have a better time than I will, what with my granddad on me to quit Exy and play football instead.”

Neil made a sympathetic noise and waved as Tony went up the stairs, then thought about the holidays as he continued onward to his French class. He hadn’t really celebrated Christmas in years, not when he and his mother had been too busy running from his father’s men. There had been the one year his mother had tried, had wrapped up a new sweater in newspaper… but yeah, that had been something he needed, something to replace the one ruined by blood and a bullet hole. He shivered as his hand crept to the old wound on his chest, and he did his best to shove the memory away. Before that… there had been presents at the house in Baltimore, but most of them had been nothing but prettily wrapped empty boxes, as his father refused to let him be ‘spoiled’. Only a few of them had been for him, and again, they had been practical things, had been everyday stuff he needed. Then there would be an awful dinner to suffer through, to suffer *afterwards*.

He had to pause outside of the classroom and take a few breaths, to force aside the memories once more. It wasn’t the same anymore. His mother was gone, and his father was locked up in a Seattle prison. Neil was here in Racine with Aidan, and they could do whatever they wanted, just like they had for Thanksgiving. Could do anything… or nothing.

He reached into his backpack to pull out the keys to the apartment he shared with Aidan, a physical reminder of their home, and held on to them to help center him before he went into the classroom.

*******

Aidan saw the number on his phone and debated answering it, but he knew Anna well enough that if she was bothering to call him, she would do just that - *bother* him – until he answered. “What do you want? I told you, Neil’s fine.”

“Yeah, you texted me when I told you to call, but whatever.” Anna let out a slow breath as if to calm down. “All that matters is he’s fine and the two of you aren’t in some type of shit.”

“Which he is and we’re not so goodbye.”

“Not helping, Andrew,” she snapped.

“Why the hell are you calling me?”

“To see if you have any plans for New Year’s Eve, you little shit.”

Aidan was confused enough by the question that he pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the number again, just to make sure that it was Anna who had called. “What? You’re inviting me to something? He and Anna tolerated each other, and yeah, she was doing him a favor – sorta, but they had never really been friends.

“I’m inviting you and Neil to a party.” She huffed a little as if she realized how ridiculous that sounded. “Look, someone I know, his parents rent this big fancy lodge each year and stock it with food and alcohol so him and a bunch of friends can party out of the way and not get into trouble. I went last year, so I know it’s safe. Somehow I figured maybe the two of you could come, take advantage of getting drunk without getting busted or… well, you know.”

Or Aidan getting in trouble somehow, was what she implied. There was only so many times he could risk shoplifting alcohol, after all. “And what do you get out of it?”

“Not having to worry about having to leave the party to bail your ass out of jail?”

That actually made sense.

“Place better not be stocked with bottom shelf shit,” he told her. “Text me details when it’s closer to the date,” he told her before he hung up.

As he put away his phone and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, he wondered how well Neil was going to take the news that they now had party plans.

*******

For their winter break, Neil and Aidan had planned much the same that they had for the Thanksgiving one, to grab some Chinese food for the actual holiday, watch some movies (French this time), take a couple of days off from Exy (Aidan had stressed that if he so much as saw a racquet that he would break it, preferably over Neil’s thick head) and enjoy being lazy. Well, Aidan would enjoy being lazy. Neil figured he’d catch up on some homework and find a place to run, but it would be a nice break for them both.

Finishing off the quarter with another win for the Panthers and passing his classes – some of them with more effort than others – meant that Neil was more than looking forward to some time away from school. Still, he was a little nervous when Christmas arrived, even though it started out as a normal day; he woke up and went into the kitchen dressed in pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt to start a pot of coffee. While that brewed, he fixed himself a bowl of cereal, a simple granola mix he favored, and left out the chocolate milk for Aidan as well as the sugary junk that passed for his friend’s breakfast.

He was halfway through his cereal and the coffee had just finished brewing when Aidan stumbled into the room, eyes half-shut and dark brown hair sticking up in all different directions, dressed similar to Neil but with the black arm bands in place for the day. He ignored Neil as he shuffled about, fixing his coffee first and standing at the counter to drink some of it, before he finally sat down with his own breakfast.

Things were quiet until Aidan had finished his second cup of coffee and his sugar fix, finally appearing semi-awake. For his part, Neil had gotten up to put things away, wash his bowl and pour himself some coffee as well, then went back to sit in his chair. “So, dare I wish you a Merry Christmas?”

Aidan grunted in return, but didn’t throw a spoon or mug at him – or worse, a knife.

“Okay then, since that went so well….” Neil debated things just for a few more seconds before he went off to his room to fetch the bag he’d shoved into his closet the other day, and returned to the kitchen to find Aidan waiting for him with narrowed eyes and arms folded over his chest. “Ah, I know we didn’t agree to anything,” or even talk about it, “but….” He shrugged, suddenly uncertain about his decision, but figured it was too late to back out now. “Merry Christmas,” he repeated as he set down the simple red bag in front of his friend.

Aidan eyed the thing as if it was going to bite him or explode or something. “You got me a present.” His tone was the flat one Neil hated, since it left him unable to figure out what Aidan was thinking – other than it probably wasn’t good for Neil.

“I… yeah, I decided why not,” he admitted with a shrug. After hearing the team and his classmates go on and on about what they were getting for their friends and family, and what they hoped to get in return… Neil had wondered when the last time Aidan had been given anything. Had wondered if his Christmases had been anything like Neil’s, and hadn’t liked that thought.

“Don’t think you’re going to bribe your way into an Exy practice any time soon,” Aidan huffed as he reached for the bag, and Neil felt the tension inside of him slowly uncoil as he smiled. “If it’s some stupid, awful sweater, I will gut you, I swear it.”

“No, I know better than that,” Neil promised as he picked up his mug. “Though, uhm, hope you don’t have the one thing.” He waited with growing apprehension as Aidan pulled out the bigger present first, which was a new hardback that the woman at the bookstore had sworn was really good; he knew that Aidan enjoyed reading, especially on the bus rides to their away games.

Aidan inspected it and nodded. “No, not yet.” He was quick to set it aside, yet Neil noticed the way his fingers lingered over the cover for a moment. “There’s something else?” He shook the bag and arched an eyebrow at the way it rattled, then reached in to pull out a small box. “Let’s mark this day down, Neil spending money all on his own.”

“Keep it up, and I’ll be spouting percentages back at you before you know it.”

That earned him a mocking glance before Aidan opened the box to reveal a stainless steel, refillable Zippo lighter. Aidan paused a moment to stare at it, his lips twitching at the embellished ‘A’ carved into it. “For ‘Aidan’?”

“For you.” Neil frowned a little, not sure how to explain it exactly. “It’s… well, it stands for you.” For Andrew and Aidan, for the person who had promised to stand by Neil and to protect him, who had dared him to believe in a life other than running.

The room grew quiet again, for about a minute, and then there was a scratching sound when Aidan tried the lighter; a flame appeared after a couple of times, and he huffed again while he flicked the lid closed. “Good thing I wasn’t called Dave or Bill or something like that.”

Neil laughed a little. “Somehow I can’t see that.”

“Hmm.” Aidan stared at the lighter a little longer then got up from the table; Neil assumed to go get his cigarettes, and was only partially right – he returned with the pack but also with a bag from a clothing store at the local mall, one that was popular with a lot of the other students. “Here. I was going to give this to you later, before we meet up with Anna.”

“Huh?” Neil wasn’t following, but that wasn’t new when it came to Aidan. “What about Anna?”

“She texted me to let me know there’ll be a party over the break and we’re invited, and I refuse to be seen with you while you’re wearing the same shitty clothes as always. So consider it your present, too.” Aidan gave him a disapproving look while he used the new gift to light a cigarette. “You’re welcome.”

“But-“ The look became a glare, so Neil gave up and reached into the bag, to pull out a pair of black skinny jeans and a long-sleeved jersey made of some slinky black material. It would cover his scars from what he could tell… but it would also be as form fitting as the jeans. There were also a pair of black ankle boots at the bottom, and he had a feeling that everything would fit; Aidan had certainly been taking off – not going there, he told himself as he felt his face grow warm.

“When’s the party?”

“New Year’s Eve, at some lodge being rented out by a friend.”

“Great,” Neil said without much enthusiasm.

“Isn’t it?” Aidan smirked around his cigarette for a moment, then blew out the smoke in Neil’s direction. “Looks like we’re doing the holidays up right this year.”

“So does that mean we’re going to wait until New Year’s to drink again?” Aidan’s scoff just then let Neil know just how delusional the question had been. “Now I know what to get you next year – a flask.” He shook his head as he gathered up the clothes and went to put them in his bedroom.

He had barely gotten into the living room when he felt a soft touch to his neck and turned around to find Aidan nearly pressed against him. “What?” He blinked in surprise to find his friend that close.

“Yes or no?”

Used to the question by now and how Aidan would often ask it out the blue like that, Neil smiled as he hugged the bag against his chest. “Yes.” He barely got the word out before he found himself kissed, a little more than a gentle press of the lips while fingers tangled in the hair along the nape of his neck, and then Aidan was stalking back to the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> *frets* Not 100% sold on the first scene, I think some of Andrew's past was coming through there, his insecurities about that, but yeah, it is what it is. He's back to his more bad-ass self in the next scene.
> 
> As always, thank you oh so very much for the kudos and comments left, they are greatly appreciated! Love seeing what you think about the story!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, consider this... hmm, not quite a filler chapter, because important things are raised here and there is a serious talk of sorts in the first part (and a warning - there's some dark topics in it, including something I'm pretty sure is canon, that involves mention of not good things to animals, but is only a line long and NOT graphic). But this is a shortish chapter for me, it's basically one night in the boys' lives, and I figured I'd set this as the entire chapter because the next one sets things up for wrapping up the high school 'arc' of the story (and is done in rough draft, so yes, hoping to get that up and posted tomorrow - in fact, really hoping to get the whole 'high school arc' finished this weekend).
> 
> Long story short. Shortish chapter, sorta dark, sorta smutty, and then oh shit do things happen in the next one.
> 
> Enjoy  
> *******

*******

Neil eyed the people gathered in the large, open space of the first floor of the biggest lodge he’d ever seen and wished that he’d kept his coat; they’d been greeted by some young guy at the door who’d given them an once-over then asked ‘Anna’s friends?’, and as soon as Aidan had said ‘yes’, invited them in and taken their coats from them. Now they stood on the outskirts of what appeared to be a cavernous living room while about twenty-five people laughed, drank, danced and over-all appeared to be having a good time.

“Andrew! So you showed up after all!” Anna left a small group of people with a taller redheaded girl in tow, both of them wearing short but fancy dresses that glittered in the room’s dim light. “And you didn’t lose Neil along the way, go you!” She gave Aidan a smile but swooped in to hug Neil, much to his surprise; as soon as he stiffened at the unexpected embrace, she was quick to let him go. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“Fuck off,” Aidan snarled as he pushed her away, though with less force than Neil had seen him with other people. “How much have you been drinking?”

“Hmm, a little?” Anna tilted her right hand back and forth in the air as she squinted; Neil noticed that she was all made up and her hair pulled back with shiny barrettes. “But it’s okay, because Kelci’s here.”

Kelci must be the other girl, because she gave them a tired grin as she draped her arms around Anna’s neck. “I’m taking care of her tonight, aren’t I lucky?” Despite the slight bite of sarcasm, her smile grew brighter as Anna hugged the arms tighter to her chest. “Come on, babe, I think you need some water.”

“Oh, just a moment.” Anna smiled up at her then turned back to Aidan and Neil and dug through the tiny purse hung over her left shoulder for what turned out to be a key on a small blue keychain. “I saved a room for you two, it’s next to ours – look for the, uhm… what’s the bird?”

“Seagull.”

“Yeah, seagull on the door,” she told Aidan as she handed him the key. “Drinks in the kitchen, so’s the food. Don’t worry, Doug doesn’t pull any shit at his parties.” For a moment, Anna’s smile slipped and she looked a lot older than the nineteen or so years Aidan said she was supposed to be. “It’s the only reason I come to ‘em.”

Kelci nodded as her arms fell from Anna’s upper chest and she entwined their fingers together instead. “Yeah, there’s a lot of alcohol around, but no drugs, and no funny stuff. Have fun.” She waved at them while she tugged Anna off behind her.

Neil tugged on the sleeves of his new shirt while he watched them leave. “So… Anna’s got a girlfriend? She seems nice.”

“First I’ve heard of it.” Aidan shrugged while he looked around, then seemed to find what he was looking for since he latched on to Neil’s wrist and pulled him along. “She’s bi, so I don’t keep track.”

“Ah.” Neil wasn’t surprised to find out that they ended up in the kitchen, where there was indeed a ‘lot of alcohol’ – an island was covered with bottles of it, with a couple of kegs on the floor, and there were coolers of soda and water as well. Aidan paused as if to take it all in, then snatched up a bottle of flavored vodka and two shot glasses from the counter, ignoring the platters of food. Once that was done, they went back out into the large social area, ignoring the small groups of people, and managed to find a couple of empty chairs near the huge fireplace that was away from the noise.

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” Aidan said as soon as they sat down, his voice pitched enough to be heard over the music and background noise. “You’re going to drink, and for each shot, we both tell the truth.”

“But I already tell you the truth.”

“Which is why you’re going to drink.” Aidan sounded as if he was talking to a small child as he handed over a full shot, which smelled like vanilla cake.

Neil hesitated for a moment with the shot in his hand. “For how long?” He didn’t have Aidan’s tolerance for alcohol.

“Until you say stop.” Aidan held his gaze even as he poured another shot.

Tossing back the shot before he could really think this through, Neil shivered a little at the too-sweet taste and the burn down his throat. “That’s… wow, yeah, you’ll like it.”

Aidan gave a slight smile before he had a shot as well. “All right then, one question each. You can go first.”

Neil paused in wiping his lips as he tried to think of what to ask, having the feeling that catching up on how Aidan had done at school wasn’t the point to this. So instead, he asked the first thing that came into his mind. “Why do you hate the word ‘please’?”

“And we’re off to such a great start.” Despite the sarcasm just then, Aidan didn’t appear upset. “Because I was told that if I said it enough, he would stop.” As he spoke, he took the shot glass from Neil so it could be refilled. “My turn. You said that Lola taught you to use knives. What did she teach you to use them on?”

Neil had to swallow past the sudden burn in his throat that had nothing to do with alcohol. “Pieces of meat, at first. But once… once it was pigs.” He had to swallow again to keep down the fast food they’d eaten on the way here. “To know how it felt to… oh god, to cut into something living.” He snatched up the refilled glass and tossed it back as fast as he could.

Aidan’s face was blank upon hearing that, but his fingers lingered against Neil’s as he took the glass back and set it aside so he could refill his own. “Go ahead, you want to know more about what I said. Continue asking.”

Neil wasn’t sure he did, but…. “Did the guy stop, like he promised?”

Now Aidan’s expression was mocking. “Of course he didn’t.” He tossed back his shot, then refilled both glasses. “Isn’t this such fun?”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.” Neil grimaced as he accepted his glass, aware that he owed Aidan a question. “Well?”

“If you had the opportunity to kill your father, would you?”

He didn’t have to think about the answer, he knew it. “Yes. Though with all of his people… it would be difficult.” Still, he dreamed about it some nights.

“So bloodthirsty, I approve.” A slight smile curved Aidan’s full lips before he had his third shot. “Hmm, this stuff is growing on me.”

“Anything alcoholic grows on you,” Neil felt it was necessary to point out before he downed his own shot. “At least it’s better than whisky,” he admitted. “Do you know anything about your family?” He was curious about that – Andrew’s last name had been ‘Doe’, but had he really been abandoned with no information whatsoever?

“Ah, now that’s a good one.” Aidan once more collected the glasses to refill them. “I used to know nothing, until my thirteenth birthday. Then I found out that I’m an identical twin and that my mother put me in the system but not my precious brother.”

The answer stunned Neil, who couldn’t imagine someone willing subjugating a child to the abuse that Aidan – that *Andrew* had obviously endured. When he went to ask for more details, Aidan handed over the shot glass. “Ah, ah, my turn. Why did you have Durand tell your uncle about your mother?”

Neil thought that he was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol already and rubbed at his eyes with his left hand. “Because while I’ve only spent a little time with the man, I know some things about my uncle. I know he loves his sister and he hates my father. While my mother was alive, there wasn’t much he could do about him… but with her dead?” He gave Aidan a grim smile. “It may be impossible for me to kill the bastard, but not so much for my uncle.”

There was a look of grudging respect on Aidan’s face just then. “Color me impressed. I think you’ve managed to knock yourself back down to 145%.”

“Huh.” Neil knew that he’d been – mostly – reversing the direction of the percentages in the last couple of weeks, barring a few flare-ups here and there. But that was quite the jump in his favor. “Nice to know what it takes to get on your good side.”

“I’m so easy to please.” Aidan handed over the shot glass, then clinked his against it.

“You’re psychotic,” Neil argued before he drank some more too-sweet vodka.

“Pot, kettle, black,” Aidan sang out after he downed his.

Figuring that he didn’t have the best leg to stand on just then, Neil shook his head and handed over the empty glass. “What did you do when you found out about your mother and your brother?”

“Nothing.” Aidan smiled again, that too-sharp grin, when Neil stared at him disbelief. “Well, I told them to fuck off, so basically nothing. I stayed where I was, they stayed where they were, and we’re all so much happier for it.”

The… well, could Neil call him an idiot? What would he have done in Aidan’s place? “Okay, so what do you want to know now?”

“What do you think will happen next year? Do you really see us playing high school kids forever?” The grin was gone, replaced by the familiar blank look as Aidan stared at him from only a couple of feet away.

Neil frowned as he considered the question. “As long as we don’t fuck up, we should be good for the school year. Then we can… I don’t know, figure it out over the summer. When does your ID turn eighteen again? Do you want to go somewhere else?”

Aidan continued to stare for several seconds until he scoffed. “At least you didn’t say any shit about Exy,” he remarked for some odd reason as he handed over the refilled shot.

Neil downed it and then held the glass in his hand. “I don’t know why you hate the sport when you do it so well – wait, that’ll be my next question. I mean, after this one. The one I’m going to ask now.” He frowned as he tried to make sense of what he had just said. “Tell me about the family thing first. Don’t you want to be with them?”

Aidan pried the glass from his hand. “You have an uncle you can call at any time. Why don’t you do that? Is family that important to you?”

“Family….” Neil pressed his left hand against his chest and could feel the scar tissue through the thin material of the black shirt Aidan had given him. “All family’s ever done really is tear me apart,” he admitted in a quiet voice.

Despite the background noise, he thought that Aidan must have heard him, because his friend handed him another shot. “Exactly.”

Neil drank it without thinking, then let out a low moan as the room began to feel too warm. “Oh, I think I should stop now.”

“Then you stop.” Aidan took away the glass and dropped it to the floor, off to the side of the chairs. “I told you that you could.”

“But... are we even now?” Had there been enough answers to all of the questions?

“I think we’re good,” Aidan told him as he screwed the lid back onto the bottle then grabbed onto Neil’s left arm. “Now how about we get something that’s not alcoholic into you?”

“Hmm, fine.” Neil allowed himself to be pulled onto his feet and led away from the nice comfy chair by a nice, comfy Aidan.

*******

A drowsy Neil held in his arms as he leaned against the wall near the fireplace, Aidan sighed when he spied Anna and her girlfriend headed their way and raised the bottle of cake batter flavored vodka to his lips to brace himself for their inanity.

“Aw, you two look so cute! But you could, you know, be a bit more social.” Anna held out a couple of bottles of water toward them, and after a moment, Neil reached out to grab them.

“Uhm, we’re fine,” he told her, sounding a bit better now that Aidan had gotten some water and food into him after the shots from earlier. From what Aidan could tell from peering over his friend’s shoulder, Neil was inspecting the bottles to make sure they were still sealed; yeah, he had definitely sobered up enough.

“Like he said, we’re fine.” Aidan set the liquor down on the nearby mantle and accepted one of the water bottles, since he had a nice buzz going on and didn’t want to get too trashed while surrounded by a bunch of strange people. “And I thought you said that there weren’t any drugs here.”

“Hmm?” Anna must have been doing her best to sober up as well, since she seemed a bit more lucid than when Aidan and Neil had shown up at the party; she frowned at Aidan as she fussed with her hair, which was slipping free from the fancy clips she’d pulled it back in. “There shouldn’t be, Doug doesn’t do that stuff.”

“Some girl came up to us a little while ago and offered some ‘pixie’ shit.” She had been interested in ‘joining’ them, and offered the drugs as an enticement of some sort. Aidan had been more than happy to tell her to fuck off while Neil had flinched away from the girl.

Anna’s girlfriend, Kelci, laughed for some reason. “Oh, pixie dust. Yeah, it’s pretty new.” When even Anna looked at her in confusion, she rolled her eyes. “That stuff they were doing at Mina’s party last month.”

“Oooooh.” Okay, maybe Anna still was a bit drunk. “Yeah, don’t think it’s got to California yet,” she explained to Aidan, “since it’s still really new out this way. Hear some guy on the East Coast developed it – it’s not the biggest high, it’s like a light hit of E and it works best with alcohol, but it won’t leave you addicted.”

Kelci nodded. “So yes, no roofie effect, no hangover, no addiction – that’s probably why Doug doesn’t care if it’s here tonight.”

It sounded interesting, but again, not something to test out when Aidan was surrounded by a bunch of strangers. “What will they think up next?”

Neil gave a little sigh as he twisted off the lid of his water. “Are any of these people gonna be conscious come midnight?”

The question prompted a laugh from Kelci. “Probably less than half. If you’re not gonna hang out and dance or stuff, you might want to hit the room early, before someone breaks into it and passes out.”

“Not a bad idea. Stay here.” Aidan gave Neil’s ribs a warning squeeze before he let him go – the idiot was able to stand on his own now, at least – so he could head out to the car and fetch their overnight bag. It was cold as fuck out, but at least it wasn’t snowing, and no one was fucking with the cars. Some idiot a lodge or two down was setting off fireworks, but Aidan was more interested in getting back inside before he froze his ass off.

Once inside, he grabbed another bottle of vodka and slipped it into the bag – waste not, want not – as well as a couple bottles of water, then went to fetch Neil, who was still chatting with Anna and Kelci. Aidan noticed some strange guy hovering around the three of them and gave him a nasty look, then collected his idiot and what remained in his other bottle of vodka. “Anna, you don’t suck so much after tonight.”

“Fuck off, you little shit. Neil, I hope *you* have a happy New Year.” Bitch that she was, she blew Neil a kiss then gave Aidan the finger while a laughing Kelci dragged her away.

Neil sighed as he tugged on Aidan’s left arm. “No bloodshed tonight, okay? It’s, uhm, a bad way to start the new year?” He sounded a little uncertain as he said that.

“She’s not worth the effort,” Aidan complained as he allowed himself to be led toward the large staircase. “You have any idea where the hell we’re going?”

“Uhm, room with the seagull.”

“Door with a seagull,” Aidan reminded him as he took the lead. “And if anyone’s in there, so much for your murder-free new year.”

They had to step around a couple making out on the landing, and their room was about four doors down. The lock wasn’t exactly the most secure, but Aidan figured if anyone tried to break in, a knife to the throat would work wonders on calming them the fuck down. Once in the room, they found it to have a horrid blue on blue on blue decoration theme – probably supposed to be something ocean-like – and contain one queen-sized bed.

“Have I said enough times yet that Anna’s a bitch?” Aidan set the bag on the bed while he started checking to make sure that no one was hiding anywhere in the room – while he looked in the closet and the small attached bathroom, Neil checked beneath the bed.

“Once or twice.” Neil smiled a little as he sat down on the bed, hair tousled from all the times he’d ran his hands through it and expression a little sleepy.

“She is,” Aidan insisted. “I feel like I’m inside a smurf or something.”

“Isn’t that a relative of yours?”

Aidan’s eyes narrowed as he stalked over to stand in front of the idiot. “If you’ve just made another Oompa-Loompa reference, I *will* kick your ass this time.” Bastard thought that just because he’d grown another inch, he could get all shitty about it.

“I would never,” Neil insisted as he reached out to give a gentle tug to one of the belt loops on Aidan’s black jeans.

“Never my ass. Such a smart mouth you have.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” The sleepy expression was gone from Neil’s face, replaced by something almost predatory.

“Whatever I want.” Aidan latched onto the forearm of the hand holding onto his belt loop and pulled Neil up from the bed; he could feel the arm guard beneath the black shirt as he pushed Neil toward the wall.

“Are you still drunk?” he asked as he watched how Neil moved, as he studied those pale green eyes and how they tracked his face – no, his lips.

“Not… not anymore,” Neil insisted as he let go of Aidan’s jeans and pushed his hands flat against the wall as if knowing what would come next.

“Yes or no?”

“Hell yes,” Neil breathed out with a slight, pleased smile. When Aidan stepped closer, he laughed a little. “Though why do we usually end up against a wall?”

“Because I’m not about to make a mess on our bed,” Aidan explained as he tugged up the hem of the idiot’s new shirt, “while I make a mess of you.”

“Clever.”

“There’s that mouth again. 150%,” Aidan insisted before he leaned in to wipe away that smile. Neil’s lips parted for him, a faint groan slipping free as his hands skimmed along Neil’s ribs. As the kiss deepened and he found himself rocking his hips forward, he forced himself to pull back enough so he could tug the shirt up and over Neil’s head. “Too many clothes.”

“Uh-huh.” Neil tossed aside the long bangs falling onto his face while Aidan dropped the shirt to the floor, his hands rising from the wall a little as if to reach for Aidan before they fell back down. “And yours?” At Aidan’s cool look, he sighed and shook his head. “Okay.”

As with every other time, Neil backed down without pushing, without asking for an explanation – even when he could have earlier. So Aidan dove in for another kiss, savored the way that Neil always opened up for him, always responded, and grasped both of Neil’s hands as he pulled away once again. “Keep them there,” he instructed as he raised them to his head, Neil’s fingers threading through his hair.

“Oh-okay,” Neil repeated, appearing a bit confused, especially when Aidan began to kiss down his neck. “Uhm, what-“

“Messing you up, like I said,” Aidan answered. “Now hush.” He undid the button and then the zipper of Neil’s tight jeans, for a moment regretting that he’d bought the skinny style even if they’d looked so damn good on the teen. It took a little effort to work them and the grey boxer-briefs that Neil wore beneath them down his muscular thighs, but by that point, Neil was hard and shivering beneath Aidan’s hands. Aidan gave a light nip to his left nipple and smirked at the groan that produced, then dropped down to his knees.

“Aidan!”

“Shush,” Aidan admonished, aware that the walls were thin enough that he could hear the faint thump of the music downstairs, while his hands ran down Neil’s abdomen. He palmed a bony hip with his left while circling the base of Neil’s cock with the fingers of his right hand to hold it steady, then swiped his tongue along its underside.

Neil gave a shuddering breath at that, his fingers clenching in Aidan’s hair but not forcing his head to move. Bobbing forward, Aidan took the cock in his mouth, amusement and desire sparking inside of him when Neil groaned out his name. As he’d twice alluded to, he did his best to wreak Neil, to break him down, alternating sucking hard and then giving swiping licks, taking Neil’s cock in all the way and then letting his lips slip along to its flared tip. The entire time Neil shivered and gasped, the sounds sweet enough to make him so fucking hard, but there was also the sight of his gorgeous face flushed with pleasure, the way he bit into his bottom lip to try to remain quiet and his eyes blown dark.

“Fu-fuck, Aidann… I’m going to-“ Neil’s fingers tightened even more as he gave a full body shudder, and then he was coming in Aidan’s mouth. Aidan focused on Neil’s face, on the feel of Neil’s bony hip as he swallowed several times, his own pleasure slightly diminished as he pulled back, and then Neil was sliding down the wall in a beautiful, crumpled heap.

Somewhat hampered because of his jeans trapped around his knees, Neil ended up with his legs bent in front of Aidan, his arms loose around Aidan’s shoulders. “That… that was….”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Aidan huffed as he rocked back on his heels, his own jeans a bit more uncomfortable at the moment.

Neil glanced down and then back up at his face. “What about you?”

For a moment, Aidan thought about getting up and going to the bathroom, just like always, and then before he could rethink what he was doing, he reached down to undo his own pants with his right hand while he grabbed onto the back of Neil’s neck. “Don’t move.”

“What?”

“*Don’t*,” he repeated while he pulled the idiot in for a kiss.

Neil blinked as if surprised, but he didn’t resist and he opened his mouth to Aidan’s, like always, as Aidan thrust his tongue in deep even as he slid his hand inside his jeans to stroke himself. Hearing Neil’s happy little moan sent one of those damn thrills of pleasure through him when he was already so close to the edge, and the feel of Neil’s tongue sliding against his own along with a couple of rough strokes was enough to bring himself off.

He buried his face in the crook of Neil’s neck as he came, warmth spurting over his hand, and allowed himself only a couple of seconds of weary enjoyment before he forced himself to stand up. When Neil stirred as well, he pushed him back down with his left hand. “Stay.” Neil gave a quick nod and remained huddled by the wall while Aidan snatched up the bag with his clean hand and went to the bathroom.

It had a sink, a toilet and a shower stall, which was enough for him to wash off and change into a clean pair of underwear and t-shirt to wear to bed, as well as to remove the contact lenses and brush his teeth. Once that was done, he left the bag for Neil and returned to the bed, where he picked up the mostly empty bottle of vodka so he could have the rest of it before bed. “Go get ready.”

Neil had pulled up his pants while waiting for Aidan, and he paused by the bed long enough to snatch the bottle of vodka away so he could take a quick sip, which earned him a very displeased look. “Not sure what time it is, but Happy New Year,” he murmured as he handed it back, then leaned in close in a very deliberate manner. When Aidan didn’t pull away, he brushed their lips together in a gentle kiss before heading off to clean up.

Aidan huffed to himself as he finished off the rest of the vodka; their phones were in the bag, so he could check the time if he wanted, but it was too much effort. Instead, he turned down the bed and waited for Neil to return in a couple of minutes, dressed in a similar manner and also lacking the green contacts. When Neil climbed in bed next to him, he gave him a gentle flick to the forehead. “Happy New Year, too. Let’s see if you can get through it without anyone trying to kill you.”

That prompted a laugh from Neil as he lay down. “No promises.”

“Yeah, I thought you might say that.” Aidan got up to check the door one last time then turn out the light; he thought he heard some people cheering downstairs, but was content to welcome in the new year up here.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> I'm pretty sure that in the books that Neil mentioned Lola training him on knives and the animal part? Or is that me? Or maybe his father? Or do I just need help?
> 
> And yes, been meaning to say this but, underage drinking and stealing alcohol, bad.
> 
> As always, so much love for all the kudos and comments! They are greatly appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm hmmm.... Okay, so, this chapter... yeah. Just read it.
> 
> I will say that the next chapter is like... well, it's 90% and 145% written (I need one more scene to go, and then I need to cut some scenes from it, it's way too long, but they'll just go to the next chapter. Either way it's not quite complete). I'm thinking it'll be up on Sunday. SORRY.  
> *******

*******

With the Panthers focused on the upcoming game that night, one of the last couple remaining where they had the chance of a win and so the hope of finishing the season near an even balance of a win/loss record, Neil was a bit confused when, during homeroom, Ashley shoved a small red box at him. “Here,” she told him, a hint of pink shading her cheeks. “Uhm, you don’t have to… just take it.”

“Thanks.” He accepted the item with some trepidation, his confusion clearing up just a little when he noticed the red hearts on the box.

Oh. *Oh*. It was the fourteenth, wasn’t it? Valentine’s Day? But why was Ashley giving him what looked to be chocolates?

Much to his growing horror, the scene was repeated several more times over the next few class periods, sometimes the girls stammering as they handed over the chocolates, sometimes them wishing him good luck with the upcoming game, sometimes them just smiling. He even got chocolates from two guys. Neil felt as if there was a permanent burn to his cheeks by fourth period, and his backpack was growing full of the boxes; he shared American History with Kathy, and she wouldn’t stop laughing at him over the whole ordeal. However, it wasn’t until they were leaving class and she patted him on the back that he really began to panic. “You think Aidan got as many chocolates as you did? With that sour face of his?”

Oh shit, *Aidan*.

*******

“I still don’t get how you can play Exy but you have a doctor’s excuse for wrestling.”

Aidan gave Drew a pointed stare until the guy got a hint and sat a few more inches away. “I already told you, bad neck. I don’t block the goal with my neck.”

“Whatever. At least I hear Neil spends the period doing laps around the gym, not sitting on his ass.” A slight smile hovered on Drew’s lips as he watched two of their classmates flop about on the mats in front of them. “But then again, Neil’s not as much of an asshole as you.”

“Is there a point to this? I think the baseball team is counting on having their star player being alive when the season starts up.” Aidan bared his teeth in warning.

Drew laughed and leaned his elbows back onto the bleacher seats behind them. “Just commenting on how much more popular your younger brother is – from what I hear, he’s raking in quite the haul today.” At Aidan’s continued dirty look, Drew shook his head. “Right, you two don’t cross paths until lunch. Marquis told me earlier that that at least eight girls and one guy have given him stuff for today.”

For Valentine’s Day, Aidan assumed, the fake, bullshit day when people professed their ‘undying’ love and all that other crap, just to sell candy and flowers and a chance to screw you over, literally and figuratively. He glared out at nothing as he remembered the idiots bringing single red roses and chocolates and stupid teddy bears into homeroom to surprise their girlfriends. “They’re wasting good candy on him – he doesn’t even care that much for sweets.”

“Hmm, doesn’t seem to care for much at all, from what you tell me.”

“Not unless it’s Exy,” Aidan said with a bit of venom. “Morons should try wooing him with a new racquet or something.”

“Ah man, I would *love* it if Maura would surprise me with a new glove or those sneakers I’ve been saving up for! Now you’re talking!” Drew laughed for a minute, until Swenson yelled at them to keep the noise down.

It seemed to take forever to reach lunch period, during that time which Aidan seemed hyper-aware of all the gift exchanges and signs of the awful holiday around him; it had never been one he paid much attention to before, unless to mock. As the perpetual new kid and one with anti-social tendencies at that, not to mention his past history, he had never encouraged close bonds with people, so the most he’d ever celebrated it in the past was those stupid cheap little cards a teacher or two had insisted he’d fill out and give to barely-known classmates, and them to him, back when he’d been a child.

Neil greeted him the same as usual, and Aidan was disgusted to notice that there were stupid hearts on the carton of chocolate milk. “Fucking holiday,” he muttered as they headed outside.

“Ah, yeah.” Oh yes, there was a definite blush to Neil’s cheeks just then, one that couldn’t be attributed to the cold air so quickly. “It’s… yeah, weird day.” He ducked his head as he dug into his backpack to hand over two chicken salad sandwiches to Aidan.

“So I hear that someone has been popular.” Aidan narrowed his eyes at the idiot while he sank his teeth into one of the sandwiches.

“Eh… I got some stuff.” Neil stared at his own tuna salad sandwich as if he’d never seen one before. “People… I don’t get it. Stuff from strangers?”

No, Aidan supposed he didn’t, not the whole ‘I like you’ part nor the buying affection thing, and definitely not that Neil could believe that anyone would look at him and see something so attractive – Aidan had come to understand that last part recently. “So, where is it? You hiding the stash in your locker?” He hadn’t seen anything in the backpack when Neil had been digging through it for their lunch.

Neil shrugged and tore off a piece of his sandwich. “Well, at first I thought about giving them to you,” Aidan went still at that, “but then I remembered how you didn’t like any hand-me-downs. So I just left them all in the bathroom on the first floor. Figured maybe some other guys would like them.” Neil shrugged again and gave Aidan a slight smile. “I don’t know, seemed a waste to just throw them away.”

“You better hope no one snuck a love note or confession in there somewhere,” Aidan teased as he unwrapped the second sandwich.

“What do I care? Doesn’t mean anything to me,” Neil said with a careless shrug before he popped the bit of sandwich into his mouth.

“’Oh Neil, how I lay awake at night, dreaming of your scrawny ass,” Aidan intoned in a flat voice. “If only you would stroke me like you do your Exy racquet, if you would-“

“Stop it,” Neil laughed as he tossed another sandwich, this one a roast beef, at him. “You’re such an ass.”

“Hmm, so I’ve been told.” Still, Neil put up with him – not that the idiot was without his own faults. Such as, Aidan was stuck with yet another Exy game tonight. “So, should only be a few more games left to go in the season.”

“Yeah.” Neil sounded a little forlorn about that. “How are you going to get your abuse in when they’re done?” He motioned down toward his right calf, which sported a bruise from their last practice session – he was getting good enough that Aidan rarely nailed him these days.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. You inspire it from me,” Aidan promised.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Still, Neil smiled as he ate his lunch.

*******

Neil had to kick the door closed behind him, his hands were so full with bags and the coffee carrier, then set some of the bags down so he could make sure it was locked before he picked them up and headed into the kitchen. He had just set the coffee and the bags down on the counters when he heard Aidan’s annoyed voice.

“What the hell are you doing? It’s how early?”

“Ah, yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you up.” He winced as he turned around; they had gotten back late last night since the away game was a fair distance away, and the ride back had been rather noisy since they had won. Neither of them could sleep on the bus, so they hadn’t crashed until returning home, but Neil had been determined to hit the store early after hearing Tony talk about how he had plans to go out tonight with his girlfriend for a belated Valentine’s Day and so take advantage of the day after sale to get her some presents.

“What the hell did you do?” Aidan seemed to realize that Neil had bought some stuff and shuffled into the room, his eyes squinty as if from the light and hair tousled from sleep. “Buy out the store or something? Couldn’t it have waited?”

“Ah, not really.” Neil reached into one of the bags to pull out a box of chocolates. “Tony said the good stuff goes fast – seems they mark it all down during the night, so I figured why not stock up while we could, right? You go through it like crazy, but this’ll last a while at least… okay, uhm, it’ll last a little while.” Was he an enabler or something? Oh god, he was Aidan’s sugar enabler, it was all on him when his friend came down with diabetes, but Aidan seemed happy to munch on chocolates after practice or while he studied or just… whenever, and Neil liked it when Aidan was happy. It was better than when Aidan was pissed off or shut him out, that was certain.

Like right now, when Aidan just stared at him with that flat look for several seconds, and then came forward to dig through one of the bags. “You bought out the store of all the leftover Valentine’s Day chocolates.”

“Well, not all of them,” Neil admitted. “They had a lot leftover. But yeah, I got what I could. It was a good sale.” He’d seen how fast Aidan had gone through the Halloween candy so….

“All of this?” Aidan peeled off the plastic wrapping, opened the lid and then studied the contents before selecting a particular piece of chocolate. Something flashed across his face as he chewed it, but his expression soon went back to the blank default.

“Uhm, there’s still a couple more down in the car.” Neil waved to the two take-out cups of coffee on the counter. “I couldn’t bring them all up with these at the same time. They had a special for the weekend, some dark chocolate mocha thing that sounded like you.” Sounded disgusting, personally, but yeah, he bet that Aidan would love it; for himself, he just got a plain coffee.

Aidan stood there with that inscrutable look on his face again for a few seconds, and then he placed the opened box of chocolates down on the counter. While Neil braced himself to get yelled at or a scathing comment, his friend approached him and placed both hands on the counter by Neil’s hips, effectively pinning him in place.

“Yes or no?”

“Huh?” Neil blinked twice before he recognized the question. “Ah, yes.” So… Aidan was happy?

Judging from the way that the front of his sweater was grabbed and he was hauled toward Aidan’s room… yeah, he’d go out on a limb and say that Aidan was happy.

*******

“Remember, I want at least a page from all of you,” Prufer called out as everyone jumped from their seats; Aidan wasn’t in as much of a hurry as everyone else since German was his last class of the day and all he had to look forward to now was Exy practice – at least for another couple of weeks.

“Hey, Aidan, can I speak to you?”

He slung his backpack over his left shoulder and frowned at Paul, whom he had worked with on a couple of small projects through the year. “What?”

“Out in the hall.” The tall kid motioned for them to go outside, and then waited for the hall to clear a little; during the time, Paul reached into his own bag to pull out his phone, an older model iPhone. “Look, are you on Facebook?”

“No,” Aidan said, with as much scorn as possible in the one syllable.

Paul winced and bobbed his head, the lights above reflecting off of his scalp, which shone through the short crop of his hair cut. “Okay, I didn’t think so. Anyway, my older brother took German, too, and there’s this thing my family does, this study abroad program.” As he spoke, he thumbed through something on his phone.

Aidan remembered Paul mentioning that his family was religious and into stupid projects, the one or two times he had gotten up in front of class to speak; it was reason enough for him to avoid the kid whenever possible. “So?”

“Well, there’s this one online community for kids like him who go over to Germany, and I joined it, too.” Paul smiled as he continued to scroll. “I mean, I’m going to go over there, too, so I figured….”

This was taking too long – Neil would be waiting for him. “I have to get to practice, is there a point to this?”

Paul flinched at his tone and held up the phone. “Yeah, I found it. There’s this other guy over there right now, and he put up this post, something about his cousin. Well, cousins, really. Said that they’re twins but one of them got adopted or something?” Paul’s thick eyebrows became furrowed as he handed Aidan the phone. “Anyway, the guy, Nicky, put up a post saying that his family’s looking for the one cousin now, wants to see if anyone might have information on him. And I… well, the kid looks a bit like you. Was wondering if maybe you’re related.”

Aidan stared at the phone, his expression impassive despite the fact that yes, if one stripped away the hair dye and the contacts, took some scissors and a razor to his hair and plastered a smile – albeit a rather sullen one – on his face, the image on the screen would look just like him. It wasn’t him, he had never worn an Atlanta Braves shirt in his entire life, and he had never before seen the woman hovering behind whom he assumed was Aaron – but he could guess, judging from the similar blonde hair and hazel eyes.

“Nope, no clue,” he lied as he handed over the phone. “Doesn’t look like any cousin that I know. Just a weird coincidence.”

“Huh.” Paul looked at the phone and frowned. “If you say so. I had thought maybe-“

“I *do*,” Aidan insisted. “And now I’m late for practice, so let it go.” He shoved past Paul on his way to meet Neil before they went off together to the gym.

Along the way, he thought about the Facebook profile of the person who had posted the picture of Aaron and the ‘plea’ for help – Nicky Hemmick. So it wasn’t just the old man who was annoying….

*******

Neil eyed Coach Beal with the terrible suspicion that the man might start crying at some point. “I just… I just want all of you to know that you did an excellent job,” Beal told them while sniffing. “An amazing job. This was our best season yet, and I know that next season will be even better!” He sniffed again while he wiped at his left eye, and then grabbed a stunned Ed so he could hug him.

“And we’re out of here,” Aidan muttered as their last practice soon dissolved into something much too touchy-feely for Neil and what looked to be murder-inducing for Aidan. “I don’t care, if someone touches me, I’m breaking their hand.”

“I think they’ve realized that by now.” Neil winced when Tony picked Brad up off the ground in a bear hug and hurried up to get away before anyone noticed that they were leaving; they had already packed up the few things in their lockers. “Well, that was fun.” At Aidan’s incredulous look, he shook his head. “Oh come on, you’re telling me that it wasn’t? What about that guy you got to knock out two games ago? You only got a yellow card for it.”

“Hmm, that was mildly amusing.” Aidan gave a slight, pleased smile – probably over the lethalness of his rebound throws, which had been honed at Neil’s expense. “But alas, now it’s come to an end.”

“Yeah.” Maybe they could find some second-hand equipment or something, so Neil could practice over the summer. “What is it going to cost me to keep up on the one on one with you?” At Aidan’s arch look, he sighed. “For Exy.”

Aidan’s look just then could only be described as pure evil. “I’m sure I can think of something, and that you won’t like it.”

No, most likely Neil wouldn’t, but he’d suffer through it somehow – with Aidan’s help he’d become a mostly decent player over the course of the season despite the new position, he’d like to see how much farther he could go if he kept it up. “Yeah, well, figure it out and maybe we’ll see after school’s out.” He knew he’d have a better chance talking Aidan into it if he gave his friend a few weeks off.

“Ever the hopeful one, aren’t you? I tell you what, you can start working on how to get on my good side right now, by treating me to something to eat.” Aidan led the way as they headed to the car, and drove them to one of his favorite restaurants which served huge burgers, steak fries and disgustingly sweet milkshakes.

As always, Neil was amazed at how much food his friend could put away, easily eating a double bacon cheeseburger, two orders of fries and half of Neil’s as well, and a huge Oreo flavored milkshake. “One of these days, that metabolism is going to quit on you,” he warned as he took a sip from his glass of water.

Aidan gave him the finger and didn’t stop until the shake was gone. “Jealous much?”

“No, just trying to figure out which is going to give out first, your kidneys or your liver.” Neil shook his head as he pulled some money out of his wallet to pay for the bill.

“Who wants to live forever?”

There wasn’t much Neil could say to that, not when there had been some days when he hadn’t expected to live past the next morning, so all he did was stand up from the booth and wave for Aidan to join him. A slight smile lingered on his lips when his friend stood up right in front of him and had to look up; over the last few months, Neil had managed to grow an extra inch or so.

“Come on, Josten,” Aidan growled as he pulled Neil forward by the collar of his green t-shirt, almost yanking him into an Asian man dressed in a dark business suit who was hovering near the next table. Neil stammered out an apology, but Aidan seemed intent on leaving the place so he gave in and followed.

*******

Something was wrong; Aidan had noticed how distracted Neil had been all day, how quiet he was and the shadowed look to his eyes. He’d barely said anything during breakfast, and the jerky way he’d moved around the kitchen along with the dark circles beneath his eyes meant that he’d suffered through nightmares the night before – Aidan recognized the signs after over six months of them living together. He’d given Neil some time to recover, but when it dragged on during lunch, with Neil handing over several sandwiches without eating any himself, Aidan had enough.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded to know as he lit a cigarette with the engraved lighter then almost shoved it onto his friend. Neil started at the question, but accepted the cigarette with a grateful smile.

“Today’s date… it’s her birthday.”

“Her?” When Neil continued to smile at him, the expression now sad, Aidan hazarded a guess. “Your mother.”

“Yeah.” Neil shuddered as he held the cigarette near to his face, cupped between his fingers. “I don’t even know how old she’d be – too many false passports, too many IDs.” He breathed in deep and held it for a few seconds. “As much as I hate it, I keep remembering her from that awful night, the look of pain on her face… after I-“ He shook his head as if to dispel the memories. “How do you let go, when everything is a nightmare?”

That was something Aidan himself wondered all of the time. “Try a few more blows to the head, maybe?”

To his surprise, Neil laughed, the sound faint but not entirely marred by darkness. “Yeah, maybe. There’s hope for me yet.” He stood there with that half-smile on his lips and the cigarette held cupped between his hands, and the sight of it all made something go tight in Aidan’s chest. “At one point in the night, all I could think about was how much she’d hate it, where I am right now.”

“And?”

Neil’s smile strengthened as he dropped the cigarette, half of it burnt to ash, onto the ground and snubbed it out with his toe, even though the darkness lingered in his eyes. “I remind myself that she’s not here, and all her way of doing things got her was an unmarked grave. She did what she could, but….”

But Aidan could remember how close to the edge Neil had been back then, when he’d been Alex. How he would have kept on running, kept fighting, but he probably wouldn’t have cared when his father’s people finally tracked him down. “You’re such an idiot,” he breathed out as his fingers reached for and curled around the warm skin of Neil’s nape.

“Yeah, so you keep telling me.” Now the darkness left Neil’s pale eyes. “Anyway, guess that’s what bothering me today.”

“An idiot,” Aidan repeated as he gave Neil’s neck a rough shake. What did it feel like, caring about the woman who gave birth to you? That Neil still did after everything she’d done to him, after everything she hadn’t done for him… an image of Cass appeared in Aidan’s mind, causing him to inhale sharply as his fingers tightened on Neil’s skin. His friend shifted under the touch but didn’t pull away, so Aidan shook his head and forced his hand to return to his side.

“I’m thinking pizza for dinner,” he said to change the topic, to move it onto something that was… safer. As he spoke, he reached around to dig into Neil’s backpack and found a couple of energy bars around the bottom; they were a bit old, probably leftovers from practice. “We’ll pick it up on the way home.” He found a plain one and shoved it at the masochist.

Neil frowned at it but when he made to tuck it into the back pocket of his jeans, Aidan gave a painful squeeze to his wrist until the idiot got the point and unwrapped it. “You’re going to choose the toppings, aren’t you?” Neil sighed before taking a bite.

Aidan’s answer was a mocking smile as he leaned against the wall next to his friend and lit his own cigarette; it was so amusing to watch Neil pick off all of the vegetables one by one. “Maybe not quite so much an idiot.”

There was a bit too much force to the next bite to the energy bar just then.

*******

Neil sighed as he set the large pizza box on the kitchen table, then went to fetch some plates and a couple of bottles of water from the fridge; while he did that, Aidan went off to his bedroom, only to return a minute later with his laptop. The pizza – veggie with meatballs – was set between them while they ate in a comfortable silence, with Neil picking off all of the onions, peppers and olives with grim determination and Aidan eating with an almost absentmindedness while he checked… whatever on his laptop.

Something seemed to make him upset at first, his eyebrows drawing together and his eyes flashing with ire, and then he clicked a couple of times; Neil was careful to focus on his pizza until his friend’s expression smoothed out. By the time Aidan was on his second slice things seemed better, and he even hummed a little over whatever it was that he was reading.

Aidan was on his fourth slice and Neil his second – removing the damn vegetables Aidan insisted on torturing him with took some effort – when Aidan’s shoulders stiffened and he looked up over the rim of the laptop at Neil. “You said that today was your mother’s birthday, correct?”

“Yes.” Neil could still remember the elaborate parties his father had thrown for her, back in Baltimore, the need for them to pretend to be a happy smiling family in front of the guests, how he had to dress up and behave… the painful warnings beforehand and the inevitable punishments afterwards for whatever imagined mishaps from his father. It had been a relief when there had been no more birthday parties, no more celebrations when they had been on the run.

Aidan motioned him over with a wave of a half-eaten slice of pizza. “I think someone other than you remembered.”

Confused by that statement, Neil got up and went over to stand by his friend, and stared at the screen when Aidan tapped it.

He still was confused for a moment, until the title of the article Aidan had clicked on finally registered. ‘Butcher of Baltimore Found Dead in Seattle Prison Cell.’ Those words hit him with an almost physical force, leaving him feel numb from their impact.

It took him a few seconds to realize that Aidan was now standing beside him, one hand on the back of his neck as he bent over the table panting, the other clasped on top of his hand as he clutched the lid of the laptop screen. “If you break it, I’ll break you,” Aidan warned, his tone mild as if he was asking Neil about another slice of pizza.

“Is that… is that true?” After so long… so many dreams, so much wishful thinking… could it have really happened?

Aidan shoved him into the abandoned chair. “As far as I can tell, yes, it’s a real article. Said that they found him dead in his cell this morning, no one’s talking.” Aidan’s eyes flickered to the screen. “I get the impression that the authorities aren’t happy.”

Neil laughed at that. “Yeah, I would think so, if they were hoping he’d give up some information on his territory.” He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe, and realized that Aidan’s hand still rested on his neck; it felt good. “I can’t believe it… have you ever wanted something for so long and then for it to finally happen? It doesn’t seem real.”

Aidan’s fingers tightened on his neck for a second or two and then they were gone. “You told me that you had Durand pass on about your mother to your uncle because you were hoping he’d do something.” Aidan hitched his left hip up onto the table and picked up his neglected slice of pizza. “Seems to me that’s a message of sorts, killing the bastard on his sister’s birthday, no?”

Neil studied the screen again, but couldn’t take the blaring headline, the words ‘Butcher of Baltimore’ for much longer and had to look away. “Yeah, it is.” His uncle must have pulled some serious strings, to reach his father in prison.

“That’s a lot to do for family.” He looked up, curious to see where Aidan was going with this. “You sure he’s going to be happy with his sister’s son running around out there on his own?”

“I don’t care,” Neil told him. “I have no plan on calling him.”

“Good.” Aidan leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss that left Neil hoping he’d ask ‘yes or no’. Instead, he got a growled “now get out of my seat, and go finish your pizza.”

“I should just make some grilled cheese, it would be quicker,” Neil grumbled as he went back to picking the toppings off of the damn thing.

“But not half as much fun.” Aidan smiled as he watched Neil for a few seconds, then made a show out of biting into his veggie-laden slice.

“For *you*,” Neil pointed out.

“For me,” Aidan agreed.

*******

Aidan had just settled into homeroom when he felt a nudge to his left foot from Carl, one of Drew’s friend, who sat to the right of him. “Uhm, isn’t that your coach? I think he’s looking for you?”

He glanced up to find Coach Beal waving to him from the doorway before the puppy went over to say something to Shanley, the homeroom teacher. “He’s not my anything,” Aidan informed Carl. What the hell did Beal want? Exy was over for the season, at least for Park. He watched the coach approach his desk with growing suspicion, especially since the man had an excited grin on his face.

“Hennon, I need you to come with me for a little bit.” He motioned for Aidan to stand up with an impatient wave of his hand.

Definitely suspicious now but having the feeling that there was little he could do about it, not with the way that Beal had cleared it with Shanley, Aidan sighed as he gathered up his things and followed the pain in his ass out of the room. “What is this about?” He gave the coach a cold look as they headed off toward the south wing, which held the gyms.

“You’ll see – they asked for me not to say anything. It’s supposed to be a surprise.” Beal beamed at him and made as if to clap Aidan on the back, but one scathing look from Aidan had him reconsider. “But it’s good, it’s good!”

In Aidan’s experience, surprises were rarely ever ‘good’ for him, and to be avoided at all costs. There was a strong urge to run in the other direction – Neil was a very bad influence on him. It was in part because of Neil that he continued onward, to find out what Beal was up to and what this latest surprise meant to his life here.

He wasn’t led to the gym where they practiced Exy but to a smaller one, he thought it might be where the pep squads practiced or something. At the moment it was empty, but Coach Beal motioned him inside and told him to wait, that ‘they’ would be joining him shortly.

Yeah, that wasn’t disturbing at all.

Aidan surveyed the room, the door at the far end and the one he just came through, the lack of windows, the lack of pretty much anything but a mirrored wall… yeah, Neil would be going up the proverbial wall, right about now. As for himself, he went over to the other door to test it and found it to be locked, and promised himself to hit his friend up for a set of his own lock picks very soon.

Figuring that he would only wait here for a few minutes and then leave – he would use the excuse that he had classes to attend, what with finals right around the corner, he had turned around and was close to the door leading back to the hallway when the inner door opened up. Whirling back around, he tensed up when two Asian men in black suits entered the room, and had to twist around a little when another two entered from the outer door as well; even without hanging around a runner like Neil these last several months, he recognized when his exits were being cut off. “What the hell is going on here?” They didn’t look like police, was the first thing that came to mind.

“Ah, it’s just you so far.”

Aidan’s head whipped back toward the inner door when he heard that voice, familiar from the few times he’d been forced to listen to it on the television. Riko Moriyama was dressed in black jeans and a black sports coat over a red shirt – Aidan wanted to sneer at the color scheme just then, but he was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Riko Moriyama was standing a few dozen feet or so away. Not only Riko Moriyama, but Kevin Day as well, also decked out in black jeans and a sports coat, albeit with a white t-shirt, and appearing rather unhappy at the moment.

He might be stunned, but Aidan refused to show it; he crossed his arms over his chest, his fingers skimming along the edges of his arm guards, and narrowed his eyes at the two famous teens. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” There was enough sarcasm placed on the last word to make it known he felt that it was anything but in his mind.

One of the guards – and it was also clear that the four other men in the room were bodyguards – lurched forward after he spoke, but Riko waved him aside with a negligent movement of his right hand. “Oh no, not just yet. We’re still waiting for one more of you. I’m not going to waste my breath before then.” He sounded as if he was bored, but there was a dangerous glimmer in his eyes that belied that impression.

Aidan felt a chill run down his back; ‘just you so far’ Riko had said when he walked into the room. ‘One more’. He wasn’t the one who had known Riko and Kevin in the past, who had a connection to them. He wasn’t someone who had a reason to bring them all the way to Racine. As he spun around and calculated how he could get through the two guards standing by the exit door, it opened up as a grinning Beal led a stone-faced Neil inside. “Ah, I see you’re all here now!”

Aidan saw it, the moment Neil realized who all was in the room; it was slight, but Neil’s jaw tensed just so, his right hand tightened on the strap of his backpack and his gaze immediately jerked back to Aidan as if in reassurance.

“Yes, we’re all here now,” Riko repeated, his tone mocking. “Thank you so much for your assistance, Mr. Beal. You may leave.”

“Ah, yes, sure. Glad to be, uhm, let me know if there’s anything else I can do.” The disgusting, traitorous puppy gave Riko such an open look of admiration that Aidan wanted to gut him on the spot while one of the guards all but slammed the door in his face. Aidan used that time to bridge the distance between him and Neil, to stand beside his friend. This close, he could feel the tension in Neil’s lean body, could only imagine how much stronger the impulse to run was for the teen, but noticed how Neil struggled to keep his face impassive, to remain calm.

He also noticed how Kevin Day stared at Neil, his expression at first one of disbelief and then remorse, and knew, just *knew* that this wasn’t going to end well – especially when Riko took to smirking in delight. He had to fight to not go for his knives then and there, and only managed to control his temper when one of the guards stepped closer to the arrogant bastard in an obvious sign of protection.

“*Now* we’re all here.”

“Good for you,” Aidan sneered as he fought with the overwhelming impulse to maim, to lash out. “Maybe you have time to fly around and impress people, but we’ve exams to prepare for, so yeah, nice to meet you but fuck off. Come on,” he urged Neil. As soon as they made for the door, the two other guards stepped in front of it.

“I see the reports didn’t exaggerate when they came to you, Andrew Doe. Or should I say, Andrew Minyard? Do you have a preference either way?”

It felt as if a wave of ice had been poured over Aidan just then. Shit. *Shit*, they knew about him. Neil clutched at Aidan’s arm as they turned around to face a smiling Riko and a visibly sweating Kevin. “I’ve no clue who you’re talking about,” Aidan gritted out as he struggled to remain calm, to remain in control and not give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing him lose it. “Now let us go.”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. After all, we’ve come so far to talk to you, you and our long lost Nathaniel,” Riko insisted, his dark eyes glittering as he stared hard at Neil as if looking at something precious to break.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEAD CANON TIME. I has two of them (actually, I have more than that, but two of them are evident in this chapter)
> 
> First, that Neil has a sale/coupon thing. While he will splurge at times (evident in him buying Andrew the car in the series and wanting to pay for the vacation) - tied to him either thinking that he's not going to live to spend the money or wanting to just thank his friends, on the whole, he has a frugal nature. Think of him having the cheap sheets and one, ONE bath towel et all. So yes, I think that he would jump at a chance to make Andrew happy and save money at the same time (buy candy on sale). I mean, he would spend the money on something so 'frivolous' like candy if it mattered to Andrew, but if he could get it on sale? BONUS.
> 
> And Mary. I'm sorry, but while I don't think she's anywhere near bad as Nathan, I question the fact that she waited until Neil was ten years old and facing a possible death sentence to grab the money and run away. It's obvious that Neil faced a lot of abuse before then (and Mary as well from what is insinuated). But what finally drove her to run was Neil (possibly) being killed OR (considering how good he was at Exy) being TAKEN FROM HER. There's two sides to the whole Moriyama thing, if you think about it. And that he didn't have a very good life with her. So yeah, I have to wonder why Mary didn't save her son from a lot of abuse early on. Feel free to disagree.
> 
> Anyway, that's it. I promised you that this would eventually sorta tie into canon, right? Did I? This will, with its own twists, obviously. This is a big step toward getting there, this chapter.
> 
> As always, so very appreciate all the kudos and the comments! Love to know what you think, especially after this chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG, so, [fanart](http://broship-addict.tumblr.com/post/146125414477/aidan-hennon-and-neil-josten-from) for the fic! broship_addict was so amazing to do this! It helped to inspire me to edit the chapter a bit early and get it posted tonight.
> 
> And yeah, it's a really long chapter, too. I thought I'd take some of the scenes and move them to the next one... but it just didn't seem to make much sense, where to end it so you got one really long chapter. Downside to that is, now there's nothing written for the next one. Probably won't be anything for a couple of days (especially since work is going to be busy and all next week).  
> *******

*******

“Oh no, I don’t think so. After all, we’ve come so far to talk to you, you and our long lost Nathaniel.”

Neil felt as if someone had punched a knife hard into his chest with those words, as if they had twisted the blade in an effort to carve out his heart; he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but feel an intense agony as he stared at Riko. Stared at the face he had known when it had been younger, rounder, less cruel. When the ‘1’ on the left cheek had been from a marker and not tattoo ink, when those dark eyes had sparkled with amusement and enthusiasm, not malice.

“I’m… I’m not,” he attempted to choke out, his right hand locked onto Aidan’s left arm; he knew he was holding on too tight, that he shouldn’t… but Aidan allowed it. “I’m Neil Jos-“

Riko cut him off with a sharp wave of his right hand. “You are Nathaniel Wesninski, the son of Nathan Wesninski. Do *not* try to lie to me,” he hissed. “I have spent a great deal of effort and money verifying that, and the more you deny, the more you will have to make it up to me.”

In an instant, Aidan was in front of Neil, and judging from the way that the bodyguards rushed in front of Riko as well, Aidan must have pulled one of his knives. “You do *not* threaten us,” Aidan insisted, his voice that blank *nothingness* that Neil knew was never a good thing.

“Don’t,” Neil urged him, careful not to touch when Aidan was like this. “Pl- Aidan, just… don’t.” He didn’t like the odds, didn’t like what he knew from long experience were guns hidden beneath those black suit coats; how Riko’s men had gotten them into the school, he had no clue, but he supposed that money and fame could buy a lot of things.

“Listen to your master, Doe,” Riko called out. “He knows how these things go. Put away your little toy before my men break you… or would it hurt more if they break Nathaniel? Yes, I think the latter.”

“Riko.” Kevin sounded hoarse, and the name came out like a plea. “You… you can’t! We’re in… please!”

“Shut up.” As for Riko, his voice sounded like pure ice just then, and Neil wished that he could see what was happening but needed to keep his attention focused on Aidan; Kevin and Riko had been friends, back… back then. That didn’t sound like friendship now.

“Aidan,” he repeated, and *his* friend let out a shuddering breath as he put away the knife with obvious reluctance, his expression one of extreme displeasure.

“175%,” he informed Neil as he kept his attention on Riko.

“Thank you,” Neil breathed, willing to take the brunt of Aidan’s anger if it meant his friend wouldn’t be hurt. His hand hovered over Aidan’s left arm again, and when Aidan gave a slight nod, he rested it upon the firm upper arm, light enough for Aidan to shake off, before he took a deep breath and once more faced Riko.

The older teen’s expression was sour as he regarded the two of them. “You need to train him better, Nathaniel.”

“I haven’t trained him at all,” Neil snapped, refusing to let Aidan be insulted like that. “Why are you here?”

“To take back what belongs to me.” The sourness became replaced by something dark and possessive as he studied Neil, and Kevin took to staring the floor as if it held the answers to something he desperately wanted to know – that or he was trying to disassociate himself from what was happening.

“There’s nothing here for you,” Aidan insisted, “other than a knife to the throat.”

Riko smiled at that, a baring of the teeth that Neil recognized after years spent with his father. “Oh it will be fun teaching you how to heel, since Nathaniel has been so remiss. What do you think, Kevin? Having the others hold him back while I make Nathaniel bleed? Will that work best?”

“Aidan,” Neil rushed out, desperate for his friend to remain calm before this escalated into… before it escalated. “It’s just words.”

“No, it’s more than that,” Riko insisted, having heard what he said. “You forget, I know who you two really are. I know about how *that* one,” he motioned toward Andrew with a dismissive wave of his fingers, “should be locked up like the mutt he is. And I know that you’re not where you’re supposed to be, either, Nathaniel.”

Neil shook his head; this wasn’t making any sense, Riko being here, Riko *caring* that Neil was here, or anything else about what Riko was saying. “So what? We’re just two runaways, completely beneath your notice. We’re not worth your attention, not worth you leaving Edgar Allan.”

Riko stared at him as if he was insane, while Kevin gave him an incredulous look for several seconds before reaching out a tremulous hand to touch Riko’s right shoulder. “Riko… I don’t think he knows.”

Riko shrugged off the touch while he continued to study Neil. “I would hope not, because I refuse to believe that such an asset could be so stupid.”

“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Aidan ground out, his body tense as if he was barely holding back the urge to lash out, his fingers once more at the edges of the black arm bands.

Riko continued to study Neil a little longer and then laughed. “Perhaps you’re right, Kevin.” There was a bitter bite to his amusement just then, and Neil knew he wasn’t going to like how this turned out. “Let me tell you a little story.” He went over to the mirrored wall and leaned against it, as if making himself comfortable. “Not so long ago, Kevin came to me, as he does now and then, to tell me about prospective recruits for the Ravens.” He directed a mocking smile at Kevin, whose face became flushed and gaze once more was directed toward the floor. “They’re a little young, he said. They don’t look like much on the surface, he said. But look at the stats. Look at what they’ve accomplished – dragging a bottom level team up so far in less than one season, and coming out of nowhere to do it at that. Promise, he told me. Great promise, something he could work with and refine. So I told him to look into them, as it would give him something to do.” Riko directed a fond look at Kevin – much like one would direct toward their pet.

Neil felt a growing horror inside of his chest. “How….”

Beside him, Aidan shifted about. “Fucking Beal.”

“Yeah,” Kevin mumbled as he avoided looking at them directly. “Your coach put out videos of your games. Your team wasn’t that great on average, but to improve so much… that stood out.”

Neil had only thought about not making the play-offs, to not make any splashy wins. He hadn’t thought that dragging the Panthers out of the gutter would come back to haunt them. “No,” he moaned.

“Oh yes.” Riko’s shark-like grin returned. “And you know what happened? That search? It came up curiously empty. It was as if the two of you didn’t exist, not really. No social security numbers, no hospital records, no paper trail. My men were quick to recognize fake identifications soon enough, though I must commend you, it took them a little longer than normal.”

‘His men’. Neil didn’t like the sound of it, didn’t like that at all; he looked at the bodyguards with new eyes, and got the impression that the ones here… they weren’t the type hired to protect a celebrity.

“So I sent one of them to check up on you here,” Riko continued, “and after following you around a little, he got what I needed. A couple of fingerprints later, and I had my answers.” The smile slipped away. “I must admit, the mutt was a surprise, but you, Nathaniel?” The maniacal gleam returned to Riko’s dark eyes, and Neil had the impression that it would not be good for him, to be caught alone with the older teen. Aidan must have had the same impression, because he once more stepped forward until he partially blocked Riko’s view of Neil.

Riko glared at Aidan as if offended by that action. “The mutt can’t protect you, Nathaniel, not when I *own* you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, no one owns me,” Neil insisted.

“Then your father did you a grave injustice,” Riko spat out, his face flushed with anger and his hands clenched into fists – all this sudden change of emotion was *not* a good sign, was not the hallmark of a mentally stable person. “Why do you think you were at Castle Evermore all those years ago? Why do you think your poor, delusional mother took you and ran?”

Neil stared at the other teen in confusion for a couple of seconds and then at Kevin, who still refused to look at him. “I… I was there to play Exy,” he managed after a few seconds, his voice weak.

“You were there to prove to my uncle that you *could* play Exy.” Riko stepped forward, his eyes glittering with that same dark, possessive emotion from before and his fingers flexing, as if he wanted to latch on to something – to tear it apart. He began to circle Neil and Aidan, but Aidan kept positioning himself between Riko and Neil. “Your father sent you there as a gift, a *tribute* to my uncle, and if you passed, you would belong to him, to *me*. If you failed, you would be nothing and as such, killed. Apparently, your mother didn’t want to risk it and stole you away - stole you from *me*.”

“No.” Neil shook his head and tried to deny the words, to deny the sense of them; it had always confused and at some level bothered him, why his mother had chosen to run *then*, to wait all those years before leaving his abusive father. But if there was a kernel of truth to what Riko said….

He could have gotten away from his father, could have played Exy at Castle Evermore, could have been a Raven….

Then Aidan’s voice shook him back to reality, to what it would have meant to be at *Riko’s* side. “He’s *not* yours.” There was so much fury and hate in those words, it almost didn’t sound like his friend.

Riko laughed at that, even though he stayed just out of Aidan’s reach. “But he is, you see. The Butcher works – well, worked for the Moriyamas, belonged to them, and as such, his son belongs to them, too. Doubly so since the money his mother stole was Moriyama money in the end. That means Nathaniel is mine twice-over.”

This was a nightmare, that was the only explanation. Neil wrapped his arms around his chest, around the awful pain that wouldn’t go away, and shook his head. “No, that’s….” All these years he’d been so terrified of his father, and he’d never thought that the monster had answered to anyone higher up. Had never thought that there was a reason for him to be at Evermore, other than as yet another way for the man to ruin anything good in his life.

A gloating smile spread across Riko’s lips. “You know it, don’t you? You know it’s the truth, and that’s why once the school year is over, you will come back where you belong and take your place with the Ravens.” Cruelty crept into the expression as he stared at Neil in an almost hungry manner. “You would have been my number three, but it’s too late now. Considering that you’re a Wesninski, four will suit you, though. Kevin says you still have the promise you showed years ago, and I look forward to beating it out of you.”

Neil couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but shake his head. Still, Aidan spoke up for him again.

“Try it, and you’ll lose your hand.”

“You *will* be on that plane,” Riko insisted as if Aidan hadn’t said a word, yet his eyes glittered with that insane rage. “There are still many people loyal to your father, don’t make me have them flush you out,” he threatened. He sent an annoyed look Aidan’s way before he stared at Neil. “Bring your mutt along if you must, since Kevin said he could prove useful, but know that if you can’t muzzle him, you will pay for his misbehavior.”

“We’re not going anywhere with you, you sick fuck.”

Rage flushed Riko’s face a mottled red, and when he made a move against Aidan, to strike him or something, Aidan was faster, was able to pull a knife out from one of his bands and brandish it in the teen’s face. Neil had never seen Riko so startled in his life, not the self-assured kid, not the polished celebrity or Exy champion, but right now there was pure panic in his expression as one of his guards just managed to yank him back to safety.

That panic quickly turned to loathing. “You will regret that,” Riko vowed as he smoothed his hands along the front of his black coat, his eyes flashing with the strong emotion and lips pressed thin. “Only it won’t be you who pays, Doe, it’ll be Nathaniel. I’ll enjoy hearing you beg while he bleeds.”

Aidan flipped him off, knife still held in his hand.

It looked as if Riko would try again, but this time, Kevin stood in his way, hands help up. “They know now,” he said, voice almost pleading. “Nathaniel knows. Please, leave it for now – Nathaniel knows to come… to come home.” He continued on for a few more seconds in what sounded to be Japanese.

Riko raised his right hand in a fist, and for a moment Neil thought that he would strike Kevin, and then he patted Kevin on the shoulder much like one would pat a dog. “You’re right.” He looked over Kevin’s shoulder at Neil, and the meaning in it was clear – he expected to be obeyed, and he was counting down the days until ‘Nathaniel’ returned to Charleston. “Tickets will be sent to you, and you will be given a few days after classes finish to tidy up any loose ends here. Don’t make me regret that kindness.”

Neil bit his tongue before he could remark about that ‘kindness’, and tugged on Aidan’s arm before his friend did the same; Riko watched them for a few more seconds as if waiting for their reaction, then scoffed while he turned away, Kevin and the four guards falling in step behind him as they left through the door on the far side of the room.

The room was quiet after their departure, and Neil slumped against Aidan’s back after several seconds, drained and aching as if he’d just been in physical fight. “Tell me that didn’t happen,” he murmured as he hid his face against Aidan’s neck, risking his friend’s anger at the contact for the moment of comfort.

For once, Aidan didn’t seem to mind. “I’m going to kill him,” he said after a slight pause, his voice calm and his fingers sliding through Neil’s hair; they massaged his scalp a little before they gave the strands a sharp tug. “Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

“What?” Neil let go of Aidan and took a step back. “Now? Go where?”

Aidan frowned as he stepped toward the door. “You’re kidding me, right? I figured you’d be out the door the moment they left.”

Neil shook his head. “I would, but… it’s not that simple.” He shrugged his backpack higher up on his shoulder as he tried to put it all into words. “They know about us now, they managed to find out our real ID’s, that means they must have followed us without us noticing.” Without *Neil* noticing. “You think Riko left without some of his men still around? We run without thinking it through, and they’ll either tell my father’s people or the police, or drag us back to Riko by force.” As much as he hated it, as much as he really did want to run right now and run hard… he couldn’t. *They* couldn’t. Not with a probable warrant out for Andrew that Riko would only be too happy to use to hurt Neil and bring him to heel.

The intense anger from before flared up. “So you’re giving up?” Aidan got in his face, his eyes bright and handsome face raw with the emotion. “You’re saying that the bastard’s won?”

“No.” The simple answer gave Aidan pause and seemed to bank some of that anger. “I’m saying we just don’t run *now* and we think things through before we do.” If there was one thing that Neil had learned from Aidan – from Andrew, it was that just running, running without thinking, wasn’t always the answer.

“Okay then.” Aidan nodded as he continued toward the door. “But we’re still leaving – if I see that bastard Beal today, I will gut him. I declare today a skip day.”

Yeah, Neil wasn’t about to argue with that – there was no way he could concentrate after the past… however long it had been. “Then we go home and start planning.”

“We go home and start drinking, planning can wait until tonight.”

That worked as well.

*******

Aidan called Anna on their way home so she could cover for them with the school in case anyone called asking where they were, to give some bullshit story about a ‘family emergency’ – he wasn’t sure what Riko had pulled to get them out of class, and at that point didn’t care. She wasn’t pleased with being woken up early but something in his voice kept her bitching to a minimum, and she swore she’d handle it. Aidan wasn’t even sure anyone would mind that they disappeared, not when two famous Exy players had come to the school on what had probably been billed as a potential recruiting run.

Neil made him stop by a store so he could pick up a couple of burner phones, and then they were home. Once they were inside, Aidan broke out the ‘medicinal’ vodka, and Neil didn’t complain at all, just tossed back a few shots in quick succession as if in a desperate need to get drunk as quickly as possible. The alcohol kicked in fast, so soon after that Aidan handed him a bottle of water, sat down on the couch with the rest of the vodka and watched while Neil paced back and forth. As Neil stumbled about, he began to look behind the couch and the table, to check the plugs and the various light fixtures, to dig around in things and generally just keep poking and prodding – it took Aidan about five minutes to figure out that his friend was checking the place for bugs. He watched on in amazement as Neil spent about half an hour searching the apartment to his satisfaction.

He then spent the next hour ranting and raving in English, French and German; Aidan was able to follow a good bit of it after several months of studying the languages with his friend, and got the gist of the rest. Neil was basically trying to figure out their options and cursing out his father and mother for keeping him in the dark, his thoughts disjointed because of the alcohol. His father being dead helped in some ways, and complicated it in others – was there anything that Neil stood to inherit with the man dead? Did that make him more valuable or less? Nathan Wesninski might be dead, along with Lola and Romano Malcom, but Jackson Plank and Patrick DiMaccio were still out there, and Neil didn’t seem to want to run into them any time soon.

And just how powerful were the Moriyamas? For Neil to never have heard of them was *not* a good thing, especially if Riko had felt secure enough to bring armed men into a school and make threats. Aidan had to give him that one, as he nursed what was left of the vodka, and wished that he’d been able to take a clear shot of that Japanese bastard without the risk of both of them being shot three seconds later. Did their power extend to Canada? To Europe? Was there a safe country for them to run to at all? Any other major players who could be used as a buffer? What all were their options?

Then Neil babbled a while about passports and bonds and setting up some offshore accounts for the rest of the money and… he seemed to run out of steam about then and went to stand in front of the large living room window for a little while. Aidan left him alone and powered on his laptop, pulled up the fake Facebook account he’d created a while back and scrolled through Nicky Hemmick’s most recent posts since it was already a shitty day. Even with the fading buzz of alcohol in him, he could only take about ten minutes of that, so he closed the browser window and powered off the device, then got up and went to fetch some more water, before standing behind Neil.

“You still drunk?” He handed his friend one of the bottles.

“I wish I was,” Neil admitted as he accepted the water. “It would make all of this more bearable.” He stared out at the street below them, the cars driving past and the people walking. “The house back in Baltimore… it was like my father was trying to prove something, to impress people with his wealth. I never cared about it, though, never missed any of it while we were on the run. Never missed it here, either.”

“I couldn’t tell, what with the way you take advantage of every fucking sale,” Aidan teased as he pressed against Neil’s back. “With how you pinch every penny and have a heart attack when you have to spend any money.”

“I want the money to last us a long time.” Neil closed his eyes and took several swallows of water, while Aidan hooked his left arm around Neil’s narrow hips; he didn’t know why with anyone else, this closeness would be suffocating, would drive him across the room in a heartbeat, but with Neil… right now he wanted to make sure that Neil didn’t vanish. “Though I’d give it all up if it would make Riko leave us alone.”

“Yeah, somehow I doubt that’ll happen.” Riko had looked much too eager about the prospect of having a new ‘toy’ in his possession – a new toy he could break.

“Me too.” Neil sighed and leaned back against Aidan; despite the slight difference in their heights, Neil weighed less than Aidan, was more slender with his runner’s build when compared to Aidan’s muscular body and broad shoulders. “But it’ll come in handy now.” He reached into the front right pocket of his jeans and pulled out one of the burner phones.

Aidan had a terrible fear that Neil was calling his uncle – at least until he started speaking French. Neil twisted back to give him an apologetic look, probably because he knew that Aidan’s French wasn’t good enough to entirely follow the conversation, but Aidan caught most of it – that and Neil wasn’t doing most of the talking, Durand was. At least, Aidan assumed that Durand was, from what he overheard. Neil apologized for calling out of the blue and told the forger that all he wanted was some information, information that was not going to be used for any reasons other than… Aidan thought he said something like to update or along those lines, and for that, Neil would allow Durand to take ten thousand dollars from the accounts the forger had set up for them. After that, Neil mentioned the name ‘Moriyama’ and then became quiet for a few minutes.

Neil might have become quiet, but there was a faint murmur over the phone while Neil’s expression grew more and more blank with each passing minute. Finally he thanked Durand for his time and hung up. He stared at the phone in his hand and then shuddered.

“Just how bad is it?”

There’s a weak laugh from Neil as he twisted around so he could sit in the windowsill and face Aidan, the bottle of water set aside. “Well, the good news, if you want to call it that, is that Riko didn’t exactly tell the truth.”

Aidan pulled out his cigarettes, having the feeling he’d need something to calm his nerves for what was to come. “And the bad news?”

“He didn’t exaggerate by much.” Neil’s white teeth bit into his bottom lip for a moment as his left hand smoothed over his abdomen – over the scars hidden by his grey t-shirt. “My father did indeed work for the Moriyamas, but not so much for Tetsuji, his uncle, but for Kengo, Riko’s father. It seems that there’s really two branches of the family, the main branch and the side branch. Kengo heads the main branch and his firstborn son, Ichiro, will inherit.”

Aidan blew out a plume of smoke. “Why do I get the feeling this is complicated?”

“It is and it isn’t.” Neil gave a half-smile at Aidan’s dirty look. “The main branch is in charge of everything, and you only run the main branch if you’re the firstborn. If you’re not the firstborn, you’re shuffled off to the side, you’re considered not as important. Durand told me that Riko was handed over to Tetsuji as soon as he was born.”

Huh, that had to sting, Aidan was willing to bet. “So his father has had nothing to do with him?”

“Nothing, from what Durand told me,” Neil agreed. “Tetsuji’s raised him his entire life. Tetsuji’s main use to Kengo is using Castle Evermore and the Ravens as a front – there’s a lot of important people who come and go to the Towers during the Ravens games since it’s the US national stadium. The Moriyamas can conduct their business there with no one the wiser.”

Aidan considered that as he drew a few puffs from the cigarette. “So if we run, it’s more Kengo we have to fear than Riko.”

“Yes. He’s who we have to factor into everything.” The slight smile vanished from Neil’s face. “We need to worry about the main branch, not Riko.”

What were the odds that this Kengo wasn’t a crazed little shit like Riko, eh? Still, one problem at a time. “So any idea just how powerful these Moriyamas are?”

Neil shook his head. “Durand wouldn’t say, and the fact that he wouldn’t?” He rubbed at his eyes with the phone still clutched in his right hand. “Not good. My father was powerful enough as it was, and he reported to Kengo.”

Another strike against them running, then. “So what do we do then? Call your uncle?”

“I’m not sure he’s powerful enough to take them on. For all I know, he works for them, too.”

Aidan was beginning to regret drinking all of the vodka. “So what the fuck do we do, then?”

Neil was quiet for a few seconds, then looked at the phone in his hand. “There’s still one party that might have a use for me – they sure seemed to want me back in California.” He stared at Aidan as if waiting for him to figure it out.

Back in California…. “Fuck, you’ve got to be crazy!” Aidan flicked the cigarette aside and jumped forward so he could grab the idiot by the front of his t-shirt.

“It’s the only thing I can think of right now – I have something they want, and they don’t get it without taking care of the main threats that Riko’s holding over both of our heads.”

Both of *their* heads, that was the only thing that calmed Aidan down just then. “And what about Kengo?”

Something twisted on Neil’s face at the question. “First we negate as much we can the hold Riko has on us, and then I’ll deal with Kengo.” When Aidan’s hold on his shirt tightened, Neil shook his head. “No, I have an idea that might work with him, something that’ll appease him, but we need to deal with Riko’s threat first.”

“And you think *they’ll* buy into it?” It was official, the idiot was insane – but so was Aidan, if he was going to go along with it.

“I think it’s our best chance – that or I give you half of the money and we split up. Riko may forget about you and focus everything on me.”

“Fuck that,” Aidan snarled as he yanked Neil in close. “I don’t go back on my promises,” he ground out before he mashed their lips together. Not when he’d finally found someone worthy of keeping it.

Neil made a faint, needy sound and parted his lips the same time his hands hovered around Aidan’s shoulders. When Aidan deepened the kiss, they settled on his upper arms, the pressure light, and Aidan took that as a sign to walk backwards, with Neil rising up to follow him.

“Yes or no?” he asked as he headed toward Neil’s room.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Neil chanted, eager as always to follow him. He made no complaints when Aidan came to a halt in front of his bed and yanked off the blue duvet, then pulled Neil’s t-shirt over his head before pushing him down onto the bed.

Aidan paused just a moment before removing his shirt as well, then joined Neil on the bed; it was a bit of a tight fit, being a twin, but part of him wanted to feel Neil’s lean, tone body against his, to feel the way it shivered and hitched as his hands stroked along skin smooth and scarred, when his fingers twisted in thick strands of hair. Neil had taken to kissing like with Exy, with too much fucking enthusiasm and a frightening amount of skill, and Aidan only allowed his friend’s lips to skim along his neck for a few seconds because it felt too good. When a small moan escaped him, he tugged those smiling lips away and set out to return the favor, his own mouth intent on Neil’s arched neck, licking his way down to a prominent collarbone so he could suck and bite with impudence.

“Ah! Fuck, Aidan,” Neil groaned, his fingers biting into Aidan’s upper arm and hips rocking forward.

Feeling pleased with himself just then, Aidan thrust forward as well and smiled at the low moan it produced from Neil, at the way the teen’s eyes fluttered closed. His hands skimmed downward, his right one cupping Neil through the denim material of his shorts for a moment before he undid the button and zipper, and soon the shorts and underwear were shoved down and kicked aside. Neil had long ago lost any shyness from being naked in front of Aidan, of any sorts of reservation to what they did together, and Aidan relished the trust between them. He closed his eyes as he pulled Neil closer to him for a moment, just to drink in the feel of Neil’s body so pliant against his own, and refused to imagine Riko touching his friend in any way, to harm or-

He grasped Neil’s face between his hands for a kiss that was almost painful from the way he mashed their mouths together, yet Neil didn’t push him away, just kept holding on to Aidan’s arm and tangled their legs together as it slowly gentled into something better. Aidan let out a shaky breath when they broke apart and bowed his head until their foreheads touched.

“You okay?” Neil asked, his right hand moving as if to touch Aidan’s cheek but hesitating.

“Yeah.” Aidan grasped the hand and gave it a slight squeeze before he worked up the courage to place it on his side and work on removing the rest of his clothes. Once he was naked as well, he shifted a little closer until their hard cocks pressed together, which provoked a slight gasp from Neil.

“Look at me,” he ordered Neil, who had glanced down for a moment.

“Okay.” Neil appeared a bit surprised at Aidan’s actions, but as always at moments like these he followed Aidan’s commands. He once more took to biting into that full bottom lip when Aidan wrapped his hand around both of their cocks; it was a little dry at first, but soon there was enough pre-come to slick up the motion so Aidan didn’t bother to get up for any lube. “Put your hand on top of mine.”

Neil’s eyes widened at that, but he hurried to do what he’d been told, his palm smaller than Aidan’s but fingers longer, the skin just as calloused from all the Exy practice.

Aidan set the pace of the strokes as the pleasure steadily built inside of him; the slick slide of skin, the tightness and pressure growing with each passing second sparking a tightening coil of ecstasy inside of him that was only enflamed by the sight of Neil’s flushed face so close, by the hitched breaths and low moans. He reached over to thread the fingers of his free hand into Neil’s hair, felt the dampness of sweat at the roots and clenched hard, felt Neil’s breath catch just then and saw the flutter of those thick lashes. There was such a wave of possessiveness just then, of something so powerful inside of Aidan that all he could think of was how he couldn’t allow anyone to take this away from him.

Neil let out another low moan and leaned forward to kiss him, lips fervent on Aidan’s, and his body gave a couple of small, stuttered jerks before he gasped into Aidan’s mouth, before warmth spurted across Aidan’s fingers. Yet his hand kept moving with Aidan’s, and the feel of Neil’s mouth shifting along his chin and then down his neck was enough to send Aidan tumbling across that precipice himself. He choked on something that sounded too much like Neil’s name as he came, as he pulled Neil’s head toward his shoulder.

Things were quiet after that, the two of them curled up on the bed together, but the need to clean up got to Aidan after a couple of minutes and he grimaced. “Come on, let’s go.” He tugged Neil up off the bed so they could wash off. “We still need to figure some shit out.” They could order some take-out afterward as they worked on their plans… and he would tell Neil about Luther and Nicky Hemmick, just in case they could factor into things. Maybe there would be a use for the pains in the asses, after all.

*******

They started the next day, putting into motion their plan to slip Riko’s leash; when they went to school that morning, they packed an additional change of clothes in their backpacks and left them in the back of the Nissan. They didn’t have anything other than clothes and Aidan’s laptop that they planned on taking with them, it would look suspicious if they packed up any of the furniture and Neil had long learned to leave behind possessions when he moved on. Still, since now he had something other than just a duffel bag… it was odd, having more than just seven or eight pairs of outfits, even if it wasn’t much more than that, but the point of running this time was not to *just* run, so Aidan argued that there was no sense in doing a total salt the earth when they left.

It was difficult, walking back into the school after what happened, knowing that it was compromised, knowing that Riko had been there, doubly so when Couch Beal came up to Neil in gym class. “So, yesterday.” The man looked as if he was about to burst from the excitement. “I know, I know, not supposed to say anything, but, uhm, yeah, it’s good?”

Neil hoped that enough people had been around when he had approached Aidan, to help calm his friend’s homicidal nature. “It’s good,” Neil lied as he forced himself to look the man in the face. “It’s definitely made my brother and I think of the future.”

“Great!” Beal boomed and he made to pat Neil on the shoulder, but Neil stepped back. “Next year should be great, just see!”

“I have to get back to,” Neil motioned around the gym, “don’t want to cramp up.”

“We wouldn’t want that. You have a great summer, if I don’t see you again. Maybe do something fun, help your brother find a sense of humor and all that.”

Yeah, allowing Aidan to carve out Beal’s liver would go a long way toward that, but Neil merely nodded and went back to running his laps, while the rest of the class finished their little wrestling tournament. Two more weeks, he reminded himself. Two more weeks of pretending, of going through the motions – with exams on top of that – of fighting the urge to run and not looking over his shoulder every day to figure out where Riko had placed his men. He could do it, he had survived worse. He had Aidan, this time.

It didn’t help that they arrived home to find a note that there was a package waiting for them in the apartment’s office, only for Semovoski to hand over an overnighted letter that he’d signed for in their absence. “Something important?” he asked as he gave it to Aidan.

“Just some software I ordered, the laptop is acting up and I need it fixed if I’m going to complete a paper in time to hand it in,” Aidan lied.

Semovoski laughed at that. “Please, kids your age, you’re looking at porn. I know how it is.” Still, he laughed again and seemed to forget about the envelope, especially after Neil stepped up to pay the next’s month rent ahead of time, since they were already down there.

The envelope was from Riko, of course, containing two tickets – one first class in Neil’s name, and the other coach in Aidan’s name, to Charleston in three weeks’ time. “Oh isn’t he funny,” Aidan drawled as he held them up for a moment, only to tear them to shreds a second later.

“He does seem to like games,” Neil agreed as he swept up the mess to throw out.

“What did Durand say? That his father handed him off as a child? I think he has issues, great big daddy issues.” A cruel look came over Aidan’s face as he slipped a knife free. “No, what’s going to be *fun* is picking at them, in showing him that one should be careful about the dog one choses to taunt.”

Yeah, Neil had figured that Aidan wasn’t going to let those insults the other day just lie. “He has a criminal organization at his beck and call,” he reminded his friend.

Aidan reached out to tap the flat of the blade against Neil’s bottom lip, during which Neil just stood there and stared back at him. “No, his father and brother have the criminal organization under their control, from what Durand told you. We just have to make sure that we’re on the right side of the family.” There was a slight smile on his face as if he was contemplating something.

He made it sound so easy. “Do me a favor, and don’t unduly antagonize the psycho who seems to think he owns me.”

That made Aidan’s half-smile fade. “Do you doubt my promise?” The knife pressed against Neil’s lip for a moment before pulling away.

“No,” Neil assured him, “I’m just familiar with how much effort it takes to bury a body. It’s a pain in the ass, quite frankly, and I can only imagine the nightmare it would be for a bunch of them.”

Aidan’s half-smile returned as he sheathed the knife. “Wuss. You can spend hours practicing your precious Exy, but you’re afraid of a little honest work?”

“How many bodies have you buried?”

“Oh, we have the most delightful conversations, don’t we?” He then draped his arms over Neil’s shoulders.

Neil narrowed his eyes but didn’t shrug off those arms. “That’s an evasion – don’t think I’m going to do all of the digging,” he warned. “There’s not always a nice desert around to leave them in, you know.”

Aidan made a growling sound as he pushed Neil down onto the couch. “Then be a good boy, keep that smart mouth of yours under control and don’t put me in a position which will result in bodies.”

Neil thought about the possibility of that happening as he laid out on the couch. “Ah….”

“Exactly.” The knowing smirk on Aidan’s face just then meant that he knew he’d won. “Now tell me ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then shut up.”

There was only one answer to that, wasn’t there?

*******

Neil finished cleaning out his locker and was surprised to find Ryan approaching while he closed it. “Uhm, hi?” He hadn’t seen the other teen since the last Exy practice, and hadn’t really talked much to him since… well, since that day back in December; Aidan had made it clear that he hadn’t wanted anything to do with Ryan after that, and that it extended to Neil as well.

“Hi.” Ryan gave him a nervous wave and glanced around, as if looking for Aidan. “This won’t take long, but I just… I just wanted to wish you a nice summer, okay?” He gave a slight laugh and rubbed at the back of his head. “Never really got a chance to say goodbye to you and Aidan, what with the way you guys hightailed it out of the last Exy practice and all.”

“Yeah, we’re not… well, goodbyes aren’t exactly our things, and group stuff.”

“I noticed that.” There was a wry twist to Ryan’s lips there. “But still, I just wanted to say goodbye, wish you guys a good summer and hope that… well, maybe when we’re all back here next year, we can start fresh?” He looked a bit hopeful then. “I mean, we were friends first, and I like Aidan as a friend.” His face became a little flushed as with embarrassment. “I always thought of him as a friend, and I’d like it if we could pick that back up.”

Neil felt a little sorry for the guy, for what he was trying to do and for what would never happen. “I’ll tell him that.” He would, not that it would do Ryan any good. “And have a nice summer yourself.”

After Ryan waved goodbye and left, presumably toward his own locker, Neil headed outside to meet up with Aidan. “What took you so long?” 

Neil tossed his backpack into the back seat of the Nissan and, after Aidan waved to it, slid into the driver’s seat. “Ran into Ryan.” When Aidan didn’t say anything, he began to explain. “He wanted to wish us a nice summer.” Neil managed a sardonic smile as he pulled out of the school’s parking lot, narrowly avoiding some moron running around screaming about a ‘party about to start’. “And… he was hoping that you would… I don’t know, forgive him and be friends with him again.”

Aidan scoffed at that, pausing in the process of lighting a cigarette. “My heart, it bleeds.”

About to say that he didn’t need to be an asshole about things, Neil just decided to drop the matter; it wasn’t as if they would ever see Ryan again, and part of him… part of him was happy about that. Happy that Aidan didn’t care about the other teen and was fine with avoiding him. Besides, they had more important things to worry about then.

They returned home, aware that if Riko’s men were watching them, they would be paying special attention to them now that school was finished and they had little to tie them to Racine at the moment. They fetched their school bags and went up to their apartment, where they stayed in for the night. Neil made dinner with what was left in the kitchen, just some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, while Aidan did a final sweep to make sure that nothing important was being left behind or that they hadn’t missed anything. After they ate, Aidan got on the phone and called Anna.

“We’re all set,” he told her. “The rent’s paid up for another couple of weeks, so just wait another day before you come for the stuff.” He was quiet for a minute while his fingers tapped against the table. “We’re sure. Just do that dumb act of yours if anyone shows up asking for us, and use what we’ll send you if you don’t hear from us in a few days.” Contempt twisted his face a few seconds later. “Whatever, just do what I asked, all right? Don’t put more into it than that.” He huffed as he hung up the phone. “She’s not only a bitch, but she’s a sappy bitch at that,” he insisted as he set the phone down on the table.

“Imagine that, you knowing anyone who’s sappy,” Neil remarked as he began to clear the table.

“Yeah, well, I figured she’d be excited to get her hands on all this stuff.” Aidan appeared annoyed at the moment. “And to see the last of me.”

“It’s not easy to predict people.” Neil stared into the sink for a while before he started the water. “Would make life a lot simpler if you could.”

“I don’t know, some people aren’t so difficult.” Aidan joined him over by the sink. “At least in some ways.”

His presence made Neil smile as he began to wash up the dishes. “Such as being contrary just to annoy people?”

“Or being too stubborn to give in?”

“Hmm, imagine that.” Neil studied the bowl in his hands with more scrutiny than was needed as he took a deep breath and said what he needed to in order to have as clean a conscience as possible. “You know, you can still stay here. Riko said that I *could* bring you, not that you had-“

There was a pinching pressure on the back of his neck, one that forced him to lean toward the sink. “Continue to talk like that and you’ll be licking the dishes clean, understand?” Aidan’s voice was almost cheerful, except for the pressure on Neil’s neck and the low thrum of anger in his tone. “We’re leaving tomorrow, *together*, and if at any point you try to run off alone, I will track you down and break your fucking legs. If I figure out that you’re running to *him*, I’ll break your hands, too.”

“Okay.” Neil didn’t attempt to fight against the hold, to lash out against it or the threats or Aidan, he just relaxed and waited for Aidan to realize that he wasn’t lying or resisting. “But then you’ll be stuck hauling me around.”

There was a snort of derision as Aidan let go. “It’ll be worth it, if it gets the damn point into that thick head of yours.” He waited until Neil straightened up to jab a hard finger into his left shoulder. “No running, and no noble shit. We’re in this together.”

“Okay,” Neil repeated, then resumed doing the dishes. “Your pep talks suck,” he added after a few seconds.

“I don’t want to hear it from the idiot who thinks being a fucking martyr is the solution to everything,” Aidan seethed as he shoved the towel for drying dishes into Neil’s face. “For that, you’re on your own in here.” He stomped off to the living room while Neil caught the towel before it fell to the ground.

Well, that was one way to get out of drying, wasn’t it?

*******

Aidan checked in the mirror yet again to make sure that no one was following them, only slightly relieved to see an unfamiliar set of cars behind them; they had woken up the same time as usual that morning and gone about the same routine that they’d done since Exy practice had ended for their ‘off’ days. Aidan had slept in while Neil had gotten up and done some running, and once he’d returned home and showered, they’d gone out for breakfast. Once done, they’d run a few errands, done some window shopping, made a couple of small purchases, and when they had finally been certain that they were no longer being tailed by one of Riko’s men, they got in the car and drove around a little until they reached the highway. Once on it, they headed east.

They were now past Chicago, so Aidan glanced over at Neil, who nodded and motioned at the upcoming exit for Gary, Indiana. Once off the exit, they pulled into the first gas station so Aidan could top off the gas tank and Neil could place a call on one of the burner phones.

It took a few minutes since it wasn’t that easy to get through to a person, but he kept repeating the name ‘Nathan Wesninski’ and ‘Nathaniel Wesninski’, growing more impatient each time. Aidan stood beside him so he could somewhat hear what was going on, and had to applaud the ineptitude of the federal government.

“No, I will say this one more time and then I’m hanging up. If someone wants to find out what Nathaniel Wesninski knows about Nathan Wesninski and his organization, I suppose you’ll have someone waiting for me the next time I call, yes?” Then he hung up, frustration evident on his face and from the way he clutched at the phone. “Okay, let’s give them an hour.”

“You can drive this time,” Aidan told him before turning back to the car; it would allow him to concentrate better on if they were being followed or not.

“Okay.”

They drove along 90 a bit farther, and then they stopped again, got some caffeine and a bite to eat before Neil once again called. Only this time, as soon as he said the ‘magic’ name, he was routed through to someone. “Okay, so, Detective Browning? Have you been waiting long?” There was a slight smile on Neil’s face as he shared a look with Aidan. “I see. Well, depending on how this call goes, you’ll find out soon if I’m really Nathaniel Wesninski, but I would say that it’s in part thanks to your men that my mother died after running into my father in Seattle.” The smile faded away as his gaze became distant, as if he was thinking back to that night. “My understanding is that she handed over information to you there, after all. And you certainly seemed eager to catch up to me in Oakland, yes?” He became quiet after that, and Aidan heard a deep voice ramble on over the other end of the line for a couple of minutes.

Neil let him talk for a bit, then shook his head. “No, this is all you need to know right now, that I’m willing to come in, but there are conditions. I want immunity for myself and one other. No charges will be brought up on us for any past crimes, understand? *Nothing*. I’ll call back in another hour to see if you’re ready to go on record with that agreement.” Then he hung up again. “Ready?”

“This is almost becoming amusing.” Aidan shook his head and took over the driving duties for the next leg of the trip. Since they were now encountering the less populated part of Indiana, it took a little more than an hour for them to make the next call – not a bad thing in Aidan’s mind, since it gave Browning some time to stew.

They found a quiet parking lot to stop in while Neil made the call, this time on speakerphone while Aidan used another phone to record the conversation. As soon as Browning picked up, his annoyance was clear. “Don’t go jerking my chain, Wesninski.”

“I’m not,” Neil told him. “I’m sure you have an idea of how much of a risk it is, me contacting you, me stepping forward. My mother didn’t survive it, so I’m not going to commit until you give me what I want.”

“You’re a kid,” Browning snapped. “Come in and we’ll put you in protective custody.”

“No,” Neil insisted. “Give me the two immunities I want.”

There was a pause on the end of the line for a few seconds. “Is Andrew Doe still with you? He hasn’t been sighted since the two of you went missing from Wayward Burns. Come in and we’ll put both of you in witness protection.”

“You’re not listening to me,” Neil repeated. “Give me what I want and I’ll tell you everything I know about my father’s business. If you don’t, I hang up and vanish.”

“This is ridiculous, it’s not a damn game!”

“Thirty seconds,” Neil insisted, a cold look on his face as he stared off into the distance.

“Listen, Nathaniel, you have to-“

“Twenty-five, now.”

“All right! Just get your asses here and you’ll have your immunity, all right? But you will tell us *everything*.”

“Of course,” Neil lied as his gaze flickered over to Aidan’s. “Now, swear to me about the immunity. I want your word that Andrew and I will not be charged with any crimes.”

It wasn’t airtight, the recording, but it was enough to cause the FBI no little consternation if word got out that one of their agents had made a deal with two under-aged civilians under false pretenses in order to coerce information out of them. It took them a little while to find a UPS store, and just in time before it closed for the day, but they got the phone out to Kelci and then could get back to driving – only this time, taking the back roads and smaller highways that would lead them to 75 and south, in case the FBI had managed to figure out where they were calling from. In case Riko’s men had noticed yet that they were gone and managed to track them any.

It was a long night, driving south, with the two of them alternating behind the wheel and stopping for breaks when they grew too tired; Aidan was reminded of how they had crisscrossed the west when driving from Reno, doing their best to throw off anyone who might be following them. At least this time Neil was in one piece and the car a little bigger, and they had an idea of what awaited them at the end.

They reached Columbia, South Carolina in the early morning, too early to head to the Federal Burea of Investigation building located off of 76 near the armory – one of the many things that they’d spent the last two weeks researching whenever they had any spare time. So they stopped at a small diner for a breakfast that Neil was too nervous to eat, his face pale and shoulders tense, while Aidan drank coffee and enjoyed his blueberry waffles. “Either they honor the agreement or lock us up,” he told the idiot in German.

Neil gave him a look that translated into ‘not helping’, as if Aidan cared. “Well, I suppose either of those will annoy Riko so you’re fine.”

“Hmm, that is true.” Aidan made a point to reach over to steal the bacon from Neil’s neglected plate. “But it’ll be much more fun to annoy him if it’s the first.”

“Then do me a favor and don’t stab anyone today.” Neil shoved his plate toward Aidan and went back to nursing his coffee, so Aidan helped himself to the rest of the bacon and even an egg before they left.

As soon as the FBI offices opened up for the day, the two of them – Aidan minus his knives, someone had no sense of fun at all – entered the building. They were given a couple of odd looks, probably because of their age and casual appearance, while they approached what looked to be an information desk. A young man dressed in a dark suit gave them a cool smile. “Can I help the two of you? Are you looking for someone?”

Neil nodded once, his expression serious; he had taken out the green contacts, so the blue of his eyes were even more evident with the slight dark circles from the lack of sleep and stress. “You can tell that Agent Browning that Nathaniel Wesninski is here.”

“I’m sorry, there’s no Agent Browning- wait, did you say Wesninski?” When Neil nodded again, the man immediately reached for the phone. “Wuh-wait right here.” His frantic action had two agents step forward in an obvious flanking maneuver, and it wasn’t long that Neil and Aiden found themselves sequestered in an empty conference room.

“I expected these guys to have their act together a bit better.” Aidan sneered as he spun around in the chair, his arms folded against his chest.

Meanwhile, Neil rested with his arms folded on top of the table and his chin resting on them. “I think I can figure out how we managed to slip past them so easily in Oakland.”

“You think?” Aidan was about to say something else, except the door to the room opened just then, to admit a woman who looked to be in her early thirties, her dark blonde hair cut in a wavy bob and dressed in a navy blue pant suit. She held a couple of folders in her hand which she ignored as she looked them over and then sighed. “Hello, I’m Sonja Wolfe and you two aren’t where you’re supposed to be.”

Aidan shrugged as he continued to spin around. “Funny, I don’t feel out of place. Neil, did you forget to put me back in the box when you were done with me?” His comment earned him a wry smile from Neil and an unamused frown from Sonja.

“No, what I mean is, after speaking with Agent Browning, you’re supposed to be in Baltimore, not Columbia,” she explained as she joined them at the table and sat down on the opposite side, the folders spread out in front of her.

“We never told him we’d meet up with him there,” Neil said. “Just that I’d come in.”

Sonja let out a slow breath as she tucked back a strand of hair that fell forward; she wasn’t bad looking, especially once she stopped acting like she had a headache or something. “Well you see, when you make a deal with someone from the Baltimore office about one of their cases, they assume you’re coming to talk to them.”

“Assumptions are *your* problem,” Aidan told her as he stopped spinning, “not ours.”

She eyed him for a few seconds, then squinted as if the headache had gone up a notch. “So I’m beginning to figure out. Look, this is what’s going to happen. Agent Browning and his partner are on their way down here, because yes, they’re in charge of everything Nathan Wesninski related and they have seniority. So sorry, you’re going to have to wait a while.” The smile she gave them was somewhat forced. “Nathaniel is going to have to stay with us, but we can make arrangements for Andrew while-“

“No,” Aidan insisted. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“But-“

“He’s staying with me,” Neil agreed. “You want me to talk, we’re a matched set.” He lifted up his head and leaned back into the chair. “No separation.”

Sonja sighed and rubbed at her temples. “You couldn’t have just gone to Baltimore, could you? All right, fine, the two of you have a nice break for a couple of hours, until Browning’s flight arrives.” The dirty look she gave them lasted about twenty seconds. “Can I get you anything? Something to drink? Are you hungry?”

Aidan looked over at Neil, who shrugged. “Water and coffee,” he told her; it wasn’t like they could do much if the Feds tried to slip them something, considering that they were effectively locked up for the time being.

“Okay.” She smiled a little as she gathered up the folders then stood up. “Look, I don’t know what’s been going on in the last few months, but I’m glad that you two are here now. We’ll work things out.” She tapped the folders against the table before she left the room, and Aidan caught sight of a tall, burly man standing guard outside before it closed.

Yeah, they would work things out, because there wasn’t much of a choice otherwise.

*******

Neil and Aidan switched off taking naps before Browning and Town arrived, so he didn’t feel too tired to deal with the agents, which was a good thing. Browning was what his mother would call ‘old school’, a gruff, stocky man who seemed to like playing ‘hard ball’, while Town was a bit more laconic and tended to follow Browning’s lead. Browning thought that he could intimidate Neil by being blunt and making threats, as if Neil hadn’t lived under a threat of constant pain his entire life, and death for a majority of it. As if Browning and the FBI could hold candle to any of the monsters that Aidan had faced over the years. So no, all Neil did was stare the man down and repeat what he wanted, repeated the need for the immunity from any past crimes for him and Aidan, and refused to tell anything until that was taken care of.

Browning wanted him to agree to go into the witness protection program, and again, Neil refused. It was pointed out that he was still a minor and had no legal guardians, so Neil insisted that he be declared an emancipated minor – he had enough money to support himself and he had more than proven that he would be fine on his own, hadn’t he? Browning wanted some guarantee that Neil wouldn’t just run after he gave his testimony, and that’s when Aidan spoke up – the reason they had come to Columbia and not Baltimore was that he had family here, and had every intention to return to them once their legal troubles were cleared up. Wolfe confirmed that was true, so there was one less hurdle for them to clear.

Browning still wasn’t pleased with Neil refusing to cooperate with the witness protection program… but Neil noticed that the agent didn’t fight it too hard, not when he knew that Neil had a reason to stay in one place now. He had a feeling that the fear of running had been the main reason for the government wanting to ‘protect’ him, and knowing that he had every intention of remaining with Aidan – with Andrew Minyard – took a lot of heat out of Browning’s argument. Since Neil wasn’t related to Andrew, though, he didn’t count on Andrew’s family taking him in and so would support himself. Browning finally agreed to everything when Wolfe volunteered to keep an eye on Neil, if needed.

With the details of their new life settled – Town put some agents to work wiping clean Andrew’s record and making Neil’s identity official - Browning dragged Neil and Andrew, along with Wolfe, into a small room set up with video recording equipment and over a period of two days barring short breaks to eat, rest and go to the bathroom, interrogated him for every detail about his father’s ‘business’ that Neil knew about, as well as what he and his mother had done while in the run. Neil talked himself hoarse and spared nothing, no matter how painful or trivial, except for a couple of things. He didn’t give up any of his mother’s contacts, and he never mentioned the Moriyamas in any way. He also lied about what had happened to Lola and Romano back in Reno, altering things to say that Aidan – no, Andrew, he had to think of him as Andrew again – had broken into the motel room while Romano had stepped out to take a call, managed to knock Lola out and then drag Neil out of there. Years of lying and hours of practicing it in the car meant that Neil could say it with ease and not change a single detail no matter how many times Browning quizzed him about the story, until the agent seemed satisfied.

On the third day, Browning finally told Neil and Andrew that they were finished and handed them each an envelope filled with documents – in Neil’s case, it contained a new birth certificate, passport, social security card and driver’s license with his now official name. “Don’t even think of ever using another pseudonym as long as you live,” Browning warned him. “If you so much as use a nickname for an online account, I will find out and I will have you up on charges so fast your head will spin.”

Behind him, Wolfe rolled her eyes as if unimpressed by the sense of drama. “Don’t worry, this is the last one for me,” Neil said.

Browning scoffed but then seemed to lose some of the attitude. “And watch your back – the information you gave us will help, but there’s still a lot of your father’s people out there. If you won’t go for protective custody, you’re on your own.”

No, he wasn’t, he thought as he caught sight of Andrew waiting impatiently by the door, but all he said was “I know.” He also had the impression that Browning was sort of hoping that some of his father’s people might come for him, hence the giving up on the witness protection issue once he was certain that Neil wouldn’t run anymore.

“Fine then.” Browning shook his head. “Well, I have a flight to catch.” He nodded to Wolfe. “You got this from here?”

“Yes.” She gave him a cool nod, as if happy to see him go, then motioned to Neil and Andrew while Browning went off with Town. “If you’ll come this way, we have some people waiting to see you.”

“Oh, joy,” Andrew remarked in a bland tone as he tucked his own envelope, which should hold his new IDs as ‘Andrew Minyard’, into the back pockets of his jeans. “Time for my long-awaited reunion.”

Sonja gave him an odd look, which wasn’t anything new; she had been given them both odd looks over the last few days, as she had listened in on Neil’s stories, at their refusal to be separated, and when she had stopped by to update them on what was going on with contacting Andrew’s family. “Look, if you’re tired, this can wait a little longer.”

“No, best to just get it out of the way now.”

“All right.” As they rode the elevator down to the lobby, she handed Neil a business card that had her work number and another written in ink. “Keep that, okay? Be sure to check in with me every couple of weeks. I’m not your guardian, but I’d like to know that you haven’t run off or ended up in a ditch somewhere.” She gave him a wry smile as she spoke.

“It sounds as if you have an inkling about this one,” Andrew commented, tone still bland, as he stared at the display of the floors counting down; Neil shot him a dirty look for it.

“Hmm, maybe after listening to what he’s been caught up in these last few years,” Sonja agreed.

All too soon, the elevator reached the lobby and its doors opened up; Sonja motioned for Andrew and Neil to step out first, then for them to follow her. They went past the section that was for those with clearance only, out into the main area, and Neil could tell when Andrew spotted them, followed by Sonja. The agent’s breath caught, probably because of the teenager standing beside the tall, thin man with the grim looking face framed by a trimmed greying beard and thinning salt and pepper hair – Neil flashed back to when he first had met Andrew, with his blond hair and hazel eyes. The teen… Aaron, he knew it was Aaron, but it was disorienting, seeing the spitting image of Andrew like that, save for the different hair color after so long of dyeing Ai-Andrew’s hair, and then for that awful sullen, almost bratty expression to be on the face Neil had seen every day for the past seven months.

He glanced aside at Andrew, and noticed the tension in his friend’s broad shoulders, the blank expression on the face that was in some ways more familiar to him than his own. He brushed the fingers of his left hand against Andrew’s, and caught a quick flash of cool hazel and a slight quirk of pressed flat lips.

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Andrew said as they approached Luther Hemmick and Aaron Minyard while walking side by side.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! Another Fox!
> 
> I realized after I posted that the high school arc was wrapping up that the boys aren't done w/ high school just yet (Andrew still has a year to go and Neil two). But in my mind, the high school arc is done, and now we're moving on to the Columbia/Minyard arc - of course the boys aren't in college yet, but high school isn't the main focus of the next arc, it's family (more or less). Not that high school was in the last one, just that high school was sorta the setting while Andrew and Neil grew closer.
> 
> Hope the FBI scene wasn't too rushed, but I think it's covered well enough in the book. Also, there is an FBI site in Columbia (but anything in the fic is made up).
> 
> And in case it's not clear - Neil isn't an amazing Exy player just yet, but he's better than when he was at Milport, and it's because of Andrew - playing with and practicing with Andrew has upped his game. Not to Kevin level, obviously, but Andrew is a highly skilled player (enough to be recruited by Kevin later on), and having someone to egg him on (Neil)... they feed off of each other. Hence the reason why Kevin would be interested in them.
> 
> As always, the kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! New chapter! Time to meet some family! Fun times! Hmm... maybe not?
> 
> OMFG this part of the arc is going to kill me....
> 
> *******

*******

Andrew sat inside the Nissan and thrummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he stared out through the windshield at the small, pale blue house which belonged to Luther Hemmick; they’d followed the man from the FBI building to what some people would probably consider a quiet, ‘quaint’ suburb but what he found to be so bland and boring. “Doesn’t look like much.”

Neil stared at the house as if he’d never seen such a thing, his brow furrowed and hands clenched on his jean-clad thighs. “I guess… I guess it’s normal?”

Andrew remembered him talking about the house back in Baltimore, about its large size and elaborate decoration; he supposed that the unassuming two-story single family home in front of them with its small, immaculately tended yard and all the similar homes tucked around it might seem strange to someone raised in such extremes as Neil. “Yeah, well, time to get used to ‘normal’, now,” he warned as he went to open the car door. They’d stalled enough, time to go meet the rest of the ‘family’.

Neil shot him a wry grin as he got out of the car as well. “Somehow I don’t think ‘normal’ is going to cut it, not if they’re related to you.”

Probably not, but this was what they had to work with for the time being, so time to get it over with; Luther had been stiff and formal when Agent Wolfe introduced him to Andrew and Neil, and Aaron sullen as fuck even while he had stared at Andrew as if terrified he’d vanish if the other teen so much as blinked. From what Andrew could tell, the FBI had basically called up his uncle, told the man that Andrew had been found, had been of some help in a case that was confidential, and if Luther wanted him to come and get him. Oh, and he wasn’t alone.

Maybe the shock and the confusion would teach the man that sometimes, it was better not to go poking his nose into where it didn’t belong.

Luther was waiting for them at the front door of the house, that sour look on his face seeming to be a default or something. “Welcome,” he told them in his deep voice and motioned them inside. “This is my wife, Maria.”

The woman, taller than Andrew and Neil and appearing to be Hispanic with her long dark hair and dark complexion, gave them a polite nod. “Hello, it’s… it’s nice to meet you. Can I offer you a drink?” The front area was a living room and very neat, with a couch and a television set and a cross on the wall. Andrew felt the urge to start messing things up, but they were led into the kitchen before he could do anything.

“We’re fine,” Neil said, his voice quiet and expression guarded, much like it had been back with the FBI agents.

“Oh.” Maria looked at him, clearly confused at his presence, but all it took was Luther shaking his head and she gave a slight shrug and fussed with the long skirt of her plain, dark blue dress. “Well, everyone is gathered….” She made a motion at the back door of the kitchen, which seemed to lead to a deck of sorts.

“Yes, they’re waiting for you,” Luther added. “We’ll bring the food out there, shortly.”

“Great,” Andrew enthused with evident false cheer. “I can’t wait to eat out in the hot sun and all.” He stepped outside with Neil on his heels, and the rush of his entrance enabled him to catch his beloved mother unaware as she sat at a long table prepared with several place settings.

Tilda Minyard nearly choked on whatever it was that she’d just swallowed, her hazel eyes going wide as she held a hand in front of her face to keep from spraying the mouthful of iced tea across the table. She stared at Andrew as if he was a ghost, as if she’d just seen something terrible, and in a way he supposed that she had – she’d given him away almost seventeen years ago and he wasn’t meant to come back into her life. Yet here he was, bouncing back if not exactly in mint condition, like the proverbial bad penny.

He’d seen photos of her on Nicky Hemmick’s Facebook page, but up close, it was easy to spot the resemblance, the blonde hair and hazel eyes, the lack of height, the full lips. But the years hadn’t been kind to Tilda, not with the worn lines around her mouth, the dark circles beneath her bloodshot eyes, the brittle dullness to her hair. “You… ah,” she swallowed hard and gave a weak wave toward him, “what happened to your hair?”

Over sixteen years, and the first thing she asked him about was his hair? Andrew gave a slight sneer as he ran his fingers through it. “I was going through a goth phase,” he lied. “Well, Mother, am I everything you imagined I’d be?” He held out his arms as if on display. “Or should I go away for a few more years and we can try it again?” Behind him, Neil stirred but didn’t do anything but step closer, as if to guard his back.

“Oh my god,” he heard Aaron mumble as his ‘brother’s’ face became flushed and he hunched over in the chair, yet he continued to eye Andrew with that almost hungry, desperate gaze. Meanwhile, Tilda blanched at the response and clutched at her glass of iced tea as if she wished it were something stronger.

“I… that….”

“Lunch is served.” Luther didn’t sound happy at the moment, and the look he gave Andrew made it clear where his displeasure was aimed. Andrew merely smiled in response and sat down across from Tilda and Aaron while Luther and Maria set down what looked to be some sort of casserole and salad before grabbing the end chairs at the table. Lucky Neil, he got the prime spot next to Andrew and seemed to have decided to keep his mouth shut and head down.

“Now, let us pray in thanks for the safe return of Andrew,” Luther intoned, and immediately Maria, Tilda and Aaron bowed their heads while Andrew sat there with a smirk on his face and Neil just looked at him as if to say ‘WTF’? There was an awful, boring intoning about prodigal sons and family giving thanks, most of which Andrew ignored as he tried to figure out what type of casserole they’d be eating – was it beef? Something pork? Aw, it was some type of enchilada thing, so no vegetables. He’d so been looking forward to seeing Neil pick out stuff for the next twenty minutes or so.

When Luther finally finished, he raised his head and gave Andrew a cool look but wisely said nothing while Maria began to serve some of the casserole to everyone – Neil was quick to refuse the salad. “I understand that this is a time of transition for all of us, a time of new beginnings, but it is proper for a son to show his mother respect.”

Yeah, he was going to get along so well with his uncle, wasn’t he? “Maybe if she hadn’t abandoned me I’d be a bit more amenable to that, yeah?” He smiled at Luther while his mother dropped the fork she’d been holding onto the table. “I mean, give me something to work with here.” He turned his attention on to Tilda and ‘smiled’, a baring of teeth which held all of the affection he felt for her – nothing.

She took a shuddering breath as she picked up the fork. “Look, I know I messed up-“

“You *think*?”

“I did,” she agreed. “But we’re together now, so let’s… let’s just make the best of it,” she finished in a weak manner as she stared at her brother and not Andrew. Oh yes, that was a great sign there, wasn’t it?

Meanwhile, Aaron ignored the food on his plate and finally looked away from Andrew to glare at Neil, who sat through everything while sipping his iced tea as if family squabbles like this happened every day; knowing what he’d grown up with back in Baltimore, this probably was nothing. He’d barely flinch unless Luther got up to slit someone’s throat, and then only criticize how the asshole had done it, Andrew suspected. “Why is *he* here?” Aaron pointed at Neil, and Andrew caught a flash of faded purple and green on his twin’s right wrist before the long-sleeved white t-shirt slipped back into place. “He’s not family.”

“He’s something better,” Andrew answered, and smiled at how the vitriol on Aaron’s face increased and how Luther frowned as well. “He doesn’t abandon me at the drop of a hat.”

“Andrew, your behavior is unacceptable!” Luther slammed his right fist down onto the table. “We are trying to welcome you back into the family, and all you’re being is insulting!”

Andrew pushed his plate of food aside. “Well I’m sorry, maybe I’d have a better idea of ‘family’ if my darling mother over there hadn’t given me up on the day I was born. Gee, why am I the slightest bit bitter, hmm? Maybe because of the endless succession of shitty homes I ended up in?” His fingers wrapped around the guards which hid the scars on his left arm – he hadn’t put the knives back in yet, not after taking them out for the FBI office, because he wasn’t certain he could control himself with his ‘family’. Beside him, Neil twisted just enough to look at Andrew, as if to take his cues on what to do next from him.

“But… I just, I couldn’t,” Tilda tried to explain, her face growing more haggard with each passing moment. “Two of you were too much. It was hard enough… I did my best.”

Somehow, judging from the way Aaron sat hunched over next to her, Andrew doubted that her ‘best’ was worth much at all.

“She’s making amends now,” Luther insisted, and Andrew had to wonder if it really was Tilda’s idea at all, reaching out to him. “All that matters is that you’re here now, albeit in… rather odd circumstances.” His frown deepened as he took in Andrew’s dark hair and then Neil. “We were anxious for you, when we found out that you had gone missing, and then all those months without hearing anything. All that agent would tell us was that you had helped them with something and there are no more charges against you, that your record has been sealed.”

“And that’s all you need to know for right now,” Andrew told him, his voice flat and his eyes narrowed. “Say, how come I haven’t seen any pictures of your son, hmm? Nicky, right?”

Luther gave him that sour look for a few more seconds before bowing his head. “The food is getting cold.”

Everyone seemed to relish the chance to focus on their meal after that, though Neil only picked at his as he seemed lost in thought and Aaron continued to alternate glares at Neil and heavy stares at Andrew from across the table. Andrew managed a few bites – it wasn’t the worst that he’d eaten, but it wasn’t the best – while he studied his dear mother and brother and stored away the careful observations.

Once everyone’s plates were more or less clean, Maria cleared her throat. “There’s dessert, if anyone still has room.”

Andrew summoned a fake smile and shook his head. “Sorry, but Neil and I need to look into finding a hotel for the night.” He noticed how Luther’s light brown eyes narrowed upon hearing that and flickered back and forth between him and Neil. “It’s been a long day.” A long couple of days, really.

Tilda managed a nervous laugh as she glanced at her brother. “But… I thought you’d be….”

“We need to get Neil situated first,” Andrew said as he stood up from the table. “And I wasn’t sure if you had everything ready for me just yet.” Even if he had come to Columbia with the intention of staying with his family, he wouldn’t mind another night before he had to suffer with them – that and there was still something that needed to be done.

Tilda appeared relieved. “Oh yes, it’ll give us a little longer to get Aaron’s room set up for the two of you, right Aaron?” She laughed again as she nudged her other son, who continued to look at Neil as if he was the enemy.

“You’re staying?” Aaron didn’t sound too happy to hear that.

Neil spoke up for the first time since they had begun to eat. “Yes, I don’t have any family and the FBI arranged to have someone from the local office watch over me.”

Luther didn’t appear happy just then, either. “So you’re going to be living on your own? Perhaps you should-“

“I have enough money to support myself,” Neil insisted as he stood up as well. “Along with full legal responsibility. I’ll be fine.”

“A young man your age needs family to keep you from getting into trouble,” Luther insisted as he rose from the table.

“I’m much better off without my family,” Neil told him with a chilling smile that made Luther recoil. “And all they did was cause me trouble.”

“Hmm, food for thought, no?” Andrew motioned for Neil to precede him back into the kitchen. “On that cheerful note, we’ll be going.”

“One moment,” Luther said as he moved around the table to follow them. “I would like to speak with you, Andrew.”

Andrew shared a look with Neil, who grimaced at the delay but didn’t argue. “Head out to the car, this’ll just be a minute,” Andrew told him; he refused to be held back any longer than that and would use the excuse of Neil waiting for him to avoid a delay.

“Okay.” Neil mumbled something about it being nice to meet everyone and then left, liar that he was, heading straight for the front door, while Andrew waited in the kitchen for Luther. The man fished a small notepad out from one of the drawers and a pen, and wrote something down on a sheet of paper which he handed over to Andrew. “Here are my and your mother’s phone numbers so you can call us tomorrow. If Tilda doesn’t have the room ready for you by then, you can stay here.”

Yeah, like that would happen; one hour with the man and Andrew was ready to kill him. “It won’t be a problem to stay with Neil until Tilda’s ready.”

“Neil.” Luther’s expression was once more sour as he glanced toward the front door. “He is your… friend.”

Andrew had noticed Nicky Hemmick’s recent posts about his German boyfriend, Erik, and how there were no comments from his family, and no photos of Nicky in the house; considering all the crosses and Bible quotes on the walls, he had a feeling where the ‘friend’ thing was going. “Yes, a good friend.” It was the truth, just not all of the truth. “We’ve helped each other out over the last several months, and since Neil doesn’t have any family left or anyone to rely on, he’s going to stick around.” When Luther continued to look at him in a searching manner, Andrew met his eyes and kept his expression blank. “You could say that he’s responsible for helping to straighten me out.” To the effect that he’d gotten the assault charges on Andrew’s record sealed up and virtually wiped away, that was.

That seemed to soften Luther’s mood and lessen his suspicions. “Then he is welcome in this house.” Luther toyed with the pen in his hand for a moment as if thinking of something. “You have some other good friends as well.”

“I do?” Funny, how Andrew couldn’t think of any at the moment.

“Yes.” Luther went over to the kitchen counter to return the pen and notepad. “I spoke to a couple of them a few months ago, a Cass and Drake Spear.”

Andrew felt as if he was going to throw up the semi-decent casserole when he heard mention of that last name. “Spear? Why did you talk to them?” He struggled to keep his voice even, to not dig his fingers into the scars on his inner arms.

“We were trying to find out where you had gone, after the incident at Wayward Burns.” Luther appeared to be digging in the drawer for something. “The one police officer, Officer Higgins, thought you might return to an old foster home since you stayed there so long.”

“I would *never* go back there,” Andrew ground out. Not after giving up so much. Not as long as Drake might return.

Something must have been in his voice just then, because Luther stopped with the search and looked at him. “But… I spoke with Cass Spear, and she asked me to let her know if we ever found you, to tell her that you were all right. I also spoke with her son, Drake, a fine young man. He’s in the Marines-“

“Don’t tell them *anything*,” he hissed out. “I don’t want them to have anything to do with my life.” Not even Cass. Not if it meant that Drake might find him, or find *Aaron*.

Luther blinked, as if shocked by Andrew’s vehemence. “But-“

“*No*,” he repeated. “That ‘fine young man? He molested me for several years.” Andrew could still feel it, could feel Drake’s hands on him as he shoved him down onto the bed, could feel his breath on the back of his neck. Could hear him talk about how amazing it would be, to have Aaron join them…. “Tell them *nothing*!”

“Molested?” Luther shook his head. “That’s… I don’t believe it, it has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Drake is a Marine, a good man, you probably just misconstrued something that he did as overly affectionate.”

Andrew stood there and stared at Luther Hemmick, at a man tied to him by blood, and dug his fingers into the scars he’d sliced into his own flesh in an effort to hold on to the home Cass Spear had offered him, the only home he’d wanted at that point in his life – a home that Drake Spear had then made into a hell for him. And it had been a ‘misunderstanding’? Oh yes, it was a good thing that his knives were out in the car with Neil, with the only other person who had ever given him a home, and a true one at that. “I’m leaving,” he told the man, and only the thought of Aaron, the person who was part of the reason he had turned his back on Cass, who sat on the deck wearing long-sleeves in June to hide bruises, kept him from dropping the slip of paper Andrew held clutched in his hand just then.

“We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Luther told him, which Andrew ignored; he was done talking to Luther, too much more and there would be new assault charges on his record.

Neil had the car running, just waiting for him to come out and get in before he put it in reverse and pulled out of the driveway. He glanced at Andrew and then focused on the road, on finding their way back to the highway so they could get a hotel room for the night.

Nothing was said until they were on the highway. “Uhm… anything to talk about?” Neil asked, his voice quiet and passive, making it clear that he wasn’t pressing for answers.

“No.” Andrew just said the one word, but without any anger or force; he didn’t want to talk about it, at least now.

“Okay.” Neil just nodded and accepted that, didn’t get pissy or upset, didn’t take it personally. He knew that there were times when talking didn’t help or when the topic was too personal, and he was fine – honestly, truly, not a bullshit ‘fine’ – with it. Times like these were among the many reasons Andrew put up with him, found himself trusting Neil and relaxing around him.

And he also pulled into a real hotel for once, a Homewood Suites, in case it took a couple of days for him to figure out where he would live once Andrew settled in with Tilda and Aaron. They got a room with two queen sized beds and checked in under Neil’s now official name, and they enjoyed their first proper showers in a couple of days. Andrew also took the time to place a follow-up call to Anna, just to make sure she didn’t do anything foolish with the phone that had been sent to Kelci, and let her know that they were all right and making plans to stay in Columbia.

It was a little bit after that when they were debating on whether or not to take a nap or go out to eat when Neil’s phone rang.

*******

Neil had been waiting for something to happen ever since leaving the FBI’s office that morning, though he had to admit, receiving a phone call where he was told to go outside of the hotel and wait in the parking lot by a man with a faint accent… well, he wasn’t sure if that was it. He hung up the phone and gave Andrew what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he tucked his phone into the front pocket of his jeans and grabbed the keycard to the room. “I’ll be back soon.” He hoped that he would be back soon.

Andrew got off of the bed as if to join him. “Let me-“

“No,” Neil insisted as he held up his right hand. “They told *me* to come.” These weren’t the type of people you surprised for the hell of it.

His friend didn’t look happy at that, his jaw clenched tight and hands curled into fists, yet all he did was pull Neil in for a fast, bruising kiss before letting him go. “Don’t take too long.”

Neil had to laugh at that. “I’ll do my best.” Then he turned around to leave the room before he chickened out, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

It was sunny and hot outside, or at least that is what he told himself when he felt a trickle of sweat run down his back as he waited in the large, half-full parking lot of the hotel. Fortunately for his nerves, it only took about a minute before a large, shiny black Lexus sedan pulled up in front of him, and the back door opened.

Right, not ominous at all, Neil told himself as he climbed inside, to find an Asian man in a black suit already seated in the back, and another behind the wheel of the car. Neither spoke to him as he closed the door and the car drove off, everything quiet save for the low hum of its motor. They drove for a couple of minutes, into what looked to be an empty gravel lot.

There was a black limo waiting there, and another Asian man in a black suit was standing beside it; he opened the door to the Lexus once it stopped and motioned for Neil to step out, then opened the door to the limo and waved Neil inside.

There were two people seated inside of the limo, an older Asian man in a suit and a younger one in the seat facing forward; his suit was of a more expensive and elegant cut, and he had a bored air about him. Neil assumed that this was the more important person of the two, and he took a guess as to whom it might be. He bowed his head as he slid into the seat.

It was quiet for several seconds, save for the almost inaudible hum of the air conditioner and the running motor. “Do you know who I am?” the younger Asian – no, Japanese man asked.

“Ichiro Moriyama, sir,” Neil answered, his head still bowed and his tone as reverent as he could make it.

“Ah, and here I’ve been told that you were ignorant.” Ichiro didn’t sound displeased, and he didn’t seem quite as bored as before.

“Sir.” Neil dared to raise his head the slightest amount. “I’ll admit I was, until your… until Riko Moriyama enlightened me about several things. Then I made it a point to correct the failings of my knowledge.”

“So you acknowledge that you are Moriyama property.”

Neil did his best not to wince upon hearing that. “I acknowledge that my father worked for your father and intended to give me to Tetsuji Moriyama. I also acknowledge that my mother stole five million dollars from my father, which means that she stole from the Moriyamas.” He was mindful to keep his tone level and respectful as he talked, and his eyes cast downward.

“I see.” Ichiro tapped the fingers of his right hand against his wool-clad thigh. “Yet knowing these things, you are here, in Columbia instead of Charleston, where Riko has ordered you to be, and you have spoken to the FBI. Those are not what I would consider actions of a loyal asset.”

This time Neil did dare to raise his head and hoped that what came out next didn’t sound like a lie. “Sir, those are indeed actions of a loyal asset.” When Ichiro continued to look at him in a calm, level manner, Neil forced a swallow past his tight throat and continued without looking away but still in a calm, reverent manner. “I accept that I belong to the Moriyamas, and I would like nothing better than to spend my life as my father had intended it, by playing Exy for your family. It’s true, I had no idea until a couple of weeks ago that this was the plan for me, and I’m not fighting it.”

“That isn’t what I’m seeing,” Ichiro argued, his demeanor still calm – yet even without raising his voice, there was a power to it.

“I know,” Neil agreed. “But Riko… he would have me go straight to Charleston, to Castle Evermore, and….” He shook his head. “My father’s death is too recent, and too many people were still looking for me, Nathaniel Wesninski. They still are, even now. So I did what I could to bury the past, to remove those hurdles. When it comes to the FBI, I’ve given them what they’ve wanted and I’m no more use to them. My past can’t be used against me as far as the government is concerned, because I *am* Neil Josten now.”

He continued on before he lost Ichiro’s attention and patience. “I never said a thing about the Moriyamas, I never betrayed your family. The FBI pushed several times, asking if my father worked for someone, if there was any organization above his.” He noticed the way that Ichiro’s fingers twitched a little at that, how the older man sitting next shifted about. “I told them that he didn’t report to anyone – it’s up to them if they believe that or not, but I didn’t betray you.”

“Good, because you would be dead if you did,” Ichiro informed him.

“I know that as well. But that’s just it,” Neil paused a moment before he went on with what he hoped would win Ichiro over and keep him out of Riko’s hands, “if Nathan Wesninski’s son were to appear out of nowhere, even bearing a new name, and at Castle Evermore at that… don’t you see? It’s better if I don’t go to Charleston, at least not now. It’s less suspicious that way.”

There was a hint of a smile on Ichiro’s face; he was young, just a couple of years older than Riko, and came across as much more capable, much more stable. Neil didn’t know why he was here instead of Kengo, but he had the impression that Ichiro’s youth didn’t mean that he was a pushover. “I see, so you’re doing it for our benefit. Do you think that we can’t pacify the government?”

“No,” Neil admitted. “But it would cost you, and I’ve already cost you enough. And I’m doing it for my good as well. I want the best possible career for myself, and the fact is, while the Ravens are ranked as the number one Class I team, their players don’t have the best track record of making Court.” Part of what Neil and Andrew had researched over the last two weeks had been any weaknesses of the Ravens, just so Neil could argue with Kengo – now Ichiro. “I can make more money for the Moriyamas if I have a shot of making it to Court one day, once I go pro.”

“And do you?” Now that amusement was more evident. “Do you really think that you can? After playing one season in high school?”

“I know that Kevin Day thought highly enough of me to consider me Raven material after one season.” It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Neil could lie with the best of them if it kept him alive long enough to make it a reality. “The things about investments is you give them time enough to mature. It costs you nothing to leave me out here on my own, to find my own scholarship, and you can reap millions starting in another seven years. I don’t care about the money I make playing.”

Ichiro studied him for several seconds before he turned to the man sitting quietly near Neil and spoke in Japanese. The man replied and then pulled out his phone, before calling someone and talking for a couple of minutes in the same language. During that time, Ichiro continued to study Neil, who began to feel like a bug or some sort of exotic creature.

Once the call ended, the man nodded to Ichiro and spoke for about another minute. Ichiro’s lips pressed together once he fell quiet again, and he flicked his fingers before he resumed studying Neil, who had taken to sweating once again.

“My father sent me down here to handle what was supposed to be a loose end. I’ll admit, I was willing to listen to you because of the excellent work your father did for us over the years, but it would have only been for that.” His lips twitched a little. “Now I find something more.” He spoke to the other man again for a few seconds. “You said that you have acknowledged your status as a Moriyama asset, which is good, because as of now, you belong to the main branch. We are investing in you and your career as an Exy player, and as such you will turn over eighty percent of all future income to us, be it from salary or endorsements. If you fail to secure a place on a suitable Class I team, you are of no value to us. If you fail to be recruited by a professional team upon graduation, you are of no value to us. Do you understand what I mean when I say ‘no value’?”

Yes, it meant that Neil’s life was over. “Yes, sir, I do. I’ll sign with the Ravens or another team my senior year, and in five more years I’ll make pro,” he vowed; he had no other choice now, he would just have to do his best to make sure he didn’t end up with the Ravens in the next year or two.

“Ah yes, there is that Wesninski resolve.” Ichiro nodded as in approval. “Then you understand your objectives. If you do indeed survive to make it to the professional level, my people will be in contact with you to arrange for the money transfers, or for any endorsements before then.” With that, he nodded to the other man and then pulled out his own phone and began to swipe through the screen.

Neil assumed that meant the… whatever it was, was over, which was confirmed when the door near him opened a moment later. He all but stumbled out of the limo, his heart thumping in his chest, and barely walked under his own power back to the Lexus waiting a few feet away. The limo pulled away before he closed the door to the sedan, and even with Ichiro’s ‘assurance’, he could barely breathe until he was returned to the hotel.

It was done; the main thing, the most important thing, was done. The main Moriyama branch had accepted him, had agreed to terms that Neil could live with – what did he care about money? – and he was free of Riko’s leash. At least, he was free of Riko’s leash for now. He had two years, a little less, to manage a scholarship to a university that had a Class I Exy team since it was his best chance to be recruited to a professional team. Maybe if he’d grown up beside Kevin Day it would be another story… but then he’d already be a Raven, wouldn’t he? The circular logic of it all would drive him insane.

His dream growing up had been to play Exy, to make it to Court one day, and on one nightmare day he’d found out that his life had been torn apart *because* he was supposed to grow up and play Exy. Now, in order for him to live, to have some sort of life that didn’t mean running and hiding and never, ever stopping, not with enemies like the Moriyamas after him….

He wanted to laugh, to just start laughing at the irony of it all, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop if he did, and he couldn’t risk it while riding in a car with Ichiro’s men. All that mattered was that his gamble had paid off, appearing penitent and mindful of his value to the Moriyamas. Of being honest enough to confess that he didn’t want to cripple himself with the Ravens when he just might be able to aim higher.

Now… now he had to live up to the promise he’d made Ichiro, because there was no way he’d allow himself to be sent to Riko, to the Ravens, in two years’ time. Riko would be furious when he found out that it wasn’t him who held Neil’s leash but Ichiro and Kengo, and if no other university came through with an offer… Neil might as well kill himself to save Ichiro’s men the effort, because he doubted that he’d survive what Riko had in store for him.

*******

Andrew took to pacing around in the hotel room while he waited for Neil to return – and the idiot would return, there was no other acceptable option – a knife held in his right hand that he flipped over and over and over. He judged that about ten minutes had passed when there was a knock at the door to the room, the sound so unexpected that he almost sliced his thumb from the surprise.

Staring at the door for a moment as he debated what to do, he slid the knife back in place and went to look out the peephole, and frowned when he noticed a middle-aged man dressed in a grey suit standing on the other side of the door. Decisions, decisions. Ah, well, he could always catch up to Neil on the whole burying bodies thing if this went bad.

Opening the door, he scowled at the man and blocked his entrance into the room. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I want to talk to you, Andrew Minyard. May I come in?” The man only had a few inches on Andrew and a British accent, and it was those two things, along with a certain quirk to his lips just then which was oddly familiar, that made Andrew grunt and step aside.

“You’re Stuart Hatford.” The man didn’t look like much, he had light brown hair shot with a few grey strands and lines of stress or worry on his face, and grey-ish blue eyes. After seeing a picture in the news after Nathan Wesninski’s death, Andrew knew that Neil took a lot after his father, but had to wonder if he’d gotten his lack of height and slim build from his mother’s side of the family.

“I see they’re right about you being a sharp one,” Stuart remarked as he sauntered into the room, his eyes flickering around as if to take in the details.

‘They’, huh? Andrew almost asked but he had more important questions that needed answers first. “If you’re looking for your nephew, you just missed him.”

“I know.” Stuart pulled a sleek phone out from an inner pocket of his coat. “The boy is currently having a chat with the little lord.” Something dark crossed across his face. “Let’s hope he’s as clever as always, for both our sakes.”

“You’re working for the Moriyamas,” Andrew accused as he took a step back and let his arms hang by his side, hands ready for the hidden knives.

“Of course.” Stuart gave him a sardonic grin for a moment before he focused on the dark screen of his phone. “You think it’s easy, arranging a hit on someone when they’re in a federal prison? But I owed that bastard for Mary, and it was a chance to consolidate our power, as well.” He gave a casual shrug, but somehow Andrew doubted that it was as simple as all of that.

“So you won’t care if your new boss kills your nephew?”

Ah, that made the bastard look away from the screen and over at him. “Nathaniel is clever, like his mother.”

“Didn’t stop her from being killed,” Andrew pointed out, and enjoyed the flash of pain across the man’s face.

“You little shit,” Stuart ground out. “I don’t get it, why he didn’t call after she died, why he played house with you and all that.” He clutched the phone as if he wanted to throw it at Andrew. “All it got him was Riko’s attention and one hell of a mess.” Then he let out a slow breath. “At least he knew not to say anything to the bloody Feds.”

“Why are you here?” Was there a point to all of this, other than the guy being a whiny prick?

Stuart gave him a cold smile. “If Ichiro decides that Nathaniel is a threat, then I get to deal with you. If he’s still of value….” Stuart let out a slow breath. “Then I want to see my nephew.”

“Nice, you think he’ll be happy to see you after you threaten his friend?” Andrew brushed the tips of his fingers against the hilt of a knife.

“I think Nathaniel knows this life and its costs. You’re the one-“ Stuart paused as his phone lit up, and an expression of relief brightened his face. “Looks like you get to bitch about me to him, Minyard.”

“My lucky day.” Andrew let out a breath he hadn’t been aware that he’d been holding and uncurled his fingers. “So, what does it mean for him, Ichiro finding him valuable?”

Stuart shrugged. “Ask Nathaniel for the details, but just know that he can’t come running to the Hatfords for protection now, not against the Moriyamas.” An expression resembling exhaustion aged Stuart a few more years. “I wish he’d just kept his fool head down, but it’s too late now.” He gave Andrew a hard look. “You better be worth it, whatever you are to him.”

All Andrew did was give him a cold smile in return, which caused Stuart to shake his head.

“This isn’t what Mary wanted for him, but the kid couldn’t run his whole life, either. At least that bastard isn’t alive anymore.” After that, Stuart fell quiet and took to typing on his phone.

Andrew found that he agreed with the mobster, and took to pacing again as he waited for Neil’s return. It seemed like forever, but probably was only about five minutes or so until there was a clicking sound and the door opened.

“Andrew? I’m – what?” Neil noticed that they had company right away, his eyes going wide as he took in Stuart’s presence. “Uncle Stuart?”

“Fuck, but you’ve grown.” Stuart made an arrested motion, then seemed to force himself to tousle Neil’s hair; for himself, Neil went perfectly still as if doing his best not to jerk away. “You look good.”

“I… thank you. You look good, too.” Some of the stiffness left Neil’s face after a few seconds. “Thank you, for uhm….” He bit into his bottom lip and shook his head. “For Mum.”

Stuart gave Neil an odd look and then pulled him in for a very brief, very awkward hug. “She deserved better,” was all he said, then he let go of Neil. “So, good talk with the little lord?”

At Neil’s confused look, Andrew spoke up. “He works for them. Was kind enough to come here to give my death a personal touch just in case you fucked things up.”

Stuart sighed while Neil’s face went blank and he stepped away, toward Andrew. “I wanted to check up on you and to meet your friend,” Stuart tried to explain, “though yes, if things went wrong….” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “Fortunately that’s not the case, so now I can give you this.” He handed Neil what appeared to be a business card. “As I explained to Andrew, you being here now means that Ichiro has accepted you as part of the main branch, so if you need anything, the family can do something but we can’t take you in like we could have before.”

Neil nodded as he accepted the card. “I understand, just small things. I’ll be staying here for the time being.” Andrew found it interesting that as Neil spoke, a hint of a British accent crept into his voice.

“Good, maybe me and the others will swing by now and then to check up on you.” He gave Neil a quick pat on the shoulder. “I’ll see myself out.”

“Ta ta,” Andrew called out as the man left, more than happy to see him leave, and watched as Neil tucked the card away in his wallet. “Lovely man, can we invite him over to dinner at Luther’s and hope they kill each other?”

“Hmm, my money’s on Uncle Stuart, but then again, it’s his job.” Neil went over to the door and made sure it was locked, then approached Andrew. “Yes or no?” he asked as he stopped just about a foot away.

Andrew eyed him for a moment, the evident strain on his friend’s face, the darker strands of hair framing his face due to sweat. “Yes.”

Neil was slow to reach for him, just in case he changed his mind, and pulled him in for a kiss that had less to do with passion than a need for reassurance; Andrew threaded his fingers through the long strands of light brown hair and held on tight while they breathed into each other, Neil’s arms wrapped around his shoulders.

After about a minute, Neil pulled away. “Thank you.”

“So what the fuck happened?” Andrew asked as he maneuvered them down onto the nearest bed, Neil’s arms now around his waist and their legs entwined, his right hand still in Neil’s hair and his left pressed against Neil’s chest.

“Ichiro showed up to talk to me.” Neil’s blue eyes grew vacant for a couple of seconds as if he was thinking back to the conversation. “He said he was there to take care of a loose end – of me – but he changed his mind. As long as I can make it to a pro team, I get to live, and in return I’ll give the Moriyamas eighty percent of any money I make during my career.”

Andrew could tell from the calm beating of Neil’s heart beneath his palm that Neil didn’t care about the money, he was more worried about Andrew’s reaction judging from the way his eyes had focused on Andrew’s face while he talked. “So what, you’ve basically been ordered to play a damn sport you’re obsessed with – congratulations, it’s your dream come true. So what if you’ll be doing it for chump change after selling out to a mobster.” His eyes narrowed as his fingers clutched at the soft, worn t-shirt Neil was wearing. “Now, tell me where the fuck you’ll be playing it.” If Neil had come back here to pack up and head to Charleston, then there were some Japanese assholes Andrew had to kill.

“No, he accepted the arguments we lined up.” Neil let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes. “I’ve got two years to get good enough for some other university besides Edgar Allan to want me.”

Did the idiot just hear what he’d said? Kevin Day had thought they were good enough for the damn Ravens in the first place, so Andrew didn’t think it was a problem. “Ichiro said you could go anywhere you wanted?”

“He said I would have to play for a Class I team and get into the pros,” Neil murmured.

Not exactly a sworn statement that Neil wouldn’t be forced to go to Edgar Allan in two years’ time, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. “Great, more fucking Exy practice and another shitty team to join come fall,” Andrew complained as he tugged Neil closer.

Neil opened his eyes and frowned. “But – yeah, I’ll have to join up, I have to make sure that I play well and will get the scholarship. But that doesn’t mean you have-“

Andrew shut him up with a quick kiss. “You learn best when someone’s throwing shit at your head. I’m not going to let someone else take away my fun.”

A quiet but warm chuckle slipped free from Neil as he tucked into Andrew. “Of course, how could I forget?”

“Idiot,” Andrew chided as he tugged on Neil’s hair, which needed a haircut – a haircut and a dye job…but was there a point to the later now? Maybe when Andrew went to get his own hair bleached back to blond, he could talk his friend into going back to his natural color, which was some sort of auburn from the looks of it.

They were quiet for a couple of minutes, just comfortable being with each other after the stress and terrible uncertainty of the last few days. Then Neil gave a sleepy little murmur and rubbed his cheek against the bedspread. “So… not dead.”

“Nope, not dead, not about to be tortured by Riko or charged with his murder any time soon.” Though Andrew could dream of the latter one – not so much the murder charge part, but the fun stuff leading up to it.

“Hmm, what’s next?” Neil looked about twenty seconds from falling asleep, and Andrew couldn’t say that he was much better, either.

“Well, think that whole nap thing won out.” He glared when Neil gave him a weak kick and tugged on the idiot’s hair. “Try not to kill my family, get our asses on the Exy team come fall and… fuck, I don’t know.” They had been confused enough back in Racine, and now they had to keep going at this ‘normalcy’ thing?

“Hmm, okay, try not to kill your family. Let’s aim for that right now. Exy team. ‘N not get killed.”

“That’s you, the last part,” Andrew reminded his idiot, who had his eyes closed and seemed half out of it. “But yeah, guess we’ll start small.”

Neil made a faint mumbling noise as he fell asleep, and Andrew let the sense of exhaustion drag him down as well.

*******  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so obviously I'm just winging it with Tilda here, since there's so little said about her other than she sucked as a mother, the depression, the abuse. It's hard. Sheesh. Aaron's another really hard one to write (is it just me?), especially pre-Palmetto Aaron. I've got my head canon for the deal he made with Andrew (and gah, we just know the specifics of what he promised Andrew, not the why so I'm flying blind here), you'll get more of that in the next chapter. So, uhm, yeah, I really hope all of this makes sense. *frets* Along with how Neil has bought himself some (conditional) freedom from Riko. Part of me thinks Ichiro is enjoying taking something away from his little brother there.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are so greatly appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, this chapter... *frets* It's like a bridge chapter or something, it has to come before the really OMFG stuff. Meh. It is what it is.  
> *******

*******

The day didn’t get off to the best start; after having fallen asleep together on the same bed in a strange place, when Andrew was startled awake by the sound of slamming doors and people talking in the hallway, he jerked awake swinging, which ended up with Neil landing on the floor with a sore ass and sore ribs. After Neil insisting that he was all right, that he was *fine*, the idiot, they went out for breakfast and found a walk-in place to get their hair done.

At first it was just supposed to be Andrew, but he figured ‘what the hell’, might as well continue with the shitty theme and so argued that while Neil was there, why not? He needed a trim as well unless he wanted to go blind soon, and something better than the half-assed haircuts he gave himself after dyeing his hair, and Andrew was getting tired of smelling the chemicals from the dyes and helping him spot his roots. “Your issues, they’re many and wearying,” he told Neil as they stood in the lobby of the salon. “Try getting rid of one or two and surprise me.”

Neil shuffled his feet as he tugged on a strand of his long bangs. “But-“

“No,” Andrew insisted. “What’s the point if we’re no longer running? You’re not going to turn into *him* because of your hair color. Accept that and give our enemies one less weakness to use against you.” Having said his mind, he went into the salon to get his hair done.

His hands, hidden beneath the black plastic cape to keep his clothes dry and clean, were clenched around the padded arms of the chair to keep him from going for his knives while some woman named Donna chatted incessantly about her kids when he saw another employee lead a grim-faced Neil over to another chair. He attempted to meet his friend’s eyes in the mirror, which Neil refused to look into, instead keeping his eyes turned downward while the young man also chatted away and applied the dye to his hair. Andrew divided his attention between what the other man was doing and Donna, and it helped to keep him somewhat calm enough to get through Donna bleaching, dyeing and cutting his own hair – though just barely.

By the time she was done and his hair once more resembled his natural color and the cut similar to Aaron’s, his nerves were frayed and he was desperate for a cigarette as well as to return to the hotel for a couple of hours. Judging from the strained expression on Neil’s face, he was more than willing to leave the crowded mall as well, his eyes wild and skin pale, long fingers constantly tugging at his now auburn hair as if itching to pull it out.

“Leave it alone,” Andrew snapped, “it’s fine.” It was – the color was striking with Neil’s skin tone and eyes, made him stand out even more. Whoever had styled it had left the bangs and top long, and Neil kept pulling the bangs over his face, over the scar on the right side of his forehead.

“I just….” Neil shook his head and sounded a fast breath away from a panic attack. Out in the parking lot, Andrew pinned him against the car and slipped a hand around the back of his neck to pull his head down until their foreheads touched.

“It’s just a fucking hair color,” he told the idiot. “Don’t give him that power over you.”

Neil took a few shuddering breaths until he finally let out a slow one and began to relax. “Then why did you change yours?” A hint of a smile hovered on his lips as he flicked his fingers at Andrew’s bangs. “Nice hair style. Very… unique.”

“Don’t start any shit that I’ll finish,” Andrew warned as his hand tightened on the idiot’s neck before he stepped back. “I’m just embracing this twin stuff, figured I’d give it a try.” He gave Neil an innocent look, and arched an eyebrow when Neil appeared doubtful. “What?”

“I’m having doubts.”

“Like I give a shit,” Andrew said as he climbed into the car while Neil laughed, for a moment the stress smoothing out from his expression.

They returned to the hotel where they spent a couple of hours doing research on Andrew’s laptop, looking up information on Aaron’s school and Exy team. The good news was, Columbia and its educational system supported Exy, with the sport being popular with a local pro team and a Class I NCAA team, even if the Palmetto Foxes were ranked toward the bottom of the division. The bad news was, with it being a larger city and school district than Racine, Neil would have to work hard to stand out – at least he had a distinguishing season, such as it was, behind him now. They also looked at a few apartment sites, to get a feel of where he might rent, but it all depended on Tilda in the end.

After lunch at a nearby restaurant, Andrew called his mother to see if she had prepared things for him to move in; there was no way he’d deal with Luther again, not after yesterday. After the third ring, Aaron picked up the phone.

“Yeah?”

Lovely manners, maybe they were related. “It’s Andrew. Should I bother to come over or what?”

There was silence for a few seconds before Aaron spoke again. “Why not, don’t see how it’s going to get any better. It’s just you, right? Gonna be tight enough with the three of us.” In the background, Andrew thought he heard Tilda murmuring.

“Yes, Neil’s a shy one and not inclined to crash,” Andrew told him. “Now, what’s the address?”

Aaron rattled off a street, his tone sullen as if he wasn’t too happy to do so, and hung up after Andrew told him he’d be there in about an hour. Considering that Andrew wasn’t exactly jumping with joy over the situation himself, he couldn’t blame his twin.

He stared at the phone in his hand and then across the room to where Neil sat on the other bed, his long legs drawn up to his knees and his arms wrapped around them as if to make himself as small a target as possible. “I should get going.”

Neil nodded. “Let me know how it works out.” He didn’t look upset or anything, or ask Andrew to stay; he knew Andrew was going to do it, felt that there was a reason for it so that was enough for him.

Still, Andrew scoffed as he set the phone aside and went to pick up the duffel bag that held most of his clothes. “Right, I can already tell you, it’s going to be shitty. I bet Luther put Tilda up to something.” That had been guilt, plain and simple, at the house yesterday every time she’d looked at him.

“Hmm.” Neil went to tug on his bangs but forced his hand to stop in time. “It’s just a little more than a year.”

“We’ll see.” Andrew went into the bathroom to fetch the kit with his razor and toothbrush, then returned to the room. “Stay near the hotel, all right? Don’t do any stupid shit.” It bothered him, leaving Neil alone like this, while he figured out what the hell was going on with Tilda and Aaron. Ichiro may have taken Neil under the main branch, but that didn’t mean Riko still might not pull some sort of shit. “You think your uncle can give you any head’s up if Riko steps out of line?”

“I doubt it, but who knows.” He gave a slight shrug. “I’d think Riko would be smarter than to pull something, considering how his brother and the FBI had just been involved.” Yet Neil still remained huddled on the bed.

Right, Riko not doing anything stupid, like sending men down to look into the past of two teenagers or bring armed men into a school. “Stay the fuck inside until I come back, tomorrow we can look for a new apartment together,” Andrew told him. “Don’t get it into that idiot head of yours to go off running or something.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Neil let out a slow breath and managed a weak smile. “Go have… well, yeah, go see your family and leave me alone. I’m going to order a damn pizza without any vegetables on it for once.”

Bastard. Still, Andrew felt the odd urge to smile as he grabbed his bag and went over to Neil’s bed and leaned in to brush their lips together. “Just for that, I’m ordering a double veggie’s lovers the next time we go out.”

“Such an asshole,” Neil breathed against his lips.

Andrew allowed himself one more kiss, his fingers combing through that now reddish hair, before he forced himself to move away and out the door.

*******

Neil got up to put the rest of the mushroom and pepperoni pizza away in mini fridge and then return to the bed – all the while avoiding the room’s mirrors since he wasn’t ready to accept the return to his natural hair color yet – when he heard his phone chime to alert him to an incoming message. Maybe it was Anna texting him; ever since New Year’s, she’d been doing that from time to time, and he’d taken to responding back. Now that he was here in Columbia and Andrew would be busy with his family… he had a feeling that he’d be grateful for someone to talk to, now and then.

By the time he picked up his phone, there was another chime, and then a third one. Confused as to why Anna would be texting him so much, he swiped to the text screen… and felt the pizza in his stomach become a heavy, uncomfortable weight when he saw the unfamiliar numbers on the screen and parts of the messages that had been sent to him.

*******

“So, ah, this is the room you’ll be sharing with Aaron. It’s not much, it’s just a two bedroom apartment, but you’re brothers, yes? I mean, you’re twins. You’ll get along fine. Like twins. Like brothers.” Tilda gave a nervous laugh as she waved her right hand about, the appendage flapping through the air like a trapped bird. “He’s so happy to have you here, right Aaron?” The smile took on a forced edge as she stared at Aaron, her pupils too big in her hazel eyes.

Aaron rubbed his right hand along his left arm, which was covered by a long-sleeved t-shirt once more and forced just as fake a grin. “Of course, so happy.” He sounded as sullen as a tired three year old, and Andrew noticed the half-hearted cleaning attempts that had gone on in the room he’d now be sharing with his twin, as well as the lingering smell of pot. There were now two twin beds in the room, pushed against either walls, a long, low dresser with a smaller, armoire style one next to it, a couple of nightstands, a pile of clothes shoved in the corner and a few books and shoes shoved beneath the half-made bed. There was an old poster on the wall of a sunset along a beach somewhere, something scenic, as if to cheer up the place, and dusty blinds on the window.

“Is that all you have?” Tilda motioned to the bag in Andrew’s hand.

“Yes, just some clothes.” He knew the drill by now after so many foster homes, and downplayed anything he owned; it was a good thing he’d left the laptop back at the hotel room.

“Don’t forget what’s outside,” Aaron said. “It must be nice to have a car.” The latter seemed to be directed at Tilda.

“We can’t afford two, we can barely afford the one as it is,” she snapped, before she turned a fake smile onto Andrew. “But now-“

“It’s Neil’s,” he was quick to lie. “He just lets me drive it a lot.” There was no way he was going to allow this woman into his car, or to take it away from him.

“Huh, some *friend*,” Aaron remarked. “Must be nice,” he repeated, but there was an odd note to it just then.

Andrew set his bag down on the bed before he gave his brother a cool look. “Yes, it is.”

Tilda chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as if thinking of something, then shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Oh well, at least he lets you borrow it, that should save me gas money if you need to get around anywhere.” She waved her hand around the room again, the motion jerky. “So the bedroom. You’ve seen the rest of the place, it’s not much. Don’t know what you expected.”

“I never expect much, it keeps me from being disappointed.” Andrew had gotten a glimpse or two of the apartment from the photos he’d trailed back to Aaron’s Facebook account from Nicky’s, and it wasn’t much better in person; a small, two bedroom apartment with the bare minimum of furniture. It looked as if someone had put some effort into cleaning it up, but there was that hint of pot in the air, and he’d seen the empty and half-empty liquor bottles in the kitchen and in the living room. If this was a foster home, he’d be bracing himself for the worst, and this was a situation he’d let himself into willingly – he must be insane.

But he wasn’t some little kid anymore, and he wasn’t alone. Neil was a phone call away, there was a car with a full gas tank outside, and he had several very sharp knives strapped to his forearms. He also saw the way that Tilda flinched when he got too close, the way her eyes would skitter away from him after a couple of seconds; oh no, someone wasn’t happy that he was here despite the offers for him to ‘come home’, despite the new bed and the newish dresser.

“Oh, that’s… that’s interesting,” Tilda said, her smile slipping a little. “I guess that’s a good mindset to have.”

“Yes, I learned from very early on that people just love to let you down.” He went over to check out the smaller dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. “One of the shrinks I saw in therapy told me I have abandonment issues, like that’s any big surprise.”

“Abandonment… I think I’ll go check on dinner.” Her smile all gone, Tilda was quick to leave the room, while Aaron scoffed as he went over to the messy bed.

“You having fun treating her like that?”

Andrew shrugged while he began to unpack his bag. “What, am I supposed to be all happy and just forgive her? How would you feel if *you* had been given up at birth and spent the last sixteen years of your life in the foster care system. Oh, wait, she kept you, didn’t she?” He sneered at his brother as he divided up his shirts and his pants into different drawers. “My bad.”

“Fuck you.” Aaron didn’t sound sullen just then, he sounded pissed off. “Like it’s been so great, living here. Like it’s been a bed of-“ He cut himself off and shook his head. “It’s not perfect.” He was twitching a little as he sat there, as if unable to sit still.

“Few things are,” was all he said while he continued to unpack, conscious of how Aaron watched him the entire time.

After that was done, he went out onto the small balcony which housed a few dead plants and a rickety lounge chair to have a cigarette to help calm his nerves, and fought the urge to send a text message to Neil so soon. The nicotine helped to calm him down, but he was all too aware of the raised voices inside of the apartment, of Tilda yelling at Aaron and his surly responses in return; it took all of Andrew’s willpower to not go charging back in just then, but he gave it a little longer to figure out the dynamics, to make sure he wasn’t imagining things or letting his own experiences shade his judgement.

He stayed out there a long while despite the warmth of the day, shaded by the balconies above, until Aaron came to fetch him. “It’s time to eat.”

“Oh joyous occasion,” Andrew said as he returned inside and followed Aaron to the kitchen, to the small round table set with three plates, with the two matching chairs and the odd one out. He had the impression that they didn’t often have someone else join them, as evident by the mismatched chair, and was grateful when there wasn’t any prayers like yesterday.

Unfortunately, there was another casserole, this one with ground beef, pasta and some tomato sauce, along with canned green beans – it was obvious that his mother wasn’t a master chef, especially when she paired it with a can of cheap beer. “I, uhm, hope you like it.”

“It’s not bad,” he told her after a couple of bites, which was the truth. There had been the one home where his foster ‘parents’ had been vegan, and he was determined to never eat anything made out of soy again.

“So, uhm, you changed your hair.” She glanced at it and then stared at her plate.

“It was time for something different.” He noticed that she had a more difficult time looking at him, now that he had a stronger resemblance to Aaron – now that he looked like her son. Good, let her feel guilty about what she’d done.

“Don’t you mean something old?” Aaron eyed Andrew’s hair and shook his head. “Very original.”

“I wanted to give looking like an asshole a try, what could I say?” Andrew smiled at his twin when Aaron stared at him in surprise that soon returned back to the sullen anger that seemed Aaron’s default.

“You think that’s funny?” He made another twitchy, aborted motion that led to his iced tea being knocked over. “I-“

“Dammit, Aaron!” Tilda screeched as the cold drink spread across the table, some of it onto her jean-clad lap. While Andrew watched, her left arm flew out and smacked into the side of Aaron’s head, and when it drew back to hit him again, he reached out to stop it. “You little-“

Everyone at the table went still as he leaned over with her wrist caught in his grip tight enough to bruise. “*Don’t*,” he warned her. “Don’t hit him.” He didn’t yell, he didn’t raise his voice, but all of the anger he felt toward her just then still came through.

“But… I….” She stared at him as if she had no clue what he was, as if something strange and unidentifiable was standing before her, which just might be the truth.” I-“

“Shut up and listen to me,” he told her. “You don’t hit him again, not while I’m here. This is your warning, do you understand?”

Between the two of them, Aaron stared at him in shock, the left side of his face red. “Andrew… what the hell?”

“I’m not going to stay here and put up with her hitting you,” he swore. “It’s as simple as that.”

“But… but I don’t,”

He tightened his grip on her wrist until she whimpered. “Don’t lie,” he told her. “Not to me. I’ve heard it too many times before. Just take your pills and drink your beer, and keep your fucking hands to yourself.” He gave her wrist one more squeeze and when she cried out, let go before he left the table. “Great dinner, can’t wait for the next one,” he called out as he went to his new bedroom.

Once there, he fell down onto his new bed, then cursed himself for not bringing any books with him; he’d have to go out and buy a few new ones tomorrow with Neil. Until then, he got up and grabbed a couple from beneath Aaron’s bed, and sneered when he realized that they were some stupid generic bestsellers but figured that they were better than nothing. Taking the best of the lot with him back to his bed, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to his friend.

**Worse than I thought. Hope you’re enjoying the pizza

Setting the phone aside while he waited for Neil’s text, he started the book and got about two pages in when Aaron crept into the room, his eyes red but his hands no longer twitching. “What the hell was that about? Why did you treat her like that?”

“Why the hell do you let her treat you like a punching bag?”

“I… I don’t. She just… it was a shock and she reacted. Anyone would do that.”

Yeah, that sounded convincing. “Then why don’t you show me your arms, or are you hiding track marks as well as bruises?”

Aaron stared at him in shock for a couple of seconds before he sank down on his bed. “Who the fuck are you? You’re crazy.”

“The verdict is still out on that, Judge Takashi certainly thought I might have psychotic tendencies but Dr. Evans said the tests were inconclusive so off to Wayward Burns I went.” Yeah, the book sucked as bad as he thought, he could already tell, so he sent another text off to Neil, this one saying ‘I hate you – 208%’ since he was stuck here without his laptop and any decent entertainment. When he glanced over at Aaron, he found his brother staring at him with an indecipherable expression. “What? They’re your genes too, you know.”

“You’re crazy,” Aaron repeated as if he had just come to some sort of revelation. “And you can’t treat Mom like that.”

“Just watch me, especially if she thinks she can smack you around.” Andrew narrowed his eyes at the moron who happened to be his brother and pointed the hand which still held his phone as well. “I’m not going to do nothing while she beats you up.”

“Why do you even care? We just met yesterday.”

It was a good question, and one that held too much pain to it for Andrew to ever answer. He’d already given up too much of himself to Aaron, had already sacrificed a hell of a lot to keep the asshole safe and that was without even meeting him. He could still recall the look of hunger and excitement on Drake’s face as he talked about having both of them – having Andrew and Aaron – in his bed, of attempting to ‘cajole’ Andrew in luring Aaron to Cass’…. Now that Andrew was here, he found that he couldn’t turn his back on Tilda, couldn’t ignore what she was doing to her son.  What the fuck was he, the patron loser for fucked up idiots or something?

“What’s one more idiot at this point,” he muttered as he checked his phone and dialed Neil’s number, tired of waiting for *his* idiot to text him back.

“Eh? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“One moment.” He frowned when the phone went straight into voicemail, a sign that the idiot had let it die again, which was sheer suicide with Riko out there and Andrew not at his side. But first thing first. “Look, why the hell did you get your cousin and your uncle to track me down?” he demanded to know from Aaron as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I know it wasn’t your mother, so someone had to get them involved.”

Aaron opened his mouth as if to dispute that, his hazel eyes wide and hands clutched around the wrinkled beige bedsheets of his bed, but something in Andrew’s gaze made him shake his head a few seconds later. “I wanted… I didn’t know who you were, but… that cop….”

“Pig Higgins.” Andrew put as much derision as he could into the name.

“Yeah, Higgins. He sounded happy when he thought I was you, that time.” Aaron scrubbed at his face and winced. “I thought… I don’t know what I thought. Maybe that it would be better if you were here. Maybe she wouldn’t be so… so… maybe it would just be better.”

“Maybe she won’t be an abusive drunk?”

“You don’t know her,” Aaron snapped as he tugged on the sleeves of his shirt. “She… the meds, she needs them, she… anxiety attacks, depression, stuff like that.” He stared at something on the worn carpet, his expression haunted. “I don’t want to be like her. I fucking *don’t*.”

Ah, Xanax, maybe, or even Ativan. Andrew had seen it often enough, in some of the homes and even at old Wayward. It would explain the twitching, and the occasional slurring he’d heard. “I don’t know her because she gave me up, remember?” He smiled when Aaron flinched at the reminder. “Very well, you wanted me so badly, here I am. If I’m stuck with you, then you’re stuck with me.” He wasn’t sure where Aaron was getting the drugs, if it was through Tilda or someone else, but he was going to put a stop to it. He also couldn’t allow Aaron to be used by Riko against him or Neil.

Aaron stopped tugging at his sleeves to look at Andrew. “What does that mean?”

“That means I’ll stay here until we graduate and protect you, will make Tilda back off and keep you safe, but you do things my way. No friends I don’t approve of, no activities, *nothing*, without my say so.”

His expression now dubious, Aaron gave his left cuff a sharp tug, the material beginning to fray. “And what the hell do I get out of it? That sounds like I’m your personal slave or something.”

Andrew smiled, the expression lacking of warmth or reassurance. “I don’t go into the slave thing, thanks. You get Tilda off your back. You get the users kept away from you. Trust me, I don’t want a thing from you other than your word and your intention to keep it.”

There was quiet once more save for a faint tearing sound as Aaron considered it. “And what about *your* friend? I get a say in who you hang out with?”

Andrew’s smile took on a warning edge. “Neil’s considered part of the bargain – don’t try to go there, I already have an agreement with him. Now, is it yes or should I pack up my shit and go?”

“The hell….” Aaron yanked a few more threads loose from his sleeve before he nodded. “If you can make Tilda back off and the rest….” He raised his left arm, hand covered by the ragged sleeve, up to his now bruised face. “Whatever.”

“That a yes?” Andrew wanted it to be clear if he was going to be sticking around.

“Yes, it’s a yes!”

“Fine.” That taken care of, Andrew dialed the number to the hotel room so he could bitch out a certain idiot, his temper flaring when it took several rings to answer. When Neil finally did pick up, he had to force himself not to yell. “What fucking part of ‘keep your phone charged’ do you not get? Did I miss any recent concussions or something?”

There was silence on the line for a couple of seconds before Neil spoke, his voice quiet and possessing an uncommon quiver. “It’s not dead, I turned it off.”

Warning bells went off in Andrew’s head as soon as he picked up on that quiver; noting the way that Aaron was staring at him while he talked, he switched to French. “What the hell is going on?” That only made Aaron all the more curious, but at least he couldn’t eavesdrop.

There was another pause before Neil answered, also in French; the switch in language seemed to lend him some confidence. “I think… yeah, think we can say that Riko is annoyed now.” There was a soft ‘whoomp’ sound in the background, as if he’d dropped down on the bed.

“What is that…,” he had to switch to English for a moment, “fucking little shit,” he needed to learn more swear words, that would be their next lesson, “doing now?”

“Seems like him and the rest of the Ravens are spamming my phone with texts.”

“With what?” When Neil didn’t respond, he repeated the question with more force, sharp enough to make Aaron scoot back on his bed.

There was a weary sigh on the other end of the phone. “It’s Riko, Andrew. I think you can imagine. He’s not happy that I got away, and….”

“And what?” Andrew slipped a knife free, which caused Aaron’s eyes to widen.

“And each day I delay going to the Ravens means another cut he’ll enjoy giving me, shit like that.” Neil sounded exhausted now, and Andrew could only imagine what it must have done to him, to see those threats come through, new threats from a new monster when he had done what he could to put his father to rest.

“Keep the phone turned off, I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Don’t let anyone in the room until I get there.” He tried not to think about how these were the type of people who weren’t put off by security locks on doors. “We’ll find a place for you around here if I have to kill a neighbor.”

“Okay.” There was another pause and then Neil chuckled. “Don’t go shoving any old ladies down the steps on my account.”

“No promises,” Andrew said, and felt some relief when Neil laughed again. “Don’t get yourself killed or kidnapped during the night, idiot.”

“Hmm, no promises,” Neil told him back before hanging up.

Andrew let the phone fall onto the bed and spent a moment or two fantasizing about how nice it would be to shove a knife down Riko’s throat, and then noticed Aaron’s assessing gaze. “What?”

“So, this Neil, he French or something? He didn’t sound like it, yesterday.”

“Actually, he’s half British.” Andrew flipped the knife before he slipped it back into the arm guard and watched how Aaron tracked its disappearance.

“Really.” Aaron continued to study Andrew as if looking for something. “You know, Nicky’s gay, that’s why Uncle Luther won’t have anything to do with him.” He kept his tone mostly even as he said that – mostly.

“I never could tell, what with all the pictures of his boyfriend that he posted online.” Andrew picked up the other paperback to see if it was any better than the first one.

“Yeah, and then there you are, with your *friend*. Just… just wondering, you know.”

“Neil doesn’t swing,” Andrew took great delight in informing his nosy brother with a perfectly straight face. “Either way. You could drop him off at an orgy and he’d just find a quiet corner somewhere to sit until it was time to leave.” Unless the right person decided to join him in that quiet corner, that was.

Aaron stared at Andrew as if he was still talking in French. “What the hell happened to him?”

Dropping the book onto the bed, Andrew was on his feet in an instant, and whatever emotion he couldn’t keep from his face just then made Aaron flinch away. “Never ask that question. Little boys who got to stay at home their whole lives don’t have that right, understand?”

“Yuh-yeah.”

Andrew left him there as he went out in the living room, such as it was, past Tilda who was steadily drinking her way through a bottle of wine, and out onto the balcony so he could have a couple of cigarettes to calm himself down. While out there, he did his best to figure out how to balance his promise to Neil with his new one to Aaron.

*******

Neil nearly had a heart-attack when the door to the hotel room slammed open, only to be stopped by the security latch; he’d gotten up and taken a shower, but felt so tired after being woken up by nightmares every hour or two that he’d just meant to stretch out on the bed and must have fallen asleep. The loud sound startled him awake and scrambling for a weapon, for the gun his mother had always kept beneath the pillow. Dammit, where was it? Where-

“What the *fuck* is this? Josten!”

Shit, Andrew. “Yeah.” Neil rubbed at his face as he rushed from the bed to go let Andrew in, and found himself herded up against the wall while Andrew kicked the door shut behind him, one hand full with a bag of take-out and a carrier filled with coffee cups, the other placed against the center of his chest. “You look like shit.”

“Funny, I feel like it, too.” They were still for a moment, Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he took in Neil’s appearance, and then they both moved at the same time for a kiss that made Neil moan in relief and happiness. It only lasted a few seconds before Andrew pulled away clicking his tongue. “At least you brushed your damn teeth.”

“And good morning to you, too. Uhm, what time is it?” It had been around six A.M. when he’d gotten out of bed before, and he still felt tired even after the nap.

“Almost nine, now.” Andrew set the food and the coffee down on the counter in the small kitchen area and handed him one of them; Neil inhaled the rich aroma before he raised the cup to his mouth and took a careful sip to gage its warmth, and found it cool enough to drink. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“A little. I’m fi-“ As Andrew glared at him, he shrugged. “How are things with your mother and brother?”

Andrew picked up his own cup of coffee, which even from a couple feet away smelled sugary as hell, per usual. “We may have to rethink the whole ‘no killing family thing’ we talked about the other night.”

Neil watched him for signs that he might be joking, but of course he wasn’t. “Ah, I see.” Well, so much for turning over a new leaf or whatever. “Any particular reason why, or did you just wake up this morning to commit… is it matricide or fratricide? Just curious.”

“Matricide,” Andrew informed him as he leaned against the counter and gazed out over the room. “Seems among her many faults, dear Tilda can’t keep her hands to herself. I warned her last night that she needs to spare the rod, but she’s not listening.” His jaw clenched before he had another sip of whatever ridiculous cappuccino he’d bought. “She hit him again this morning, when I was in the shower. Bastard tried to cover for her, even after I told him I’d get her off his back.”

“Okay.” Neil gave the matter some thought, on the best way to go about it that would keep Andrew out of trouble. “Call Uncle Stuart? If he can’t do it, he might know a professional in the area, someone who comes recommended and who’ll keep their mouths shut.”

Andrew’s lips twitched when he lowered the cup to the counter then dug through the bag for what turned out to be egg sandwiches. “I’d rather we keep this between ourselves, but thanks.” He handed one of them to Neil. “Most people would be trying to talk me out of it, not offering up their family members as hit men.”

“Most people don’t have family members who are hit men,” Neil pointed out. “Okay, so, where does that leave us? Poison? How fast do you want to do this?” He frowned as he looked at Andrew’s arm guards. “Nothing messy, right?” He didn’t think he could stomach something that violent, not unless he was fighting for his life.

Andrew rolled his eyes as he took a bite out of his sandwich. “I’ve an idea, but it’ll take some time – she has a piece of shit car.”

“Ah.” Neil nodded and started on his own breakfast, and they ate in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. “Just be careful – it’ll be a lot more difficult to run now because of the whole Moriyama thing, not to mention from murder charges.” Well, when officially charged with murder.

Andrew finished off his sugar coffee then set it aside before he pinned Neil against the counter, his hands on either side of Neil’s hips and muscular body close enough for Neil to feel his friend’s warmth. “I will, and you won’t have to bitch about burying a body this time, too,”

“So thoughtful, you are.” Neil raised his hands and let them hover around Andrew’s hips until the teen gave a nod, then let them fall to rest onto the denim. “How long do you have?”

“A few hours – Tilda’s off to work so Aaron’ll be fine on his own. We can start looking for an apartment and get you a new phone,” Andrew told him.

Neil grimaced at the thought of a new phone, of how long it would take for Riko to track him down again, then pushed it aside. “Few hours, huh? So no hurry?” It was odd, spending the night alone after all those months with Andrew. He was surprised by how little he’d liked it.

“A few,” Andrew agreed as he leaned in closer. “So, yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil moaned, the sound cut off by a kiss, Andrew’s mouth sweet from the coffee. Neil forgot about the phone, about Tilda, about Riko, happy to have this short amount of time together and uncaring about what would happen later when he had Andrew here now to tear him apart and put him back together again.

*******

“We do have to get going at some point today,” Andrew chided Neil, who was still stretched out on the bed, appearing tired yet happy at the moment and only covered in a wrinkled sheet.

“Hmm, I know.” Neil let out a low groan as he sat up, back arched and scarred arms held over his head as he stretched his lithe body; even the numerous scars on his chest didn’t detract from his attractiveness, and his auburn hair appeared almost curly in its tangled state. Andrew found himself sitting down at the edge of the bed and combing his fingers through it, enjoying how the thick strands felt so soft and cool against his fingers and the way Neil leaned against him as pliant as a purring cat.

“Where’s your phone?”

Well, he had been pliant; Neil stiffened for a moment before he pulled away to fetch the phone from the nightstand, then rested once more against Andrew as he handed it over. “It’s… I’ve heard worse from my father and his people. Lola could have taught them a few things,” he mumbled against Andrew’s right shoulder.

“Hmm.” Andrew powered it back on, and immediately the phone began to chirp with new incoming messages. “People need to get a life,” he muttered as he scanned through the texts, most of them as juvenile as Neil had said. The numbers were blocked, but one could tell some different senders from the writing styles – certain people favored emojis and actually spelling. He could figure out which were Riko’s by the insistence that Neil was property to be abused, and mention of the insult ‘mutt’. Then he frowned as he noticed the odd messages out. “Why the hell are there texts from Anna and Kelci on here?”

“Uhm, because they’re nice?” Neil pulled back a little to frown at him. “Kelci is an English major and helped me out with a paper last semester, and Anna… she started checking up on me and we just started talking here and there.”

“She’s a bitch, but whatever, it's your phone plan,” Andrew said while he typed a message back to Riko telling him to go cry on his daddy’s shoulder, if he could get the man to acknowledge his existence. “Now get your ass in the shower, I want to be gone in twenty minutes.”

“Now you’re in a fucking hurry,” Neil grumbled as he climbed out of bed and stalked to the bathroom naked, a sight to behold with those long legs, tight ass and sculpted back.

“I didn’t hear you complaining before, sounded more like begging,” Andrew yelled after him, and smirked at the way the bathroom door was slammed shut. Some people were just so easy to rile up, weren’t they? Much like the incoming call on Neil’s phone just then.

“You dare, Nathanie-“

Andrew cut off Riko’s rant with a great deal of satisfaction. “Sorry, Neil’s a little busy right now, I’d say he’d get back to a piece of shit like you but that’s not going to happen.” He palmed a knife as he stared off at the far wall, and on the other end of the line Riko sputtered in fury. “Didn’t one of your brother’s men make it clear to you? Neil’s not yours to play with anymore. Quit being a sore loser, you should be used to coming up second best by now.” He hung up the phone and then powered it off for good measure – but kept the phone, just in case. Some people were also a little slow on learning when to keep their hands to themselves.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I sorta compressed some of the Andrew and Aaron things. It should have taken Aaron a little longer to open up to Andrew I think (according to Nora's notes), and Tilda to slip up on the abuse... but I don't want to drag this out for months. Hence her slipping up a little sooner than later. And Aaron and Andrew making their deal now. But really, I don't think you can go into making a deal like that with ANDREW at a later point and... you know... be all OMFG WHAT DID YOU DO? Because ANDREW. So in my mind, I think it makes more sense that Aaron agrees to Andrew's deal now and then finds out later just how serious bizness the boy really is. My head canon. Agree/disagree.
> 
> Plus, it gets ya'll that much closer to Nicky. NICKY. Hmm....
> 
> Maybe I do need some sleep. 
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, thank you for all the comments on the last chapter! Maybe I should do 'filler' chapters more often!
> 
> This is the last completed chapter I have for the time being. Next one might not be up until sometime this weekend.  
> *******

*******

After leaving the hotel and stopping to pick up a new phone for Neil, they decided to try and see if there were any apartments available where Tilda and Aaron lived, and as ‘luck’ would have it, there were two at the moment – an efficiency and a two bedroom. Neil chose the efficiency since he didn’t need much room and went with the option for a three month lease, his ‘argument’ that he might want something else once school started, and between having Wolfe vouch for him and some sort of credit history in Racine, managed to get the place. That and… well, it wasn’t the greatest apartment, he thought as he looked it over, with the worn carpet and old windows and an oven he was too afraid to turn on, it looked in that bad of a shape.

“I hate you,” he told Andrew as he stood in his new ‘home’. “There’s not even an IKEA around here so figure out where we can get me something to sleep on tonight.” He had slept on a lot of floors in the last few years, had slept on couches and benches, in cars and on buses, in homeless shelters and hostels, but there was no way in hell he was sleeping on that carpet.

Andrew snorted as he pulled out the keys to the car. “Call Anna and tell her you want your bed back, you big baby.”

“You willing to give up your bed?” When Andrew gave him that flat, empty look, he scoffed. “Yeah, thought so.”

“Come on, I want you out of that hotel today.” There was a tension to Andrew’s broad shoulders just then that made Neil stop with the teasing, so he fell in step behind his friend as they went out to the car.

“Where’s Aaron?”

“In *his* bed.” Ah, that was a distinct note of displeasure just there, especially when Andrew continued. “I doubt he’s going to leave it any time soon.”

All right. “Is he okay?” Not that Neil cared too much for the teen, but Andrew had promised to look out for him, so….

Andrew paused to light a cigarette once he slid inside the car, only turning it on to start the a/c, and passed another one to Neil. “Saw him pop something after the whole Tilda thing, so willing to bet he’s just going to sleep for a couple of hours. He’s ‘fine’.” The bite that he put to the last word let Neil now that he was being sarcastic as hell.

“Then let’s get this done.”

They went back for Neil’s stuff at the hotel, then found a local furniture store where Neil ordered a futon, a small dresser which would double as a tv stand, a low end table and a small kitchen table set, which was all he was willing to buy. They arranged for it to be delivered later that day, then went to pick up a tv, microwave, some linens, kitchen and bathroom stuff, and groceries before they returned. Neil cringed at the thought of how he kept on buying stuff, even if the accounts Durand had set up for him were accruing interest, and resolved to see about a longer term solution if they really were staying here in Columbia, depending on what happened with Andrew’s mother and everything.

Left alone in his new apartment while Andrew checked on Aaron, Neil paused in putting everything away to dwell on Andrew’s plans for Tilda. Considering that Neil had helped set in motion his own father’s death and taken part in Lola’s… he wasn’t going to judge. He just wanted to make sure that Andrew didn’t get caught, and… yeah, knowing his friend as he did, he was certain that Andrew wouldn’t regret anything.

So, assuming that Andrew pulled off whatever he was thinking of doing, then they had at least a year in Columbia, probably two since Neil couldn’t afford to jump around too much if he was serious about getting in with a good Class I Exy team once he graduated from high school. The Columbia Caps had a pretty good record for a high school Exy team, usually making it to the district finals even if they’d never gone on to win a championship.

Once everything was put away, he texted Anna his new phone number so he could at least chat until the new furniture arrived, needing some sort of diversion all of a sudden. There were too many changes happening lately, too many things impacting his future, and his first impulse was to just find the nearest exit and run. Unfortunately, all the reasons he’d given Andrew back in Racine for them not just running after Riko had found them were still valid now, even more so after Neil’s ‘talk’ with Ichiro, so he forced himself to take several deep breaths as he leaned against the balcony rail and focused on Anna’s message so he could type something back. This was the choice he’d made, coming to Columbia with Andrew, and he would see it through whatever the cost.

*******

After over a month living in Columbia, Andrew was beginning to sense a pattern to things; Tilda would wake up in the morning, surly and hungover and altogether a bitch to behold, and stomp around the apartment as she got ready for her job as an office admin. If Aaron got in her way, well… she had learned to watch what she did to him in front of Andrew, but she didn’t have the best memory in the world. No, not with the drugs, not with the alcohol, not with the need to make herself feel better by taking it out on her nice, convenient punching bag. Every now and then she attempted to direct that rage and self-hate at Andrew, but he wasn’t either high on drugs or shaking with the need for more, wasn’t used to being her outlet for abuse so all it took was one flat look, one blocked arm and she cowered back. He’d have to be on guard then, because if she thought she could catch Aaron when he wasn’t paying attention? Yeah.

He also found out that she was sharing her Xanax pills with Aaron – he couldn’t get an answer out of his twin about when that had started, if it had been her idea or just a way to get Aaron to keep quiet about the abuse or what, but either Tilda’s doctor was an idiot who didn’t care how much he over-prescribed her or she was hitting up a couple different ones. She was also taking OxyContin, but those she didn’t share, thankfully. It was going to be bad enough getting Aaron off the barbiturates when the time came.

That was, if he didn’t kill Aaron before then.

For someone who wanted to be free of Tilda’s abuse, Aaron didn’t do much of anything to get away from it, didn’t do anything to defend himself when she turned violent. Co-dependency, Andrew knew from all those wonderful therapy sessions he’d been forced to attend, but it didn’t make seeing it any easier to stomach. Aaron understood that he needed to break free from his mother, that this life wasn’t good for him… but he seemed unable to do anything for himself on his own, other than reach out to Andrew. To seem to rely on Andrew more and more each week, to look to him as if watching after him with that hungry expression and following him around would somehow give him a damn backbone of his own.

He also appeared to have something against Neil, to hate the other teen on sight – either because Neil could function on his own without any parents or because he was Andrew’s friend - or both. Aaron alternated between ignoring Neil completely or being rude as fuck whenever the three of them were together – which was a lot, because Andrew tried to not leave Aaron alone too much - and all Neil did was ignore him in return or give him a bland look in the face of the hostility directed at him. In fact, Neil was awfully quiet about a lot of things, lately, which was growing annoying as well.

So Andrew learned to split up his days, to spend an hour or two alone with Neil when Tilda was at work and Aaron zoned out on a fresh hit of Xanax, and then return back to ‘home’ to stand guard over Aaron when Tilda was back. All along, he bided his time, did a couple of very careful internet searches on the laptop left at Neil’s tiny apartment, poured through books at various bookstores… and offered to run errands with Tilda’s ancient and unreliable Ford Taurus several times a week.

*******

Neil didn’t return back to his apartment until his muscles ached from all the miles run and his head felt clear at last; it had been another night interrupted by bad dreams, from old memories and awful, too-familiar pain. He gave grudging nods to a couple of people passed in the hallway as he made his way upstairs, neighbors and other residents that he maybe should bother to get to know but he wouldn’t, not when he wouldn’t be here that long, not after such an ingrained habit of standing apart, and most certainly not after his first week here, and was relieved when he reached his apartment. When he unlocked the door, it didn’t come as that much of a surprise to find Andrew already there and waiting for him, since it was a weekday and Tilda should be at work.

“I thought we talked about you running.”

And it wasn’t a surprise that Andrew was in a shitty mood, either, not after several weeks of living with Tilda and Aaron. Neil sighed as he slicked back his sweaty bangs and shook his head. “Not a good morning for this,” he warned as he headed to the tiny kitchen area for a bottle of water he’d left out before he went for the run, and of course Andrew followed.

“Would it be better if something happened while you were out running around like an idiot?” Andrew leaned against the counter, his black arm bands on display with the short-sleeved black t-shirt he wore, and watched while Neil drank down most of the water. “You should just paint a damn target on your ass while at it, make it easier for Riko to find you.”

Neil was careful to keep his expression even as he finished off the water. “Sure, why not? I’d hate to deprive you of any fun.” He tossed the bottle in the recycle bin and pulled off his shirt, tired of feeling covered with sweat; he missed living somewhere cooler, somewhere less humid and couldn’t wait until summer was over, even if the heat helped to seep into his brain while he ran and slowly numb it. The a/c in the efficiency – no big surprise – sucked, but the place was small enough that it didn’t matter too much. “Are you here to tell me anything else other than how stupid I am?” He went over to throw the shirt into the small basket with the rest of his dirty clothes, and reminded himself to take care of the laundry later, after Andrew left.

“Yeah, I had wanted to talk to you about the classes for fall, but then I found this.” Andrew reached into the back left pocket of the black jeans he was wearing to pull out a shiny new phone. “Funny, I’ve never seen it before.” His expression was the awful blank one that Neil hated, his tone casual, but his hazel eyes were bright with anger. “And it’s not the one we got you a few weeks ago.”

It wasn’t the one in the back pocket of Neil’s shorts, which he took out before he kicked off his shoes and grabbed a clean pair of underwear from the dresser, his motions jerky and an awful buzzing in his head. “I didn’t give you a spare key so you could go through my stuff.”

Andrew affected a fake hurt look, the anger still burning in his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, and here I was worried that a certain idiot had left his phone behind when he decided to go running off like a suicidal idiot this morning and I heard it chime. If you were that set on keeping secrets from me, you should have taken it or set it on mute.”

Neil thought he had set it on silent, but he’d been so out of it this morning, haunted by the nightmares and exhausted from the lack of sleep, that he should have double-checked for certain before fleeing the apartment. It would have been safer to take it with him, knowing how Andrew could just let himself in… but Neil couldn’t stomach even looking at the thing for very long, let along touching it. “Duly noted. I’m getting a shower now. Leave the damn thing and get out.”

The bathroom door had barely been shut and the water turned on when Andrew let himself in the small room; somehow Neil knew that it wouldn’t be that easy, not when Andrew was furious. “Seriously? Did you not get the ‘not a good morning’ part?” He refused to look at his friend as he stripped off the rest of his clothes and stepped beneath the sputtering water, never mind that it was still cold and would be for another minute.

Andrew jerked back the shower curtain and bared his teeth in an awful mockery of a smile. “Do you honestly think I’m going to ignore that you’ve hidden the fact that Riko sent you a phone and you’re using it? No lies, you promised me.”

“And I’ve kept up my end of the bargain,” Neil said as he shivered beneath the falling water; it had felt good at first against his sweaty skin, but yeah, any second now for it to heat up. “No lies, you said. Nothing about holding stuff back.”

“He thinks he’s amusing.” Andrew stared at the phone in his hand before he began to swipe and tap away. “He thinks it’s acceptable to roll over onto his back and give in to a psycho.”

Neil paused in scrubbing himself clean to throw the bar of soap at the asshole, which got batted aside and earned him a particularly vicious look. “I didn’t just ‘give in’, all right? He was threatening to get all of us evicted, and after my third noise complaint in less than four days from the rental office when I hadn’t done a damn thing, I stopped destroying the phones he sent and….” He shook his head and ran his fingers through his wet hair to wipe it away from his forehead. “I read his texts and reply back a couple of times a day, and it stops the complaints.”

“But it sets a dangerous precedent, you giving in. He knows that he just has to apply the right pressure and you give him what he wants, you damn idiot.” Oh yeah, Andrew was *pissed*.

“And what was I supposed to do? Let him pay off our neighbors until we’re thrown out on the streets? What about the next apartment?” Neil slapped his hand against the condescension slick tiled wall and wished it was a certain arrogant Japanese bastard that he was hitting.

Andrew continued to scroll through the texts a bit longer then typed for several seconds. “No, I’m just reminding him that a federal agent has her name down on your apartment application, so does he really want to mess with that? Because I will be more than happy to call Agent Wolfe the next time there’s any sort of complaint filed against you or me.”

That was the last thing Neil wanted, to drag Wolfe or any other type of authority into this mess. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Too late.” The angry bite was back in Andrew’s voice. “It’s my job to handle this, not yours. Don’t make it more difficult than it already is, dealing with an idiot whose first reaction is to offer himself up as some sort of half-assed, unnecessary sacrifice.” Done typing, Andrew went over to the toilet then dropped the phone into it.

“What the fuck!” Neil twisted off the water as he jumped out of the shower, but it was already too late; Andrew grinned as he flushed the toilet, the phone spinning around and making an awful, clanking sound as it repeatedly smacked against the porcelain.

“Ooops, I hope Riko bought the extended warranty for it. Looked rather expensive.”

“You’re crazy!” Neil could only stare in horror as the screen grew black and cracked from the abuse. “He’s going to be furious! He’s-“ One of Andrew’s hands wrapped loosely around his throat and cut off his yelling, while the other grabbed onto his right upper arm hard enough to bruise, and Neil found himself shoved out of the bathroom, his wet feet sliding along the floor.

“No, you don’t get it, do you?” Andrew hissed, the most furious Neil had ever seen him, short of that time in the gym with Riko. “You don’t worry about him. You don’t *think* about him!” Andrew shoved him down onto the futon, still unmade and left out as a bed from that morning. “*I* deal with him! He pulls this shit, the only thing you do is you come to *me*, and I put the bastard in his place!”

Sprawled out naked on the futon with Andrew looming on top of him, hand still loose around his throat and face red with anger, Neil managed a slight nod. “Okay.” He raised his right hand not to knock away Andrew’s but to hold it up to his friend’s flushed face. “I wasn’t… I didn’t mean… you’ve got enough shit to deal with already, I thought.” There was Tilda and Aaron, and the last thing Neil had wanted was to add to Andrew’s burdens just then.

Andrew let out a shuddering breath as he shook his head and his hand moved from Neil’s throat to tangle in the wet strands of Neil’s hair. “I said I’d protect you,” he breathed out as he leaned into Neil’s touch. “Why do you make that so damn difficult?”

“Maybe because… because no one’s really tried so hard before,” Neil admitted as he dared to wrap his left arm around Andrew’s shoulder and back. His mother might have had good intentions… but that really hadn’t worked out so well for him, had it? Hadn’t worked out so well for either of him, at least until he’d been dragged off to that detention center in Oakland. “I can’t stop thinking that it’s all on me or something.”

“Then stop thinking,” Andrew ground out as he gave Neil’s hair a harsh tug; he leaned in as if for a kiss, and then shook his head. “No, this is a bad idea right now, not when-“

“Yes,” Neil insisted as he followed Andrew up off the bed. “*Yes*. It’s-“ he almost said ‘fine’ and winced. “It’s always going to be ‘yes’ with you, okay?”

Some of Andrew’s anger seemed to return as he pushed Neil back down onto the bed. “There’s never always a ‘yes’.” There was a sharp bite to his words and a terrible… it was almost like a hunger to his expression, yet there was also some pain. “You just don’t know….”

“I know I trust you,” Neil told him, not wanting to push Andrew away, not wanting to hurt him, but wanting Andrew to stop hurting himself. “Whatever it is you want or don’t want, it’s fine with me. I trust you… I want you,” he admitted, and saw the doubt on his friend’s face. “Me not telling you about Riko isn’t about trusting you, it’s about me trying to keep him away from you.” Riko enjoyed causing pain too much for Neil to want to see that turned on Andrew.

“And you think I’m going to just stand here while he sinks his claws into you?” Neil found himself pushed further into the bed from the force of Andrew’s kiss, both his hands pressed into the soft bedding by Andrew’s grip on his wrists. “That’s not going to happen, you stupid martyr,” Andrew insisted several seconds later, his voice rough and breathing uneven.

Neil needed a moment to catch his own breath. “Uhm, wow, okay, the sweet talk….”

“Shut up,” Andrew told him, but the anger appeared to be gone, judging from the way his hands trailed down Neil’s arms and an amused light in his hazel eyes despite the bland expression on his face. “If you keep talking, you’ll just annoy me.”

“And again, the-“

Andrew seemed to decide that the best way to shut Neil up was to kiss him, which was perfectly fine with Neil. He smiled a little around the kiss and wrapped his arms around Andrew, left leg hooking around Andrew’s calf, and had to laugh when he realized how his friend’s clothes were now all damp.

“You’re a mess,” he murmured as he tugged at the hem of Andrew’s t-shirt in an effort to help remove it; Andrew got the hint and pulled away enough so it he could yank it over his head while he kicked off his shoes.

“Your fault,” Andrew accused as he also set to work on removing his wet jeans, not that Neil was about to complain or argue even if he had been the one dragged out of the bathroom before he had a chance to dry off. Before Andrew pushed the material past his hips, he frowned and leaned over the bed for something, his hand reaching about for a moment, and returned with the bottle of lube Neil kept more or less tucked down there for when… well, when Andrew came over.

He set it down on the futon then leaned over Neil again. “Yes or no? You don’t… just say ‘no’ whenever.” His bangs fell forward, onto his eyes, and his voice was once again rough just then.

Neil wasn’t used to Andrew being so hesitant like this, not since they had first started… well, *this*, and he didn’t know if it was because of Andrew’s earlier temper or what. Then he felt his friend’s hand skim down along his left side and settle into the small of his back. *Oh*. “Yes,” he repeated as he pulled Andrew back down on top of him for another kiss.

He’d thought about it, about… well, they seemed to lead up to it a few times, but Andrew always shied away at some point. Neil was always fine with whatever Andrew wanted to do, with what Andrew gave him, but he had been curious about – well, they seemed to do everything but what most people thought of as sex.

“Should have some damn condoms,” Andrew mumbled as he broke off the kiss so he could shimmy out of his pants, while Neil enjoyed running his hands over his friend’s broad shoulders and the firm muscles of his forearms.

“Hmm, you’re clean, right?” He didn’t think Andrew would have allowed some of the things they’d done if he wasn’t, and shrugged when he was glared at as if he’d asked a stupid question.

“Yes,” Andrew snapped as he tugged Neil farther down the bed by his hips.

“Then it doesn’t matter.” He’d had a physical for the Panthers’ last year and come back with clean blood work as well, so it was fine.

“And you think there’s a mess now.” Still, Andrew’s good mood seemed restored as he leaned in to nuzzle Neil’s right ear. “This… I haven’t done it… fuck.”

Neil was careful to keep his hands on Andrew’s shoulders. “Good, then I don’t feel like such an idiot.” He turned to place a kiss against Andrew’s neck and smiled at the resulting shiver. “You don’t have to, you know.”

“No, but….” Andrew ground down against him until Neil could feel how hard he was; he inhaled sharply and dug his fingers into Andrew’s shoulders.

“Then tell me what to do.”

Andrew gave Neil’s ear another nuzzle while his hands rose up to squeeze Neil’s, a silent command for him to keep them there, on Andrew’s shoulders. Then he began to kiss his way down Neil’s body, mouth a terrible tease as it nipped and licked and sucked, until Neil was twisting on the bed *before* Andrew got below his navel. He inhaled again, the touch ticklish for a moment, and then gasped out Andrew’s name when that mouth ghosted lower and he felt one of his friend’s hands wrap around his cock.

The feel of Andrew taking him into his mouth almost distracted Neil from the sound of the bottle popping open, and Neil closed his eyes and concentrated on all the pleasure Andrew’s mouth was building inside of him when he felt the slick finger slide along the crack of his ass. Despite knowing what was going to happen, it still felt so odd, still caused him to flinch at the initial push, until Andrew started to stroke his cock as well as lick along the top.

Neil fought to keep his breathing even as that finger pushed inside, to relax and accept the slight burn, and after a minute it didn’t seem too bad. He had just started to thrust a little into Andrew’s mouth when the finger curled inside of him and then *something* sparked hard and bright.

“Fuck!”

Andrew’s mouth slid away from his cock and the finger slipped from his ass. “No, no!”

“Hmm, something wrong?” Someone sounded smug just then, and Neil lifted his head to glare just as Andrew pushed against his left leg and the finger was back against his hole – only this time, there was more pressure, was more of a burn. Neil hissed as he was stretched wider, his head falling back as he concentrated on relaxing once more, and Andrew took to loosely stroking his cock.

He could feel it as the fingers pushed in deeper, a somewhat uncomfortable fullness, and inhaled sharply as they spread apart. Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, there was a return of that sharp pleasure, causing him to moan and arch a little on the bed.

“Dammit, Andrew!”

“Almost there.” Andrew kept twisting those fingers about and pushing them apart until Neil was covered with sweat and torn between kicking the asshole away and yanking him closer, on the edge of… of something. When he let out an almost sob at another sharp bite of pleasure, Andrew finally pulled out his fingers with a slowness that tipped the favor toward Neil wanting to kick him; before he could, Andrew rolled Neil onto his side.

“Wuh-what now?” Neil felt as if his nerves were raw just then, as if every single one of them had been dragged to the surface of his skin and the slightest touch made him burn with need and not enough pleasure.

“Last chance,” Andrew warned, even though his breathing was just as ragged as Neil’s. He settled behind Neil, his left arm under Neil and around his chest.

“For the - *yes*,” Neil assured him before he got out of the bed to find something to smack him with, on the verge of hysterics as his fingers dug into the thick, damp material of the asshole’s arm bands. Wait – maybe a knife?

All thoughts of weapons fled his mind as he felt the slick, blunt tip of Andrew’s cock nudge against his ass, and then all he could think about was breathing and doing his best to relax and-

“Relax,” Andrew told him, breath hot against the nape of his neck.

“I *am*,” Neil ground out, fingers scrambling against the rough material, mind blanking as he forced himself to breathe out and… and…. He felt Andrew’s sigh as the worst of the pressure ended, as he felt Andrew’s warmth against his entire back and his thighs. There was a slight trembling, too, but he didn’t know if it was him or his friend.

Andrew’s hand wrapped around his cock, which wasn’t quite so hard anymore, but a couple of firm strokes took care of that and then Andrew was moving, was moving before Neil was certain that was a good idea, yet before he could complain there was this odd friction that just got better and better and the burn less and less, and the pleasure slowly came back. Neil moaned when he felt Andrew kiss along the back of his neck, slow, lingering ones, and began to rock his hips back into the increasing thrusts. Now and then were those intense sparks which made him cry out and dig his nails into the arm bands, made him think that oh fuck yes, was this a good idea, then Andrew’s thrusts grew faster, grew erratic and he felt the pressure of teeth against the crook of his neck while his friend shuddered against him.

Andrew rocked against him a little more after that, his face buried against the back of Neil’s neck, and then his hand stroked faster along Neil’s cock until the pleasure twisted sharper and sharper inside of Neil, until Neil forgot about all the various aches and gasped as he came all over Andrew’s hand, his head thrown back while warm lips brushed against his neck. A pleasant euphoria settled over him afterwards, even lying on damp sheets while all sweaty and a bit of a mess, until Andrew made a noise and pulled away, earning a twinge of pain from Neil.

“Ow.” He frowned as he rolled onto his back, his hand going down and… oh, maybe that was what Andrew had meant by the condom thing, he thought with some embarrassment as he added washing sheets to his to do list. “Uhm….”

Andrew was oddly silent beside him for several seconds, and then sat up and looked around as if to find his clothes. “Yeah.” He seemed to be avoiding looking at Neil.

Neil sighed and handed over the asshole’s t-shirt, which was wrinkled and damp, but didn’t let go until Andrew finally looked at him. “Thank you. I liked it.” That might be a bit of an understatement, but Neil didn’t think Andrew wanted an in-depth summary at the moment.

That earned him a potent glare, but after a few seconds Andrew’s expression smoothed it. “Tell me that if you try to run later.” A slight smirk tilted up the corners of his mouth. “Hmm, I may be on to something here.”

“Asshole,” Neil grumbled as he let go of the shirt.

“Says the idiot who’s up to 225% even after all of that.” He leaned in to give Neil a brief kiss. “Do me a favor and stay the fuck inside today, all right? And if a new phone shows up, break the damn thing.”

“Are you going to fish the one out of my toilet before you leave?”

“No, I’m going to go take a piss on it – it’s your toilet, you’re stuck dealing with it.” That said, Andrew got up, found his pants and went off to the bathroom – Neil enjoyed the view since he would indeed be stuck dealing with the damn phone thanks to the asshole.

*******

Andrew left when Neil was on the shower, after borrowing a clean t-shirt from his friend and watching the destroyed phone be retrieved from the toilet by a very annoyed Neil and thrown away. Yeah, might be best to stay away for a while since Neil had turned that disturbing grin toward him at the end, but he didn’t regret what he’d done. Was still a bit confused over what had all happened, but he didn’t regret any of it.

He was doing his best to not… to not turn into *them* when it came to Neil, to not mess things up with… with whatever it was, between them. To not push too far. To not just take. It was difficult, when even after all these months he still *wanted* so much, and Neil seemed to want as well. When Neil said ‘yes’ each and every time, when Neil *trusted* him. Neil, who had argued at length with the FBI for hours until they agreed to seal away Andrew’s juvie record, who hadn’t run when Riko had found them despite having been clever enough to do so for the past five years because… because Andrew knew he worried about their chances with Riko being able to hold Andrew’s police record against them. Neil - *Nathaniel* was the ghost, after all, Andrew not so much. And Neil had just accepted everything when Andrew had come to him with his plan for Tilda, had only been concerned that it was thought out enough so Andrew didn’t get caught. Then today, to find out that Neil was quietly taking the brunt of Riko’s temper, Riko’s abuse.

What had made him so angry, other than the fact that Riko kept hounding after them – after Neil – was that Andrew should have realized something was going on sooner, if his hands weren’t full of Tilda and Aaron. He wasn’t angry at Neil… well, okay, maybe a little. Neil really should have said something, because the idiot didn’t realize that he was digging a big, deep grave for himself. Neil didn’t understand people like Riko, but Andrew did; he’d read the texts that Neil, the huge, massively suicidal idiot had sent back. True to form, Neil wasn’t just taking Riko’s abuse, wasn’t being some docile doormat. No, he figured out a thousand different ways to tell the asshole to ‘fuck off’ and ‘go to hell’ each day with his owed responses… and it was just egging Riko on.

Riko wasn’t the type to be denied, wasn’t used to being told things like that, and for Neil to do so? For Neil to be out of reach, defiant and willful? Andrew knew those types, knew that Riko would only be that much more determined to have Neil, to see Neil broken and bowed before him and was counting down the days, the minutes until it happened. And Neil *just* *didn’t* *get* *it*.

Well, Andrew did, and he’d handle this despite Neil’s inclination to wrap himself up in a big red bow and hand himself over to Riko as a fucking present or something. That wasn’t going to happen, not as long as Andrew still breathed and could shove a knife in the asshole’s throat. And just a little longer, just a few more tweaks to the brake lines and there would be one less aggravation in his life.

He gave a narrowed look to one of the tenants as he passed them in the hallway going back to Tilda’s apartment, wondering if they had been paid off by Riko to harass Neil, and pulled out his keys to let himself back in to the ‘humble’ abode he was forced to reside in for the time being. To his surprise, Aaron was up and appeared cognizant; huh, guess he’d spent longer at Neil’s than he’d intended, between waiting for the idiot to return from his run and… yeah.

Aaron, busy drinking coffee and not one of Tilda’s beers for once, gave Andrew an odd look. “That’s not your usual style.” There was a slight slur to his voice, meaning that the Xanax was still kicking in. He was red-eyed and there was a puffiness to his left cheek, from where Tilda had slapped him that morning. Oh yes, not much longer.

Andrew ignored him as he went to pour some coffee for himself, but someone seemed to think that meant it was all right for them to have a conversation – that’s what he got for humoring Aaron these past few weeks, dammit. “In fact, I seem to recall Neil wearing that shirt last week.”

“Nice to know you still have a few brain cells left,” Andrew said as he searched about for a clean mug and finally found one. He filled it with about half coffee, and half whiskey since he would need something to keep him calm, then drank it down as he went into his bedroom to find Neil’s old phone.

Of course Aaron had to follow him, like always. “I thought you said that Neil didn’t swing.”

By now, Andrew knew his twin could be a stubborn shit and that ignoring him didn’t work very well. “He doesn’t – just ask the French club back in Racine. Think they did a lottery or something to figure out who would hit on him and when, and all he did was complain that they were constantly asking him for his class notes and for study sessions, which cut into his Exy practice time.” Such an oblivious idiot, Andrew thought with a slight smile, at least until he pulled the phone out of the dresser and turned it on. It only had a little bit of a charge left, so he looked around for his power cord and plugged it in while he went through the texts to find the one he knew was Riko’s.

Meanwhile, Aaron sat down on his bed and watched everything. “Well, obviously he swings one way.” He jerked his chin toward Andrew. “He’s gay. Don’t even try to deny it when you come back from seeing him with wet hair and wearing his t-shirt.”

“Actually, the term is ‘demisexual’. I’m the one who’s gay,” Andrew informed his twin with a mocking smile. “What, do I get kicked out of the family next? No more lousy dinners?”

The look on Aaron’s face just then was priceless – what, did he think that Andrew was going to deny it? Then why bring it up? Why bother with the constant innuendo over the two of them?

“So what… he really is your boyfriend?”

Andrew waved that aside. “He’s my friend.”

“But you just confirmed that you’re… that you and him….” Aaron’s confusion twisted into something shaded a little with disgust, a little something else.

“That we engage in non-heteronormative types of sexual intercourse? Yes. What’s your point?” He stared down Aaron, who looked back in open disbelief and shook his head. “Don’t ask things if you don’t really want to know, now be quiet.” He dialed the number and huffed in annoyance when it went into voicemail; he supposed the asshole had to practice Exy sometime. “I’ll get straight to the point, you pathetic little shit,” he told Riko’s voicemail in a pleasant tone while Aaron’s eyes went wide. “Keep away from what’s mine. Not yours, *mine*. Big brother told you ‘no’, so deal with it like the born loser you are.” Then he hung up but left the phone on, and glanced at the time. Hmm, it would probably be at least an hour or two before Riko heard it, dammit.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” Andrew said as he made sure the ringer volume was turned up and then left the phone charging on top of his dresser. “Nothing that pertains to our agreement.” He didn’t want Aaron wrapped up in anything involving Riko or the Moriyamas.

“But it involves your agreement with Neil, doesn’t it?”

In the process of pulling out a new t-shirt, one that would fit better than Neil’s, Andrew paused and turned around to give his brother a warning look. “I told you, it doesn’t concern. Don’t you have some drooling or something equally important that you have to do?” This bonding time was getting to be a little annoying, when all he wanted was to be alone for a short while.

Aaron gave him the finger as he rushed off of the bed. “Fuck you! You know, you… you… you ruined my life, do you know that?” He jerked his right hand through his hair, wincing a little as he must have hit a sore spot or tugged on the disheveled strands.

“Oh, and how did I manage to do that, when I didn’t even know about you until four years ago?” This promised to be an amusing story, Andrew told himself as he leaned against the dresser, the black t-shirt held in his hand.

“Because even when you weren’t here, I could tell there was something wrong with Mom, that there wasn’t something right.”

“Yeah, it’s called ‘mental problems’,” Andrew decided to be helpful and explain. “And ‘addiction’.”

The dirty look Aaron shot him probably meant that he wasn’t being as helpful as he thought. “She felt guilty about you, which led her to being depressed and… and the pills and everything.” He winced again as he touched his red cheek. “And we just had to be twins, didn’t we? So I was always there, a reminder of what she did that day.”

Boo-fucking-hoo, Andrew was supposed to feel sympathy or something over this? Over Aaron letting himself be a punching bag because Tilda couldn’t live with herself after getting knocked up and then giving Andrew away? When Andrew had been passed around from one hellhole to another? When Neil’s father thought it was acceptable to carve him up like a piece of meat and give him away to another pyscho? “You think your life was ruined? That you had it hard?” He pushed away from the dresser and got in his brother’s face – the only good thing about being a twin was that he didn’t have to look up at the bastard, like with almost everyone else. “Being smacked around isn’t having your life ruined. Waking up each day and wondering if it’s the day that you’re finally going to be killed? *That’s* when your life’s fucked up. Waking up and hoping it’s the day they finally kill you? *That’s* when your life’s fucked up,” he spat out. “Let me know when it gets to that point and we’ll talk about how I ruined your life.”

The color slowly drained from Aaron’s face until the left cheek stood out with a vivid redness. “Is that… that what your-“

“We’re not talking about me,” Andrew told him through gritted teeth. “Now do me a favor and get out of my sight.”

It looked as if Aaron was going to argue, to say something else, but something in Andrew’s expression just then convinced him of the stupidity of that plan so he left; a minute or so later there was the sound of the tv being turned on. Andrew let out a shaky breath as he pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes for several seconds, until the intense anger he felt inside began to fade, and then he remembered about changing t-shirts. He shoved Neil’s into the back of a drawer, shook out a cigarette and lit it, then fell down on his bed as he smoked it, attention focused on the cracked ceiling above him.

He didn’t care that Aaron knew about him and Neil, as long as his brother didn’t take it out on Neil; Aaron didn’t seem to be as homophobic as Luther since he spoke about Nicky with some affection, but he didn’t mention Nicky’s boyfriend at all and he still held quite the grudge against Neil.

Andrew had gotten through the cigarette and a couple of chapters of his latest book when Neil’s phone finally rang. Setting the book aside, he got up from the bed and went to answer it, taking his time so it rang several times. Just before it went into voicemail, he picked it up. “Josten’s answering service, how may I not help you?”

“Listen, you ill-conceived little bastard,” Riko snarled, while in the background it sounded as if someone whimpered in pain. “Do not for one moment think I’ll hesitate to throw you, your whore mother and-“

“No,” Andrew cut him off, tired of the rant already. “No you won’t, and you won’t touch Neil, either. Did you not get what I said about your big brother Ichiro? Did you miss the memo or does he just not bother with someone as lowly as you?”

Oh yeah, that one struck home, judging from the inarticulate growl of rage just then. “Let me try to break it down into small enough words for you,” Andrew continued as he smiled, a knife in his free hand that he tapped against the edge of the dresser. “Neil had the courtesy to cover your family’s ass by making sure there was no connection between them and the Wesninskis. Ichiro approved, and decided *not* to hand him over to you to be a chew toy. You throwing a temper tantrum and trying to get him evicted from an apartment that a federal agent helped sign for? Very, very stupid. Because she’s just going to do the same for the next one, and the next one, and very soon become annoyed when she gets a black mark on her credit rating and so forth because of *your* petty antics, and stick her nose in where Ichiro doesn’t want it.” On the other end, there was a muffled sound and more whimpers while Riko panted in obvious anger. “So use some self-restraint for once in your pathetic life.”

There was a thudding sound before Riko’s harsh voice all but huffed over the line. “We’ll see how confident you are in two years, mongrel, when Nathaniel is paying for your misplaced arrogance. You think he’s free? All he’s bought himself is a long leash, and I will pull him back in soon enough.” There was a spat of Japanese before Riko hung up on Andrew.

Like hell Andrew would allow that to happen – he would strangle Riko with that so-called leash before he allowed Neil within a hundred feet of Castle Evermore. Dropping the phone to the floor, Andrew then brought his foot down on it again and again until it was reduced to over a dozen pieces.

“That another friend of yours?” Aaron lounged against the doorway and watched him grind pieces of the phone into the carpet.

“That was a petty annoyance who’s about to find out what happens when they make the mistake of trying to rile me up.” He wiped the bottom of his boot along the carpet as he slipped the knife back in its place, then picked up the empty coffee mug he’d left on the dresser and turned to leave the room. “Not a good idea.”

Aaron’s expression was wary as he stepped out of Andrew’s way. “I’m beginning to get that impression.”

“Good.” Time for some more whiskey, and perhaps see if Neil’s temper had cooled down yet so he could remind the idiot of the folly of accepting gifts from Japanese psychopaths in case Riko hadn’t gotten the hint.

“So, uhm, Neil-“

Andrew didn’t even look behind him, he just stuck his left hand out in a warning gesture. “Shh. I told you, that doesn’t concern you.”

“Whatever.” It sounded as if Aaron had reset back to his default of surly, which was fine with Andrew, since he’d had enough brotherly interaction for the time being. He’d had enough interaction for the day, period, but it would be amusing to verbally spar with Neil for a bit, enough so that it might keep him from throttling or stabbing Tilda when she finally came home.

Maybe.

*******

Logged on to Andrew’s laptop, Neil was going over his schedule for the upcoming school year and tried not to feel a bit uneasy as he scrolled past the ‘Beginning Japanese’ class. He knew Andrew was going to be upset over it – if ‘upset’ was the right word – but he wasn’t taking it because of Riko, not really. He had no intentions of joining the Ravens, of attending Edgar Allan… but he also didn’t want to be in another situation like he had been back in Ichiro’s limo, sitting there while the man had decided his fate and talking in a language he couldn’t understand. He might not have a choice of being a Moriyama ‘asset’, but he could make sure that he understood what Ichiro and the others were saying about him, even if it was just to know if a death sentence was being handed down. As long as he kept up with the French and German lessons with Andrew, which he did, then there was no reason for his friend to be so angry that he was picking up a new language. Except, well… it was Andrew.

The rest of Neil’s schedule looked fine, even if he was only really interested in Statistics, Japanese and study hall, and he was checking out the web page for the Exy team when there was a knock on his door. A bit anxious since Andrew just used the key to enter, he shut down the laptop and got off the futon before he approached the door, wary over who it might be on the other side. When he checked the peep-hole, he spied Andrew’s bruised face staring at the door – not Andrew, but Aaron.

“What is it?” he asked as he let him in, noting the swollen lip and the bruised left cheek; Andrew must be furious with Tilda right now.

Aaron gave him a sullen look even though *he* had come to Neil’s apartment. “I need a ride to Uncle Luther’s place, Mom’s late and we’re supposed to be over there for dinner.”

Neil stared at the teen in shock, because Aaron *never* asked him for favors – he seemed determined to go through life pretending Neil didn’t exist, if possible. “Uhm….” He glanced away from Aaron’s disheveled appearance and out through the balcony door, to the grey skies that threatened to unleash a downpour at any moment.

“Andrew said you’d do it.” If anything, he sounded even more pissed off than before, as if it was Neil’s fault his mother was running late and not there to drive him.

Neil almost asked if that meant that Andrew was home, and if so, why he wasn’t using the car to take Aaron to Luther’s place – a place Neil would much rather avoid, considering the painful dinner he’d sat through the one time – when he caught himself. When he considered the fresh bruises on Aaron’s face, bruises that should not be there, not after all the warnings Andrew had given Tilda. When he remembered Andrew’s all too casual ‘not much longer’ when he’d complained about the crummy apartment and a/c to his friend the other day. Neil scrubbed his right hand over his face and sighed. “Come on, let’s see if we can’t beat the rain.” He wasn’t a fan of driving in bad weather, not after Austria.

Aaron seemed surprised that Neil had agreed, and stumbled after him as Neil slipped on his sneakers and snatched up the keys near the laptop. A minute later, they were out of the apartment and headed toward the car.

Aaron managed to keep his mouth shut until they made it to the car. “So… you and Andrew, huh?”

“Aaron?”

“Yeah?”

“I much prefer it when we don’t talk to each other,” Neil said, and made a point to turn up the radio loud when he started the car in case the teen missed the point. He was glared at for doing that, but Aaron had nothing on Andrew in that department so he just smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. They were *not* talking about Neil and Andrew and… whatever, not when Neil was stressed out over his friend and what might be happening at any moment.

The rain stared before they were even halfway to Luther’s house, a few drops at first and then a heavy deluge with lightning cracking against the dark skies. Neil’s hands clenched around the steering wheel, his thoughts on Andrew and his phone a heavy weight against his right thigh as he waited to hear from his friend, as he waited for something to happen.

The waiting was always the worst part, he’d learned over the years.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... yeah. Hmm, lots of things in this one. I've been debating when to put in the 'big' scene of the boys having sex, because obviously with Andrew's past it wasn't going to happen any time soon (in canon it took a while - Andrew's suffered a little less trauma here, but still nothing that could be rushed). Hope it came across okay, there were a lot of potent emotions going on in the scene but the main ones were matters of trust and how far the boys are willing to go for each other.
> 
> Meh. I tried.
> 
> And yes, next chapter.... NICKY!!!!!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I think this is the chapter that one or two of you may have been waiting for. Why, I have no clue. No clue at all. Hmm....
> 
> And it's a nice, big long one at that. I just could not end the last scene.
> 
> *******

*******

By the time Neil got inside of the ER of Lexington Medical Center, he was drenched from running through the parking lot; he shoved back the wet bangs falling onto his face and nearly slid into the information desk, his sneakers as soaked as the rest of him, startling the burly nurse sitting behind it. “Uhm, Andrew Minyard? How is he?”

The nurse looked him over and held up a large, dark-skinned hand. “Give me a second, okay?” The words were brisk but he handed Neil a few paper towels as he started typing on a computer. “You look like a drowned cat, kid.”

“Uh, yeah. It’s… yeah.” Considering the loud ‘boom’ of thunder just then, Neil figured the guy – ‘Ty’, from his name tag, could tell that it was still storming outside.  A storm which seemed to be contributing to a hectic evening at the ER, since the chairs were filled with people and various medical staff rushed about. “Busy?”

“You’ve no idea,” Ty complained. “I swear, people lose their heads when there’s a bit of rain. Could be worse, though. Could be sleet.” He typed a little more while Neil dried his face at least, then grunted. “Minyard, Andrew. Should be out in a few minutes, so why don’t you go sit down and try not to drip everywhere.”

That was good, right? Neil wanted to ask if that was a good thing, but the guy really looked busy and there was a person waiting behind him, so he shuffled toward over to an empty seat; he huddled over in the plastic chair, since there was an older guy sitting next to him, heavy-set and dressed in work clothes as if he’d come from some sort of construction site.

Feeling jittery with all of the people about and growing cold as the a/c hit his wet clothes, Neil wondered if the Hemmicks had been called yet about the accident; he’d received a text from Andrew telling him to come here, no details other than his friend was in the ER at this hospital. He was debating if he should try texting Andrew back when he heard his name be called out.

Once more standing up in a rush and nearly slipping, Neil took off as fast as he could toward the hunched figure standing by the police officer near the curtained alcoves. “An-andrew,” he choked out, doing his best to keep from being panicked at the sight of the cop. “Are you all right? What happened?”

He was surprised when Andrew reached out and grabbed hold of the front of Neil’s long-sleeved t-shirt as if to prove that Neil was real – it was left-handed because of Andrew’s right arm being in a sling. Neil noticed other things, such as the fact that Andrew appeared to be wearing Aaron’s clothes instead of his usual all black outfit, and that he wasn’t wearing his arm guards. “Yeah, I’m *fine*,” Andrew told him.

Neil raised his own right hand slowly and gave Andrew’s left one a gentle squeeze, a bit flustered by the unusual display of… well, the unusual display, and noticed the odd look that the police officer was giving them. It wasn’t one of disgust or disapproval, more of a slight discomfort even though he smiled a little. “I’m glad your… uhm, your friend could make it, should help with the… well, it should help. The rest of your family will be here soon.”

“Yes.” Andrew twisted his hand around to grab onto Neil’s, while Neil tried to figure out if perhaps he’d slipped somewhere along the way and hit his head on the floor, and this was all one mass hallucination.

“I’m going to go get some coffee, do you need anything?”

“I’m fine now, Neil’s here.” Andrew’s voice sounded a bit off, the words less crisp than normal as he tugged on Neil’s hand as if it were a leash, so the officer – Adams, from his badge, nodded before he walked away.

“Andrew….”

Andrew shuffled them over toward a pair of chairs and hissed as he sat down while still holding Neil’s hand; his borrowed clothes were dirty and speckled with blood, and his face bruised. Neil was certain he’d have two black eyes come morning, and was lucky he hadn’t broken his nose. “She’s dead,” he murmured in French, and Neil noticed that his eyes were a bit unfocused – he probably was had been given something powerful for the pain, maybe even a muscle relaxant.

“What happened?” Neil leaned in closer and, after pausing to wait for Andrew’s nod, scooted over until they were sitting right next to each other so they could whisper. “Why are you doing ‘this’?” He gave Andrew’s left hand a squeeze.

“She thought I was Aaron, it’s the only way she’d get in the car with me, after the fight we had this morning. She had stopped by the bar before coming home and had another pill, all because she didn’t want to put up with me.” Andrew paused to glance around, probably to make sure no one was paying any attention to them. “I waited until the storm got really bad to get into another fight with her, to reveal I wasn’t Aaron, to start taunting her. One of the things I hit her with was us.” He paused again and gave his head a slight shake as if to clear it. “I mean… well, you know.”

“Oh?” Neil was a bit surprised about that. “Any reason?”

“Hmm, because she’s as bad as her brother about that stuff and I knew it would make her loose it? And if anyone digs into tonight, I’ll tell them the truth, I came out to my dear mother and she freaked out.” A slight smile curved Andrew’s lips, which must have hurt because the bottom one was split. “As of right now, they’re just putting it down to bad weather and a car in lousy condition. I doubt they’ll want to dig any deeper when they get the… blood report, especially if Luther has anything to say, but it’s best to cover all the bases.”

Mindful of the nurses’ station not that far away, Neil sighed as he leaned his head toward Andrew’s. “Nice to know there’s a reason for it, I thought maybe the accident had caused irreparable brain damage or something, from the way you’re acting.”

“230%, Josten,” Andrew warned as he gave Neil’s hand a painful squeeze. “I think you need to reconsider that pathetic sense of humor-“

“Ah, sorry to interrupt, but it looks like the rest of your family has arrived.” There was a slight blush to Officer Adams’ cheeks as he gestured with the hand holding a cup of coffee, almost spilling it, down the hall.

Lexington was closer to the apartment building than Luther’s home, so it made sense that Neil had beaten them to it, and he was willing to bet that Andrew had notified him first. As he stood up, Andrew’s hand still in his since he helped his friend to his feet, he noticed the worried expressions on Luther’s and Aaron’s faces, the confusion on Maria’s… and then the disgust and coldness that overcame Luther when he caught sight of Andrew – caught sight of Andrew holding Neil’s hand.

“Andrew, what is going on?”

Instead of pulling away, Andrew leaned against Neil as if needing his support. “Hello Luther. I’m afraid that there’s some bad news.” He glanced at Officer Adams. “Might be a good time to get one of the doctors.”

“Ah….” The police officer appeared confused just then, but one of the nurses seemed to have been paying attention and ducked into one of the curtained room. “Sir,” he told Luther. “I’m afraid there’s been an accident.”

“I know,” Luther snapped, his attention still focused on Neil and Andrew. “We were told to come here – where is my sister?” Beside him, Aaron was staring at Andrew with a look of growing horror.

A doctor, dressed in scrubs that looked too clean, as if she’d just changed into them, stepped out of one of the curtained rooms. “Are you the Minyards?” she asked as she looked at a clipboard in her left hand.

“The Hemmicks and the Minyards,” Luther told her, while Maria hovered at his side. “What’s going on? Where is my sister? Is she injured?”

The doctor took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m Doctor Ramiro, and I’m sorry to tell you, but… your sister sustained too many critical injuries in the accident. We did everything we could, but the chest and head trauma were too much. I’m sorry.”

Luther stared at her as if she was talking in a foreign language. “But… Tilda… she can’t.” His face crumpled for a moment, a flash of pure sorrow, and then he turned his attention back on Andrew. “How is it possible that she’s dead and you’re alive?” His eyes narrowed as he took in the way that Neil shuffled to stand in front of Andrew. “You abominations.” He made as if to lunge forward, but Officer Adams dropped his coffee and threw his arms up in front of the man.

“Hey! Look, I know you just received some upsetting news, but don’t take it out on the poor kid, all right? He just lost his mother!”

Neil thought that he heard Andrew make a faint humming sound as the officer pushed a furious Luther down the hall, telling him that he needed to sit and take a moment to calm down, to accept the news. Aaron stood in the middle of the corridor, appearing almost tiny in his rain-damp clothes, the bruise on his face darkened both by the harsh fluorescent lights above the shock-induced pallor of his skin.

“Aaron, are you coming?” Luther called out.

“No, he’s staying with us,” Andrew said, and Neil looked over his shoulder to find his friend staring intently at his twin.

Aaron stood still for a couple of seconds, the shock of the news evident on his face, and then he could be seen forcefully swallowing as if trying to keep something down before he, motions jerky, made his way over to Neil and Andrew. Luther’s face became even more flushed with anger, but he didn’t say anything, just glared in their direction with open hatred, while Aaron stared at the floor the entire time. He didn’t look at Andrew at all, not even when he reached his brother’s side.

Andrew was definitely humming just then, the sound faint yet pleased. Neil shivered, his skin clammy from the contrast of wet clothes and his friend’s warmth along his back, and hoped that they could go home soon so he could figure out what the hell was going on.

*******

As soon as Andrew was cleared to leave, statement all done and signed off by his doctor, he got out of the hospital as fast as he could, which wasn’t nearly as fast as he liked between the sore ribs and shoulder and just… just *everything*. The meds they’d put in him didn’t help, they made his head feel funny and body strange even if it did put a damper on the pain. He didn’t like that, didn’t like not being in complete control, not under the best of circumstances and especially not when he needed his head clear. It had unnerved him more than he had liked, having the shit in his veins and Officer Adams looming over him and asking about the accident, but he had stuck to the story, had stuck with what he had planned out over the last several weeks. Then Neil had shown up and… things had gotten a little fuzzier, all of a sudden. Andrew had just wanted to rest, to relax for some reason, and that annoyed him a great deal. But it had worked to his favor, judging from Adams’ reaction and then Luther’s. Oh Luther. That couldn’t have gone better than if Andrew had paid the man – it would be so easy to draw the conclusion that if *he* had reacted in such a way, that Tilda couldn’t have taken it much better, if the police dug too deep into the accident.

At least the asshole insisted on handling the remains of his departed sister, the last thing he had snarled at them as they walked past him and Maria in the waiting room. Andrew didn’t care, he had suffered Tilda while she was alive and refused to have anything to do with her now that she was dead. Neil hovered near him as if to spot him as he limped out to the Nissan, the rain having finally stopped at some point, while Aaron followed as if an unwilling shadow.

“You’re going to feel like shit tomorrow,” Neil warned as he held the car door open for Andrew.

“Funny, I feel like shit now.”

“It’s going to be worse.” He waved the bag which contained the meds that a nurse had handed over for Andrew. “Just crawl into bed when you get home and keep the pills close at hand.” He shot a quick glance at Aaron, who got in the backseat on the other side of the car. “Do you want to stay at my place?”

“Tempting, but no.” Andrew didn’t think he could take sharing a bed tonight, even if it was just lying there, now that he was thinking a bit clearer. He didn’t like how the drugs had made him feel before, and if he had to take them again, would rather be alone in his bed. “And how do you know so much about car crashes, hmm?”

Neil waited until he was behind the wheel and had started the car to answer, again with a quick glance to Aaron. “Switzerland. We were run off the road. Always wear a seatbelt.” The words came out fast, clipped, and his hands clenched around the wheel for a couple of seconds as he let out a bitter laugh.

Andrew rubbed at his strained right shoulder, where the seatbelt had bit into it. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Too bad Tilda wasn’t wearing hers.”

Behind them, Aaron made a choking sound, as if biting back on a sob. It annoyed Andrew, but he was too tired and sore to turn around and confront his twin just then. Beside him, Neil muttered under his breath in what sounded to be German for a couple of seconds before he slanted a disapproving look at Andrew. “That was uncalled for, you know.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “It’s the truth.”

“Maybe you should try thinking a little before you speak, for once.” Neil gave a pointed look to the rear view mirror before he focused back on the road.

So what, Neil and Aaron were buddies now, members of the ‘my mom is dead’ club? Too tired and sore to put up with this shit, Andrew chose to just scoff instead.

The rest of the drive to the apartment was quiet, with Andrew fighting the pull of the drugs to fall asleep. When Neil parked the car and got out, Aaron scrambled out of the backseat while Neil, apparently having a change a heart, came around to open the door and give Andrew a hand out of the car. “You going to be all right with him?”

“Yes,” Andrew ground out; sitting down had not been his friend, since it felt as if his body had begun to seize up. It had been a long time since he’d been in as bad a shape as this, and he was *not* happy. “Just get me inside.”

“Okay.” Neil seemed to pick up on the fact that he wasn’t comfortable with being touched any more, and kept a light grip on his left arm as they made their way into the building and up to the fourth floor, where they found the door to Tilda’s apartment unlocked. Aaron mustn’t have wasted any time getting inside and grabbing her stash of Xanax, because he was already curled up in his bed and facing the wall, eyes closed as if asleep. Neil frowned at him as he set Andrew down on his own bed and helped him undress. “Bother with a shower?”

“No.” Andrew just wanted to lie down himself. “Where’s the stuff.”

“Here.” Neil handed over the pills and left the room, to return with a glass of water. “Don’t take too many.” While Andrew took one of each, a pain pill and a muscle relaxant, he dug out Andrew’s phone from his – well, Aaron’s – jeans and set it down on the bed. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Don’t go off and do anything stupid,” Andrew warned as he shoved the pill bottles beneath his pillows where he had stashed his arm guards earlier in the day, along with the phone, and then stretched out on the bed; everything still hurt, and the sling was annoying. Ah well, the meds should kick in soon enough…

He thought he heard Neil say ‘no promises’, but at that point, his friend was too far away and he was so tired, the day’s events finally catching up to him. He fell asleep… and the next thing he knew, the room was flooded with light and everything *hurt*. He let out a curse as he forced his body to sit up, his muscles screaming in pain, then limped his way to the bathroom to take care of his very full bladder. On the way back to the bedroom, he caught sight of his reflection and was mildly impressed with how swollen and bruised his face looked after having gone a round with an airbag. Yeah, no shaving for the next day or two….

He fished under the pillows for the meds and his phone, and barely resisted the urge to collapse back in the bed, only because he needed to get something to eat and there was a text from Neil saying ‘dropped off some food’. Hobbling his way into the kitchen, he found Aaron sitting down at the table, face grim enough as if mourning the dead, and a bag of takeout in front of him.

“Better have left something for me.” The words were slurred a little, due to Andrew’s sore jaw and split lip.

Aaron didn’t look up from the breakfast burrito he was eating. “Don’t worry, your boyfriend bought a lot.” He sounded as happy as he looked.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Andrew said as he spied the coffee carrier left on the counter; he checked and let out a little hum of pleasure at discovering them both being mocha cappuccinos. Both went into the microwave to be heated up, while he shuffled over to the table to see what he could eat.

Meanwhile, Aaron just stared at him with something resembling exhausted exasperation. “You have sex with him, he lives two floors up from us, he brings you food when you’re hurt and you came out with him last night to the family. What is he, then?”

“A friend.” Hmm, his jaw was sore, but the burritos should be doable with their soft tortilla. If not he’d get a fork and just eat the filling. He took a couple of the egg and cheese ones over to the microwave to heat up now that the coffees were done, and used one of the drinks to wash down his morning dose of pills.

Behind him, Aaron made a frustrated noise. “A friend. Yeah, because a friend does all of that.” He ran his hands through his hair and gave the strands a hard tug. “I can’t… I’m not in the mood for this today. Mom *died* last night, you know. Do you even care? Or is it all right because you have your *friend*? Is everything all right just because you have your friend with benefits to still care about *you*?”

Andrew set the coffee cup down so he could shuffle around to face his twin. “Is this about Tilda? Are you upset about her?”

Aaron jerked his head to glare at him, at least for a couple of seconds before his gaze skittered away. “Of course I am! She’s our mother and she’s dead!”

“She’s *your* mother,” Andrew informed him without any emotion, because that’s what he felt for the woman – nothing. Well, some contempt, but she was dead now so she wasn’t even worth it anymore. “And she was a shitty one at that. She’s dead and you’re still carrying around the bruises from her pathetic type of ‘love’, so don’t tell me that I should care for her. She’s better off in the ground, and you’re better off without her.” Why couldn’t the idiot see that?

The look on Aaron’s face just then was one of utter confusion. “How can you not care at all that she’s dead?”

“The same way she didn’t care at all that she gave me away. The same way she didn’t care that she beat you up and fucked up your life. She’s not worth it, and I don’t waste any energy on people who aren’t worth it.” He went back to the counter to fetch his coffee and his burrito, a simmering rage building inside of him. Aaron had asked him for help, had said that he wanted things to get better. Andrew had promised to help him, had lived up to his end of the deal… and now his twin was crying over Tilda? Over the person who had abused him?

“She’s still our… my mother,” Aaron choked out. “She’s all I have. Was all I have.”

Andrew’s hands curled into fists for a few seconds, before he forced them to unclench so he could shove the coffees back into the drink carrier. “*Was*. Now you have me.” What had been the point to the promise between them, he wondered as he added the burritos to the carrier as well.

“Eh?” Aaron sat up and twisted in the chair to look at him. “Wait – you’re not going to leave and… I don’t know, leave and go off with Neil?”

Where did that come from? Ready to go back to the bedroom, Andrew paused with the carrier in his left hand and frowned at his brother. “No, we made a deal – we stick together until graduation, remember? I’m not going anywhere.”

Something that looked a lot like relief washed over Aaron’s face and he rubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “I… I thought… okay.”

“I don’t go back on my word,” Andrew told him. “Do you?” That said, he hobbled to the bedroom with the intention of staying in bed as much as possible that day.

*******

Neil sat on Andrew’s bed and watched as his friend went through Aaron’s closet to find something to wear for the funeral; he’d gone out to buy a plain pair of black pants and a grey button-down shirt, and still had serious misgivings about attending the event, but Andrew was adamant about him being there for some reason. He got the impression that when Andrew burned bridges, he just didn’t pour a little metaphorical gasoline and light a match, he went all out. “You know-“

“We’re going,” Andrew told him, cutting off what he was going to say. “It’ll be fun.”

“We need to discuss your definition of ‘fun’.” Neil sighed as he fussed with the long sleeves of the new dress shirt. “I draw the line when it comes to torturing small animals.”

“Don’t worry, I’m more amused by tormenting bigots and Neils.” There was a slight smirk on Andrew’s face as he said that, which was wiped away as he attempted to put on the white dress shirt with his still sore shoulder and the arm guards. Neil sighed again as he got up and went over to help, mindful of the space Andrew had put between them the last couple of days; he only touched the shirt, and felt a sense of relief when his friend didn’t object and didn’t pull away when he was done.

“You’re an asshole,” he reminded Andrew as he smiled. “And where’s your sling?”

“It’s annoying.” There looked to be something almost dangerously close to a pout on Andrew’s face just then, which Neil would put down to the meds except that he knew that Andrew was cutting back on them.

“Yeah, but keep wearing it for the full week if you want your shoulder to heal.” He found it on the one dresser and was fussing with Andrew’s collar as his friend slid his arm back into the thing when Aaron entered the room, fresh from a shower and with only a towel wrapped around his waist. “Ah, I’ll go wait in the living room.”

“Why, not like he has anything you haven’t seen before,” Andrew drawled as he searched for a pair of shoes to wear, and so missed the glares he got from both Neil and Aaron for the comment.

“Right now I’m wondering why I bother seeing yours,” Neil muttered as he left the room, while Aaron huffed in laughter.

He was standing out on balcony and staring out over the parking lot when Andrew came out to join him, and shoved a mug of something alcoholic into his hands. “I’m not drinking – someone has to drive us to the funeral.” It smelled to be rum.

“It’s not for you, just hold it.” Neil accepted the mug and watched as Andrew fished a pack of cigarettes out of his sling and lit two of them, put one between his lips and handed the other one over to Neil in exchange for the mug. “So, what’s bothering you today?”

Neil almost said ‘what isn’t?’ because the list was so long, but they didn’t have a lot of time before the funeral. So he went with the most important one first as he held the cigarette close enough to breathe in the smoke. “I never… you know, this is the first funeral I’ve gone to.” For someone he barely knew and didn’t even like.

“Ah.” Andrew breathed out a lungful of smoke and then took a long sip of the rum. “So nothing back in Baltimore?”

“No, my father… no family for him, none that he acknowledged at least, and Mum and I were never invited to anything… well, we were kept away from anything business-related. Guess for appearances’ sake. Definitely didn’t attend anything while we were on the run.” He wouldn’t call what he’d done on that beach back in California a funeral, either, just an act of desperation and grief, with no time at all for mourning.

Andrew had another sip before he spoke. “Well, you’re not missing much, from what I can tell. Attended a couple over the years, dragged to them by a foster family or two. Luther should keep a muzzle on today because of the other guests, be all holier than thou in public, there’ll be some stupid platitudes we have to sit through while everyone lies about how much of a good person Tilda was and shit like that.”

‘Should’. That was comforting to hear. “Great.” Neil inhaled some more smoke to help center himself. “I’ll save that drink for when we get back.” He had a feeling he’d need it then.

“I made sure to keep Aaron away from a bottle of vodka, just for you,” Andrew said before he finished off the mug. “So, is that it?”

Neil hesitated before he mentioned his other main concern. “Are we okay? I know a lot has happened lately, but…” But Andrew had seemed to shut him out, the last couple of days. Maybe it was because of Aaron needing him, maybe not….

Andrew stared into the empty mug as if he could will it to fill back up with rum and then sighed. “I didn’t like how the meds made me feel.”

“Ah. Okay.” Neil smiled a little as he watched some ash fall from the cigarette into the air below. “I should have known something was up when I didn’t get any extra percentage for picking you up a Happy Meal.”

He got a lit cigarette jabbed into his face. “I will get you back for that, Josten. It’s only a matter of time before someone tries to kill you, you’re a walking target after all, and it’s nothing but veggie omelets and pizza while you’re laid up in bed, you little shit. 232%,” Andrew snapped as he flicked ash on Neil’s new shirt.

Neil laughed a little as he brushed away the ash and was about to say something when he heard a chiming sound, and both him and Andrew turned to look back inside the apartment. They saw Aaron, dressed in black pants and a blue shirt, come out of the bedroom and go toward the front door, so they got rid of their cigarettes and headed back inside.

“Expecting anyone?”

Andrew shook his head. “We’re supposed to meet up with Luther and Maria at the funeral home, along with Tilda’s friends.” He gave Aaron an odd look, but his brother was busy with the door.

Neil didn’t know what he was expecting, for it to be Luther showing up to tell him and Andrew to stay away, for it to be one of Tilda’s coworkers or a friend stopping by to pay their respects privately, or maybe a police officer following up on the accident. Instead, it turned out to be a young man a couple of years older than him, dressed in a plain yet elegant black suit with a lavender shirt underneath. He was several inches taller than Neil, with a sun-darkened complexion and black hair cut close to the sides but left longer on the top. There was a nervous smile on his face as he stood in the doorway, one that widened as he caught sight of Aaron.

“Nicky!” Aaron seemed to know him, and embraced the stranger – Nicky – when he stepped into the apartment. “What are you doing here?” In a rare show of affection, Aaron hung on to him as if he was a lifeline, while beside Neil, Andrew took to scowling at the two young men.

“Oh my god, you’re still here! I was afraid you’d already left – ever since you called to tell me about Aunt Tilda it’s been, it’s been insane! There was getting the ticket and then the flight which was so blegh and then, yeah, not going to talk about my parents now, this is about you, okay? I’m here for you. But yeah, didn’t think it was going to be okay to stay there so I got a hotel, and the flight, I told you about the flight, right? Total blegh, so I barely had time to get to the hotel and change and here I am!” It all came out as if a constant stream of thought while he continued to hug Aaron. “Enough about me, how are you? Are you holding up all right?”

Aaron nodded as he pulled back, his expression a bit guarded once more. “I’m… it’s been rough, but it’s good that you’re here.”

“I understand that a lot’s been going on. I’m here for you now.” Nicky gave Aaron a pat on the shoulder and then glanced around. “Uhm, didn’t you say something about Andrew?” He then seemed to notice Andrew and Neil standing back a bit – he smiled at Andrew, since he was standing in front of Neil. “Hi! I’m your cousin Nicky.” His smile faltered a little. “Uhm, hopefully you’ve heard good things about me.”

“A bit,” Andrew said, his tone flat and Neil certain his expression blank to give nothing away.

Andrew’s reaction seemed to deflate some of Nicky’s exuberant energy, but he still tried. “Well, it’s great to finally meet you! I’ve been in Germany, great country, I’ll tell you all about it later, and – wow! Who’s this? Aaron, who is this cutie? Why didn’t you tell me about the cutie?” He rocked up onto his toes as if to look over Andrew at Neil.

“What cutie?” Aaron turned around and snorted. “That’s Neil. I told you about Neil.”

“You told me about the ‘scrawny ginger friend’, and *that*,” he pointed at Neil while glaring at Aaron, “is not a ‘scrawny ginger friend’!”

“He’s a ‘friend’, all right,” Aaron muttered.

Nicky continued on as if Aaron hadn’t said anything. “*That* is gorgeous, and should do just fine to help me through my Erik withdrawals, thank you very much!”

“He’s also underage,” Aaron pointed out, not that Neil thought it mattered to Nicky as Neil cringed back a bit, suddenly disturbed by the delighted grin on the eager man’s face.

“He’s also not a ‘that’,” Andrew snapped.

“He also can hear everything,” Neil mumbled as he wondered if he could retreat back to the balcony.

Nicky made a grabbing motion over Andrew’s head. “Come here, cutie, and let me introduce myself prop-ow!” He gasped as Andrew latched onto and twisted his right arm about.

“He is not to be touched,” Andrew told Nicky in almost a friendly manner, except for the chilling smile on his face. “Understand?” He twisted Nicky’s arm some more until Nicky cried out again.

“Ow! Fuck, yes, I get it! What are you, his bodyguard or something?” Nicky pouted as he rubbed his now free arm.

“No, he’s his *friend*,” Aaron sneered while using air quotes.

Nicky stared at Aaron in shock, his jaw agape, then back at Andrew and Neil, at the way Andrew stood in front of Neil with a glower on his face and Neil tugged on the cuff of his left sleeve and did his best to melt into the carpet. “What, they’re… oooh.” His dark brown eyes went wide. “Oh! Oh wow! Oh, you’re just adorable, the two of you!” His arms held out wide, he went to hug Andrew. “Let me welcome you the fami- what the hell!” He backpedaled in a rush, panic clear on his face, when Andrew pulled a knife. “What is wrong with you?”

“Don’t touch me, either,” Andrew told him as he flipped the small weapon once and then held it loosely in his right hand.

“Aaron, why didn’t you tell me he’s gay and psychotic and dating a cutie?”

“Why spoil the surprise?” Aaron sounded tired as he headed toward the kitchen, where Neil imagined he was going for whatever liquor was still left at that point; he was about ready to join him by now. “Welcome back.”

“Yeah, I’m feeling the love,” Nicky muttered as he eyed Andrew with obvious concern, who was still flipping the knife. “So nice to meet you both.”

“Uhm, nice to meet you, too,” Neil murmured as he reached out to let his hand hover over Andrew’s right arm, which really needed to be back in the damn sling. “Save the bloodshed for the actual funeral, okay?” he told his friend in French.

Andrew sighed as he returned the knife to its sheathe. “So demanding you are,” he answered back in the same language.

“Please note that doesn’t mean there should be actual bloodshed at the damn thing.” Neil bit into his bottom lip as he followed Andrew into the kitchen while noting how Nicky’s face lit up once more.

“Too late, no take-backs.”

“Shit.”

“Oh ho, you two are so interesting,” Nicky sang out as he followed them.

“Why are you here again?” Andrew shot him a displeased frown as he took the bottle of rum, which Aaron had used to fill up a glass, and filled up another mug for himself; Neil didn’t ask what had happened to the other one.

“For Aunt Tilda’s funeral, which we should get to soon, yeah? And… you know, maybe a bit sober, too?” Nicky took to frowning as well while he watched Aaron and Andrew drink.

“Your parents know you’re coming?” Andrew asked over the rim of the mug.

Nicky swore under his breath as he fetched his own glass and poured himself some rum.

Great, looked like Neil was stuck driving all of them.

*******

They arrived at the funeral about half an hour late, Neil driving the four of them in Nicky’s lousy rental car; Nicky had complained about being stuck in the back of the car he was paying for, but one look from Andrew shut him up. Well, mostly shut him up, as he fake-whispered to Aaron something about letting the ‘couple’ have the front seats. Too bad it would look suspicious if another family member died in Andrew’s presence so soon…

Still, it was amusing to see Luther’s face turn red when the four of them walked in, Neil at Andrew’s side and Aaron and Nicky behind them, his expression at first thunderous and then forced into that usual sourness by an evident strong amount of will when Maria squeezed his left arm and whispered into his ear. Neil took a seat toward the back of the viewing room, the look on his face stubborn and clearly telling Andrew that there was a limit to how far he’d ‘play’ along, so Andrew sat down next to him while Aaron went up to the casket to say his goodbyes or whatever to Tilda. From this far away, it looked as if they did a semi-decent job of putting her back together. Nicky went about halfway down the aisle as if he wanted to do the same, but the presence of his parents kept him at bay.

After a couple of minutes, Aaron had his fill of staring at a dead body and left the coffin, and a few of Tilda’s friends or whatever patted him on the back and gave him hugs as they offered their fake condolences. During that time, Maria left Luther’s side and approached Nicky, and the hope evident on the young man’s face just then made Andrew want to throw up.

“Mom?”

“Nicky, you look… you look well.” She gave him a tight smile.

“Yeah, Germany agrees with me, it seems.” He gave a nervous laugh and brushed his right hand along the front of his suit; with them standing that close together, one could see the resemblance between the two. “Erik drags me along with him on the weekends when he-“

Maria’s slight smile slipped away in an instant. “You’re still seeing *him*.” Behind her, Luther’s sour expression turned into blatant disapproval.

Nicky laughed again, and Andrew noticed how the hope had been extinguished. “Yes, I am, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you came home.”

“I came home because of Aunt Tilda, because Aaron called, not because I left Erik.”

She gave him a slight, dismissive wave of her right hand, and it was clear that motion hurt Nicky as much as if she’d insulted him. “Then there’s nothing left to say, is there?” She turned her back on him and went over to her husband, who gave his only son a cold look before he turned away as well.

Nicky stared after them for a few seconds with his shoulders bowed, before he shook his head and went up to Tilda’s coffin; he was only there for a moment or two before he returned to where Andrew and Neil were sitting. “Uhm, you going to pay your respects?”

“No reason,” Andrew told him. “Nothing to respect.”

That earned him an odd look from Nicky, who just shook his head again. “Then why are you here?”

“Because Aaron wanted to come.” There was a bit more bitterness to that than he had intended, which caused Neil to give him a curious look and Nicky to offer up a sad smile.

“Yeah, she’s… she was his mom,” was all he said, with enough sadness and a hint of bitterness as well that Andrew had to wonder if Nicky knew a bit about what had been going on between Tilda and Aaron. “It’s a good thing he has you now, to help him through it.”

Andrew scoffed at that – Aaron didn’t seem to think that, with the way he’d been sulking the past couple of days and clinging to the memory of Tilda, with the odd looks he’d been giving Andrew when he thought Andrew wasn’t paying attention. “Whatever.”

Beside him, Neil shifted about in an obvious sign of discomfort as he gazed around the room of the funeral parlor, at the beige coffin at the far end of the room, the rows of empty chairs, the few people gathered around Aaron and another few around Luther and Maria, then the burst of colors from the flowers. “Uhm, it’s… it’s a small one? The funeral, I mean?”

Nicky smiled at him, the expression a bit sad. “Tilda didn’t have that many friends since she just moved back here a couple of years ago, so I imagine most of the people showing up with be for my parents.” His expression brightened for a moment. “Though it looks like someone thought enough of her to send some pretty arrangements.” He motioned to one in particular, a huge display of red roses and white chrysanthemums wrapped with a black ribbon. For some reason, Neil frowned when he saw it.

Things were quiet after that, which Andrew was fine with, but Nicky started to fidget after about a minute. “So, you two. The two of you.” He grinned as he tugged on the cuffs of his lavender shirt. “All Aaron told me is that you showed up back in June, that everything was hush-hush after we were all freaked out that you were dead in a ditch somewhere, and lo and behold the police call to say you were in town all safe and sound with a ‘scrawny ginger friend’.” His grin widened into a leer as he stared at Neil, which was wiped away by a flinch when Andrew leaned toward the moron with his left hand hovering near his right wrist, the cuffs of his borrowed white shirt left loose for a reason. “Okay,” Nicky groaned as he held up his hands as if in surrender. “Not touching, not doing anything, I get it, just some aesthetic appreciation, I’m not a perv, sheesh.”

“You’re a moron with a slow learning curve,” Andrew insisted with a flat, warning look.

“We’re in a funeral home,” Neil moaned as he buried his face in his hands.

“Good, then no worries about what to do with the body,” Andrew told him.

“He’s joking, isn’t he?” Nicky gave a nervous laugh that faded away when Neil lifted his head to stare at him in a blank manner. “Really? Wow, should have had another round of shots before coming.” He wiped at his face, which now had a faint sheen of sweat. “Where was I? Before the death threats and all? Ah yes, our long lost Andrew showing up with Neil.” He hummed a little and tapped his fingers against the back of an empty chair. “So, what’s your story?”

“There’s no story,” Andrew informed him with growing impatience and homicidal urges.

“There’s always a story,” Nicky told him, for once with a hint of seriousness to his demeanor. ”And you two?”  He flicked his fingers in their direction. “You two reek of it. So, how long have you been together? Is it true love? Tell me it’s true love, that’s my favorite. Two star-crossed lovers who met and knew it was forever as soon as your paths crossed, and you just had to bring him back home to meet the family. Am I right?”

“Oh my god,” Neil ground out as he once more buried his face in his hands. “Make him stop.”

“Go find an empty coffin,” Andrew demanded as he flexed his wrists. “Then distract the others and I’ll make it quick.”

Nicky’s brown eyes went wide as he jumped up from his chair, and almost knocked over the ones behind him. “Hey! What, don’t take things so seriously, sheesh!” He took a hasty step backwards, and bumped into Aaron. “Aaron! I think your brother is trying to kill me! For like, real!”

Again, there was a flash of something across Aaron’s face, too quick to read, and then he shoved Nicky back down into his chair. “Quick making a spectacle of yourself,” Aaron snapped. “Be respectful for once.”

A hurt look came over Nicky’s face. “But I am! I just… I just wanted to know a little more about Andrew and Neil.”

“Now’s not the time.” Aaron seemed tired and a little stressed, and just about collapsed into an empty chair. “Who thought it was a good idea, this funeral thing?”

“Your uncle,” Andrew reminded him; he had to wonder how many of Tilda’s pills were left, and if Aaron was nursing them along to stretch them out. That would explain the recent drinking, and the pot the last two nights. Andrew hoped that she had at least stashed the more potent stuff or kept it on her, or there would be problems later on.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence during the viewing period of the funeral, with Aaron getting up now and then to talk to a few people while Luther and Maria seemed to hold court across the room, happy to be the center of attention for what did turn out to be the majority of their friends stopping by to offer their condolences. Nicky fidgeted with his phone and got up a time or two to make a call, in-between staring forlornly at his parents, who were more than happy to pretend that he didn’t exist.

Andrew went out once for a cigarette, relieved to be away from everyone for a while, and Neil went out to fetch them some water. When people were gathered near the coffin for a bit, Neil got up to check out the flowers; the tense set to his shoulders and thin line to his lips when he returned made Andrew reach out to hold on to his left wrist and give it a painful squeeze. “The truth,” he reminded his idiot after Neil sat down and didn’t say anything for five minutes. “Who sent them?”

Neil’s lips pressed together for a couple of seconds before he answered, but he didn’t shake off Andrew’s hold; Aaron, who had taken to twitching in his seat, suddenly became still as he watched the two of them. “They’re for you and me, and they’re from Riko and Kevin. ‘For your loss’, it said.” His breath hitched when Andrew’s fingers tightened in reflex, and then they let go – only for Neil to grab on in return. “Don’t,” he breathed out. “Just let this one go, okay?” There was a pleading note to his voice. “Not here.”

Andrew stared at the ostentatious arrangement of flowers and imagined picking it up and throwing it across the room, imagined stomping on the blooms until they were nothing but crushed petals. “Fine, let him waste his money on useless things.” He supposed it would be best to not always rise to Riko’s bait – that would annoy the asshole just as much as the usual taunts.

“Thank you.” Neil slumped back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. “Just… just let them rot.”

Yes, just let them rot, like dear Tilda.

Meanwhile, Aaron leaned closer to Andrew. “’Riko and Kevin’, eh? Like in the Ravens? Why would they send flowers for my mother?”

Andrew gave him a cold smile. “What did I tell you about things that don’t concern you?”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed upon hearing that, but he didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned his gaze on Neil, who was wearing a hole in the cuff of his new shirt, he was tugging on it so much, and studied him for several seconds before he once more resumed playing some sort of game on his phone, his expression now thoughtful.

Fortunately, soon after that Luther got up in front of the room and introduced a man with just as dour a face who commenced with the actual funeral part of the whole thing, a boring ceremony where useless words were said and toneless songs song, and during the whole thing Andrew and Neil just sat there silent the entire time. Aaron wiped at his eyes a couple of times, as did Nicky, but they didn’t partake in the singing or repeating trite lines, either.

When the whole nonsense was done, Aaron came over to Andrew, his expression serious and posture defensive. “We’re going to the cemetery now. You can… there’s a spot for a pallbearer, if you want it.” Behind him, Nicky looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t.

“Seems to me that you should ask someone who cared about her,” Andrew told him.

Aaron closed his eyes and sighed. “Fine, be that way. I just thought… I shouldn’t have asked.” He sounded bitter as he turned around and went over to his uncle, and Nicky watched him go with something akin to pain.

“Why don’t you just ask,” Andrew snapped at his cousin.

“Because that’s not the point,” Nicky answered. “They didn’t call to tell me about her, they didn’t call to tell me anything and it’s clear they don’t want me here. If it wasn’t for Aaron….” He let out a shaky breath. “I’m just here for him, him and you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“You’re still family.” Nicky gave him a weak grin. “Now come on, I always wanted a cute chauffer, time to take advantage of it.”

Andrew decided to let that slide with just a warning glare, especially since Neil seemed eager to leave the funeral home. Along the way out of the room, Andrew made certain to grab a handful of roses and mums and twist them out of the artful arrangement, then drop them to the floor so he could stomp on them.

They filed outside to wait in the sun, and a few minutes later Aaron, Luther and two strange men came out, two on each side, to push Tilda’s casket long on a cart toward the waiting hearse; Andrew supposed they didn’t have enough people to carry it, which would have been amusing considering Aaron’s short height compared to the other three men. Once the casket was tucked away, everyone split up to ride to the cemetery; Luther said something to Aaron, but he shook his head and came over to Andrew, Nicky and Neil so they could ride together again in the rental car.

It was for the most part a quiet ride, save for Nicky babbling on in German on the phone for a couple of minutes – Andrew assumed he was talking to his boyfriend again, Erik. There was mentions of ‘missing you’ and ‘love you’ and ‘no, not yet, still waiting to see what happens, I should have an idea soon’. He was quiet for a minute or two and sighed. “I think it’s getting better, I think I’m growing on him.” Then Nicky laughed and asked Erik about something, and told him to have a good time before hanging up.

“You sound disgusting when you talk to him,” Aaron grumbled, his attention focused on the view outside as if he couldn’t be bothered to look at anyone inside the car.

“Hmm, he makes me so happy.” Nicky didn’t seem to take the insult to heart – probably because he was used to them, from the family.

“I don’t want to hear about any of that… stuff.”

“Aw, but you must be used to it, right?” Nicky waved toward Andrew and Neil. “What about the two lovebirds?”

“Oh god, please never say that word again,” Neil groaned as the car swerved a little in its lane.

“Yes, go ahead if you want to lose your tongue,” Andrew told the moron as he twisted about in the seat and brandished a knife. “In fact, might be best if I just remove it now and spare us all the annoyance.”

Nicky gave a nervous laugh as he pressed back against the corner of the door, as far as he could to get away from Andrew. “Aaron, a little help here?”

“Nope, you’re the idiot, you’re on your own with him,” Aaron told him in a bored tone. “I want nothing to do with you.”

“But I came back for you!”

“Don’t care.”

“Neil!”

“I’m busy driving.”

“Neil! He’s climbing back here, help me!”

Neil sighed and made a swatting motion at Andrew but didn’t connect. “Could you not kill him in the rental car, how would we explain the bloodstains when it’s time to return it?”

Andrew thought about that for a moment and returned back to his seat. “Fine, I’ll wait until we get to the cemetery. Easier to dispose of him there anyway.”

“I’m not digging any graves today,” Neil insisted, his attention focused on the road in front of him.

Someone really needed to get over that hang-up. “There’s already an open one waiting for us, we’ll just dump him in there.” Andrew continued to give Nicky a cold, flat look while he put back on his seat belt so that the man knew in no uncertain terms that he’d just received a delay in execution and not a reprieve.

Still huddled in the far corner, Nicky gulped, the sound audible in the now quiet car, then turned his head just a little in Aaron’s direction, his eyes locked on Andrew. “Ah, he’s kidding, right? They both are?”

Aaron, meanwhile, had taken to regarding Andrew and Neil in a thoughtful manner. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“But what did I do? All I was just talk about how lo-“ Nicky gasped when Andrew began to lean into the back of the car again. “Aw come on, you’re going to kill me over *that*?”

“I told you, they’re ‘friends’.” Aaron made the air quotes around the word once more. “They’re not all sappy and disgusting like you, they’re in denial about their relationship.”

“What relationship?” Andrew and Neil said, almost at the same time.

“See?” Aaron sounded rather pleased with himself just then, and turned back to looking out the window with a slight smile on his lips, the first time Andrew had seen him smile since Tilda’s death.

“Oh now come on, that’s just… that’s just *sad*,” Nicky insisted as he sat forward on the seat. “Love is a beautiful thing,” he glared when Aaron made a gagging sound, “it’s nothing to be ashamed of no matter who you- ack!” He rushed back into the corner when Andrew waved the knife right in front of his face. “You’ve got issues, kid. Just saying.”

“And you’ve got a death wish, now shut up,” Andrew told him.

“Why am I even here for this?” Neil sounded as if he was talking out loud to himself, but he had a hint of that disturbing grin on his lips.

“Because he’s your ‘friend’,” Aaron said with what sounded to be a great deal of satisfaction.

Neil was quiet for several seconds after that, while the grin grew stronger and his knuckles turned white around the steering wheel. When he next spoke, it was in French. “You even try raising the percentage on me today, I will drive this car into the nearest wall with you in it, do you understand?”

Andrew regarded him for several seconds, the grin, the knuckles, the two morons by blood in the back and the wild look in those pale blue eyes and just reached into his sling for his packet of cigarettes so he could shake one free. Nicky made a small noise of complaint, probably about him smoking in the car, but another cold glare had him falling quiet, and once it was lit, Andrew held it out to Neil. His friend accepted it with a shaky breath and held it between his knuckles, the one hand on the steering wheel, and cracked the window a little. He used his other hand to steer while he held the cigarette near his face and breathed in the smoke, uncaring about the ash that fell on his clothes, and Andrew lit another one for himself. The rest of the drive passed on silence, and they reached the cemetery soon after they finished the cigarettes.

It was more of the same when they gathered around the grave; a few chairs set out even though most people chose to stand. It looked as if only a few people from the funeral home had decided to come about to the internment, probably those closest to Luther and Maria, and it was as if there were two sides to the ‘mourners’ – Luther’s side and Aaron’s. Andrew stood beside his brother with Neil and Nicky at his back and watched on while the minister from before spoke some more useless words, and Luther stared at Tilda’s casket while looking as if he’d never had a single moment of happiness in his life and his wife crying quietly at his side.

Then the senseless droning was done and Aaron threw some dirt on the casket as it was lowered into the waiting grave, followed by Luther, and Andrew tried not to be annoyed when he spotted the tears streaking his brother’s face; Tilda didn’t deserve them, not when there was still lingering bruises from her last day alive. Not when Aaron was shaking from the need to take another Xanax. So Andrew clenched his hand before he said something, mindful of Neil’s earlier admonishment of ‘not here’.

They were headed back to the car when they heard Luther’s voice call out to them – to Aaron.

“Aaron, I think you should come home with us, son.” On Andrew’s left, Nicky stiffened upon hearing that last word.

Ahead of them, Aaron stopped and was still for a moment before turning around; he paused for another second as he looked at Andrew, and then he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Uncle Luther, but I- we’re going home.” The rest of them turned around to face the man as well, and found him standing a few feet away, with Maria behind him.

Luther, still dressed all prim and proper in his black suit, white shirt and black tie, glared at Aaron as if offended by the denial. “You need to be with your family, Aaron. Come home with us, there’s room for you there.”

Aaron shook his head again. “I have a home, and I’m going back to it. Thanks, but no thanks.”

“You need….” Luther looked at Andrew and cleared his throat, disproval plain his lined face.

“He needs what, exactly?” Andrew smiled a little, the expression mocking, and reached over to tug Neil closer just to goad the man.

The action made Luther’s face become flushed with anger. “He needs to be with family, with *proper* people, not degenerates.” The insult made Nicky moan, the sound faint and pained.

“I think we’re going to disagree on who exactly the ‘degenerates’ are here,” Andrew informed the man. “And he has family, he doesn’t need you.”

“But he does, you both do.” A suspicious gleam came into Luther’s pale eyes just then. “Both of you are under-age and will be for the next few months, and that means you need adult supervision. As your only surviving adult family member, that means *I* am responsible for you, so you *will* come home with me.” His thin lips twisted in a pleased smile. “I will be certain to put a stop to… certain unsavory activities.” His eyes narrowed as his gaze fell onto Neil.

Andrew was about to step forward to let the bastard know in no uncertain terms what he thought about Luther’s misconception that he would have any control over Andrew’s life – that Andrew would let *anyone* take control over his life every again - when Nicky stepped into his view with a determined look on his face.

“Actually, you’re wrong,” he said, his voice quiet but determined. “You’re not the only adult relative they have.”

“Nicky, this doesn’t concern you,” Luther told him without even looking in his direction.

“Yes it does, Dad. You see, I’m old enough now to be their legal guardian.” That got his father’s attention in a hurry, the first time he’d paid proper attention to his son all day long. “And I’ll do it, I’ll do it in a heartbeat before I’ll let you get your hands on them.”

Luther’s demeanor became extremely displeased, while behind him, Maria took to shaking her head. “You? You’re barely an adult. How can you support them? Where would you live? Do you think a judge would approve of someone like *you* over-“

Andrew cut him off before he could insult Nicky any further – his cousin was an annoyance, but Nicky was much preferred over Luther and wasn’t quite so bad after standing up for him and Aaron. “Trust me, money isn’t an issue.” He smiled at Luther’s confusion and nudged a now wincing Neil in the side. “How soon can we buy a house?”

“I hate you,” Neil murmured in French as he rubbed at his face again. “The lines of credit will extend to one, as long as it’s not too extravagant. I’ve already been looking into something like that if we were going to stay here much longer,” he said louder in English, to Luther and Nicky’s shock. For some reason, Aaron wasn’t so surprised, but Andrew had a feeling that Aaron was learning to take things in stride when it came to Neil.

“And the lawyer?”

“I’m sure we can find a good one as soon as I call my…,” Neil narrowed his eyes as he looked at Luther and shook his head, “contact. Knowing him, it’ll be one of the best in the city.”

Yes, ‘Uncle’ Stuart was the type to have connections to the best and nastiest lawyers around. “Ready to push for a fight now?” Andrew asked Luther with more than a little satisfaction. “I assure you, Neil’s pockets are considerable deeper than yours, and his connections more impressive. You won’t win this one.” His smile took on a sharp edge as he motioned to the two of them. “That’s the problem with us ‘degenerates’, we don’t fight fair but we fight to win.”

Luther stared at Neil as if he’d never seen him before, then closed his eyes and shook his head. “Aaron, please, think about what your mother would want.”

“I’m staying with Nicky,” Aaron told him, his voice sharp and expression furious. “Don’t ask again, and don’t mention Mom like that again.”

Face so red with anger that Andrew wondered if he was about to have a heart attack, Luther cut his right hand through the air as if to dismiss all of them. “You don’t know what you’re doing, you’re all foolish children playing at being adults.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else yet shook his head instead and turned away; Maria cast a lingering glance at first Nicky and then Aaron before she followed him.

Nicky made that soft, painful moaning sound again but stayed where he was for a moment before he wiped at his eyes. “Oh god, what did I just do?”

Andrew shot him a dissatisfied look. “Don’t tell me you were making up shit there.”

“No!” Nicky took a deep, shuddering breath. “No, I wasn’t.” He sought out Aaron and gave a slight nod. “I… I sorta knew something like this might happen if I came back, what it meant with Tilda being dead. I’d hoped….” He shook his head. “They never change, do they?” He sounded so plaintive just then, his expression crestfallen.

Aaron took an abortive step in his cousin’s direction. “What… what about Germany?”

“It’ll still be there.” The dejection turned into something more resolved as Nicky firmed his shoulders and held up his head. “*Erik* will still be there. We talked about… well, about this maybe happening. He understands family, and it’s just for what, ten months or so?” He smiled a little as he toed his right foot into the grass. “Were the two of you serious, back there? About the money and the contacts?”

Neil sighed as he rubbed at the back of his head as if he had a headache. “I’d rather not have to ask… *him* about a lawyer if we can avoid that, but yeah. And there’s money for a house if we need it.” He glared at Andrew. “There’s going to be a budget, and nothing outrageous, and… and… oh hell.” He started panting as if he trying to stave off a panic attack, bending over with his hands pressed against his knees.

“Is he okay?” Aaron frowned while he eyed Neil as if he was some exotic specimen he needed to figure out.

Andrew waved off the semi-concern. “He has this habit of doing stuff like that whenever he has to spend more than twenty bucks.”

“Thousands,” Neil gasped as if in physical pain.

“Try running away from a *house*,” Andrew told him sweetly, and smiled at the dirty look he received in return.

A slight smile spread across Nicky’s face. “You two really are adorable, you know that?” He yelped when Andrew spun around toward him and held his hands up in surrender. “Wait, you can’t kill me now, you need me!”

…shit, the annoying bastard was right. Andrew scowled as he put the knife away, and kicked at Neil’s left foot when the idiot began to chuckle. “240%,” he told him, and now he’d have to drive the lousy Camry back to the apartment, dammit.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, there you have it, your Nicky! LOL, I felt so bad for what I put the poor darling boy through! (but I just can't imagine his initial meeting with Andrew going well, their personalities and all! It'll get better. A little).
> 
> Meh, I kept tweaking that first scene. Not entirely happy with it. I don't think Andrew cares about people knowing about him and Neil - he doesn't go out of his way letting people know, but he doesn't care if they do. And if it helps explain Tilda overreacting and driving off the road, then he won't come out and say it but he's fine w/ people drawing that conclusion. 
> 
> This is the last of the written chapters at the moment, so there's going to be a wait for some new stuff. 
> 
> As always, the kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hate OneDrive SO MUCH right now - I've lost so much writing time trying to get various files to sync up with this latest update (WTF!!!). So did not need this stress tonight.
> 
> Anyway, here's the latest chapter. Have the next chapter... eh, at least a third done, possibly half way done, had hoped to get more of it done tonight but spent too much time fighting to make sure that I hadn't lost what I had written. BOO!!!
> 
> *******

*******

They headed back to the apartment to figure out what they were going to do moving onward, with Andrew behind the wheel and hating every moment of it; if he thought for one moment that Neil wasn’t serious about the whole ‘drive into the wall’ comment, he would let Neil drive the shitty sedan that reminded him way too much of Tilda’s car. Whatever Neil’s problem was for the day, he better snap out of it soon.

As soon as they left the cemetery, Nicky got on his phone and called his boyfriend, and started babbling in German about what had happened, about how he had stood up to his father and yeah, seemed to have obligated himself to staying here until next June and it was okay, it would be all right, Andrew seemed to be warming up to him (no, so not the case) and Neil was adorable, he’d send pics tomorrow (Andrew was breaking Nicky’s phone the first chance he got) and they’d get by with lots and lots of phone sex, okay? Andrew wished right then that he’d never learned German.

“How much vodka is there?” Neil asked in French as he scrubbed at his face as if he could reach into his brain somehow.

“Not enough,” Andrew assured him, while in the back seat Aaron stared out the window in blessed ignorance.

“Fine, pull over at the nearest grocery store.” There was a hint of that disturbing grin again on Neil’s face, the one Andrew hated, and he was tugging once more at his ragged left sleeve.

Nicky finally hung up, right before Andrew was about to pull a Neil and drive into a wall himself, and there was a store at the next exit, so he got off there and forced Nicky to hand over his coat to Neil (it didn’t take the bastard much prompting when it was for ‘Neil’, oh yes, they would have a conversation, and soon).

Twenty minutes later, him and Neil were back at the car with enough fried chicken, mac & cheese – there was that grin again, when Andrew had even hinted about getting vegetables – and stolen alcohol to get them through the night. As Andrew drove the rest of the way ‘home’, Neil placed a call to Agent Wolfe and explained the situation to her – while they had shopped and shop-lifted, he had told Andrew that he didn’t really want to drag his uncle into the mess just then, but had agreed that they needed a lawyer in case Luther decided to push the issue. A compromise had been reached with Wolfe, since she was supposed to keep an eye out on Neil and should know the legal community well enough considering her job.

It didn’t take long to explain the situation to her, that Andrew’s mother had passed away and Andrew had a preference as to what relative took over custody, given his circumstances. Considering the fact that Agent Wolfe had sat in when Neil had argued for Andrew to stay with him during the ‘interview’ process, when he had fought for Andrew’s record to be sealed away and wiped clean, and for Neil to remain in Columbus with Andrew… yeah, Wolfe didn’t need things spelled out for her when she learned that Nicky was younger than Luther and willing to relocate from Germany and leave behind his boyfriend in the bargain.

“It’s done,” Neil told Andrew as he ended the call. “We’ll have a lawyer by morning, and she promised that she’ll beat down whatever opposition Luther tries to put up as if it’s nothing. Apparently Sonja is calling in someone who handles a lot of family cases for… them.” He glanced up at the rear view mirror before looking back at Andrew.

Andrew huffed as he turned off on the exit that would take them to their apartment building. “I figured Sonja would know somebody.” The FBI probably had lots of lawyers on their payroll – nearly as many as the Moriyamas and Hatfords.

Nicky leaned forward to rest his arms on the back of Neil’s seat and stared at him as if he was a miracle or something. “Are you real? Seriously, are you real? How do you know these people?” He reached out as if to touch Neil, and when Neil flinched back, Andrew smacked Nicky’s hand aside with as much force as possible.

“What the fuck did we talk about? No *touching*.” If he wasn’t driving, he would stab the bastard.

“Ow! It wasn’t going to be a bad touch, I swear it!” Nicky pouted as he curled back into the corner of the back seat again.

Meanwhile, Aaron, who had spent the drive from the cemetery quiet and was becoming rather twitchy and sweaty, gave his cousin a truly scathing look. “You’re an idiot.”

“Aw come on, aren’t you the least bit curious about the whole thing?” Nicky whined as he gestured toward Neil.

Aaron shot Andrew a narrowed look. “It’s not my concern, right?”

Andrew glanced over his shoulder before he pulled into the apartment’s parking lot. “Nice to see that someone’s finally learning.”

As soon as Andrew found a parking spot and the car came to a stop, both Neil and Aaron were out of the car – Aaron stumbled a little and looked as if he would throw up, while Neil actually ran a few steps before he stopped, chest heaving as if he was desperate for fresh air.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed at both of their reactions, and he threw his keys to the apartment at Nicky with a satisfying amount of force. “Take the food and Aaron inside,” he told his cousin.

“Eh?” Nicky barely caught the keys and stared at him in confusion. “What?”

“Go, *now*,” Andrew insisted.

Nicky blinked a couple of times and then looked over at Neil, who was still gulping in air as if he’d been starved of it. “Oh. Yeah, I get it.” He reached back in the car to grab the take-out, then closed the door and went over to wrap an arm around Aaron’s waist. “Those two need a minute,” he told Aaron in a too-sweet tone.

“I will throw up on you,” Aaron groaned as Nicky half-carried him away, “if you keep talking like that.”

Nicky’s response was muffled, since Andrew was focused on Neil at the moment; he could hear the clanking of the stashed liquor bottles inside of Nicky’s coat that Neil still wore as Neil struggled to breathe, and it bothered him. He reached out and tugged the coat off of Neil’s thin shoulders, the motion startling his friend enough to make Neil spin around and face him, face pale and eyes wild.

Nicky was right, damn him – Neil really was gorgeous.

“You-“ Neil’s voice was ragged and he jerked his right hand through his hair in such a rough manner that he had to rip out some of the strands, yet it seemed to calm him down, finally.

“What did I say about you and all of your many issues?” Andrew scoffed as he hung Nicky’s coat over his right shoulder, the bottles heavy against his chest.

Neil gave a quiet, brittle laugh. “Look who’s talking.”

“Yeah, but I’m not the one breaking down today.” Then Andrew thought about what he had just said, at the way Neil’s expression grew blank at that and cursed himself. “What is it?” He forced himself to reach out and touch that gorgeous face. “What am I missing?”

Neil shivered at the touch yet didn’t pull away. “You know… we were near the water, in Baltimore. The Chesapeake Bay wasn’t too far away…. We could go to the ports, some of the beaches there… just to get away from my father.” He shuddered a little then, lost in the memories. “I think that’s why I… it wasn’t so bad, leaving her there… in California. At the beach. It wasn’t the same, but it was close. It reminded me of the days when… when…” He shook his head, his eyes closed tight and his lips pressed in a white line. “And then today, with… why is the past nothing but pain?”

A day to bury Tilda with a bunch of useless posturing, when Neil had been on his own with his mother – now Andrew got it. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But we’re here, now, because of it.” He slipped his hand behind Neil’s neck and dragged him closer. “We’re stronger because of it.” He refused to believe otherwise, because… because. Lately, he thought of everything he’d suffered… and how it had led him to this moment, standing before this… *this* person. “Are you going to give in to it now?”

Neil opened his eyes and stared at Andrew for several seconds before he let out a shuddering breath. “No. But fuck if it doesn’t hurt sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Andrew understood all about the pain. “That’s why we have the alcohol.”

Neil huffed at that as he closed his eyes again. “Is there going to be anything left after tonight?”

“Hmm, depends. Do you want Nicky to live until tomorrow?”

Neil’s answer was a weary sigh. “It’s going to cost too damn much to get us another set of fake IDs, remember that.” He leaned in, just short of a kiss, and smiled when Andrew brushed their lips together. “Ten months,” he told Andrew as they headed inside. “Try not to kill him for that long.”

“No promises.”

Neil laughed for the first time that day. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that.” He slipped his hand inside of Andrew’s, the hold loose for a moment and then more firm when Andrew didn’t pull away.

They had just reached the stairwell when Andrew gave Neil’s hand a painful squeeze. “Hmm, just one thing. I didn’t appreciate having to drive a shitty car today.” That had been incredibly annoying on top of everything else.

Neil came to a stop of the stairs, causing Andrew to stop as well. “Are you serious? Considering everything that happened today, you’re complaining about that?”

“Well, I had to drive it because you basically threatened to kill me otherwise, yeah.” Andrew hadn’t forgotten about *that* part, but figured he’d at least be nice enough to not bring it up.

“You know what? Let’s just go and deal with *your* family, and then when you’re stuck dealing with mine and there’s all this drama about buying houses and crazy people mentioning relationships and… and….” Neil shook his head and resumed walking. “All my family did was try to kill you, okay? Wait, no, they tried to kill me. So much better.” Then he seemed to think of something. “And they have better tastes in cars.”

Andrew considered all of that as they came up to Tilda’s apartment, and was left with one thing to say. “242%.”

Neil glared with blatant hostility as Andrew opened the door. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Yeah, but the asshole who has the alcohol,” Andrew reminded him as he tugged his friend into the apartment.

*******

Neil had to give Andrew credit, he knew well enough to wait until Neil had eaten some food and had a few shots of vodka to bring up anything related to money.

By the time they had returned to the apartment, it was clear that Aaron had dosed himself up with another pill of Xanax, and that Nicky was desperate for a peaceful evening. Neil had put some space between him and Andrew at that point, and focused on getting some food into him, the first thing he’d eaten since that morning, which really hadn’t been that much.

Considering how much everyone else had eaten, it was the first real food anyone had eaten that day – which made sense, considering that Nicky had flown in from Germany and that Aaron was burying his mother. Neil really didn’t care what Andrew’s excuse was, knowing that his friend didn’t care in the least about Tilda and still pissed off over their last conversation.

He knew that Andrew didn’t give a damn about Tilda, so Andrew might not be able to grasp how difficult today was for Neil, who had cared for his mother. Mary might not have been perfect, might not have made the best decisions… but she was all Neil had, when it came down to it. In his life, there had been Nathan and Mary… and yeah, he chose Mary. Mary at least had seemed to care if he lived at all, if he came out with some semblance of sanity. He knew she was far from perfect and had fucked up his life… but if he had been left in his father’s care? Yeah, it would have been so much worse. That much was clear, especially after dealing with Riko these last couple of months.

If there was anything he blamed Mary for after all these years, it was for not running sooner, before Riko and Tetsuji could say that there was a claim on him, before Nathan had so clearly handed him over to the Moriyamas. But Neil couldn’t change the past, and right now he was stuck in a shitty apartment eating decent fried chicken while Aaron glared at Nicky and Andrew watched Neil as if waiting to see if he would act out in some manner.

“No, no, seriously, most people don’t bother with turkey over in Europe, they’re too big! A lot of apartments don’t have the right sized ovens for them and so forth, and they’re expensive. Erik’s family baked one for me and they were so disappointed, they said it didn’t taste that much different from chicken,” Nicky told them.

Neil nodded as he waved his chicken drumstick around. “It’s true. I don’t think I saw it that much when I was over there.” He remembered how one year his mother thought maybe finding something from ‘home’ might make him happy since things were… yeah, it wasn’t a good November, that year, but she couldn’t and he hadn’t minded, not really - there were so many bad memories associated to the Thanksgivings back in Baltimore that he was glad to leave them behind.

Nicky beamed at Neil and would have leaned over the table to hug him if it wasn’t for Andrew shoving a fork in his face. “Yes! I’m so glad that there’s someone who isn’t so ethnocentric here!”

“And that’s the cue for more alcohol.” Andrew gave Neil a heavy-lidded look as he left the kitchen table, only to return with the bottles they’d shoplifted earlier in the day since the other bottle was now empty. “Enough talk about culture and shit, it’s time to get serious.” He poured at least a couple of shots worth of vodka into Neil’s empty glass, and did the same to everyone else’s around the table.

Nicky stared at the bottle in Andrew’s hand. “Do I want to know where you got that?”

‘No,” Andrew told him, to which Nicky shrugged.

Aaron stacked the mostly empty plates toward the middle of the table before he lifted his glass and tossed it back with an ease that spoke of too much experience; Neil noticed the way that his face smoothed out as he swallowed, as if the alcohol came as of a great relief. When he finally opened his eyes, he gazed at Neil as if expecting something. “Okay, so you told Uncle Luther that you had money and contacts.”

“Actually, Andrew told him that.”

Aaron gave Neil a disappointed look. “It was implied.”

Neil sighed as he held out his glass for Andrew to refill, and drained it once that happened; he really wasn’t in the mood for this discussion to happen without more of an alcoholic buffer. “You know that I’ve already arranged for the lawyer.”

“And the money?” Aaron stared at him with eyes that reminded Neil too much of Andrew’s. “You mentioned lines of credit.”

When Andrew didn’t say anything or object, Neil yanked on his hair before he answered. “There’s almost half a million dollars available for Andrew and me to use.”

*That* finally got a rise out of his friend. “What happened to the rest of it, the other half a million or so?” Upon hearing that, Nicky gasped and Aaron stared at Neil as if daring him to answer.

Neil turned in his seat to face Andrew, who was looking at him with outright suspicion. “I asked… I asked Stuart a few weeks ago to invest it,” he told him while holding his glass out for more vodka.

Andrew glared upon hearing that but filled the glass. “And why would you do such a thing?” His voice was quiet yet steady – but Neil knew the quiet part was the more worrisome of the two.

Why the hell was he explaining this out loud? The only reason he could think of was that, if they were going to function together in the future, all of them needed to know something, and Andrew wouldn’t have asked the question in front of his brother and cousin otherwise. “Because while our friend in Chicago set up the initial accounts to accrue interest, the rest of the money was just sitting there, doing nothing.” Neil paused to toss back some of the vodka, and shuddered at the sharp bite of it burning down his throat. “*We* can’t touch that money for two years while it’s invested, but after that time period, we can use the interest.” He stared at Andrew and waited for him to figure out what he was saying. “There was no use for the bonds to be just sitting around, this is more beneficial to us.”

“Two years,” Andrew repeated, his gaze locked on to Neil’s.

“Yes, two years.” Neil wasn’t certain he could break free of the Moriyamas in two years… but Andrew could, and he would need more than one million at the time if worse came to worst. That was why he had taken the money to Uncle Stuart - once it was clear that Ichiro and Kengo weren’t going to ask for it back – to invest it. The half million was more than enough to get Neil and Andrew through for the next two years even if something bad happened, and the rest should give Andrew some sort of future.

“And you’re just ‘friends’,” Aaron insisted as he helped clear off the table when nobody said anything for about a minute. “’Friends’ just share millions of dollars between them, right?” He stared at Nicky when he came back. “You and Erik have that much in your joint account, right?”

Nicky gaped at his cousin as if he was insane. “We have a few thousand, if that.” Then he turned his attention to Andrew. “What the hell is going on here?” He glanced over at Neil. “Who are you?” He yelped when Andrew grabbed his chin and jerked his attention away from Neil.

“Never ask that, and never care,” Andrew warned. “Just know that we’re going to make sure that your asshole father can’t interfere.” He let go of Nicky’s face and wiped his left hand on his jeans as if it was tainted before he looked at Neil. “We have enough money now to buy a house, right?” he asked in French.

“Yes,” Neil agreed.

“This better not be more of your martyr bullshit,” Andrew snapped as he leaned over to pour more vodka into Neil’s glass.

“Half a million should be more than enough to last us two years if we don’t go crazy,” Neil pointed out. “After that….” He stared off into the distance as he tossed back the alcohol.

“After that you’ll be on a team other than the Ravens,” Andrew insisted, before he did the same.

“Eh, do they talk in French a lot?” Nicky asked as he grabbed one of the bottles of vodka on the table.

Aaron shrugged as he held up his glass to be filled. “They’re doing it a lot today.” He didn’t seem very pleased about it.

“Well you know, it’s the romantic language.” He leered at Neil until Andrew slapped a knife on top of the table near the idiot. “Oh come *on*,” Nicky whined as he poured himself more alcohol. “What do you expect from me?”

“Very little,” Andrew informed him in English with a heavy tone as he scooted his chair closer to Neil’s. “You’ll learn better unless you want to be stabbed.”

“Are you missing the big picture here?” Nicky gestured with his hands about in the air. “Normal teenagers don’t have access to millions of dollars and fancy lawyers, nor do they speak in foreign languages! What is going on with the two of you?”

Neil hunched over as he stared into his half-empty glass, while Andrew dragged the one bottle of vodka away from Aaron so he could fill up his own glass. “So we’re not exactly normal.”

“Who is these days,” Aaron sneered.

Beside Andrew, Neil stirred as he stared at Andrew’s glass as the vodka flowed into it, his hand over his own since he was feeling drunk enough at the moment. “Are we good?” That’s all he cared about as he watched Andrew fill the void of the glass with the clear liquid; he had done what he could to protect Andrew if he couldn’t escape the Ravens, if indeed worse came to the worst.

Andrew paused as a few drops fell from the bottle, then he set it down on the table, only for it to be snatched away by Aaron. “As good as we can, considering the circumstances.” He tossed back the shot, then shifted his grasp to the nape of Neil’s neck, his fingers tight in Neil’s hair. “We’re going to be,” he insisted. “We’re going to tell Luther to fuck off, we’re going to get a house and do this normal shit and everything, and it’ll work out.” He spat out the words as if challenging Fate to contradict him. “Now drink, dammit.”

Neil dared to smile just then, just a little, and tossed back the vodka remaining in his glass. He didn’t mind the burn down his throat, not when it would help to wash away the awfulness of the day, not when he was beginning to associate the taste with Andrew, and when he set the glass down on the table, he leaned toward his friend. “Yes or no?” He didn’t care that Nicky and Aaron were on the other side of the table just then. Considering the shit he’d put up from them that day… yeah.

“Don’t get cocky,” Andrew murmured, yet he leaned in for a quick brush of lips all the same. Meanwhile Aaron made a gagging sound while he poured some vodka for himself and Nicky crowed out loud.

“See! True love, I tell ya! You heteros can just suck- aw come on.” Nicky pushed back from the table when Andrew brandished the knife in his direction. “Seriously, what is your problem? You have a cute boyfriend and everything, what’s with the hate?” He pouted at Andrew from a safe distance.

“’Friend’,” Aaron pointed out with great satisfaction as he lifted a glass full of vodka. “They’re just friends, remember?”

“Someone needs to brush up on the definition of ‘friends’,” Nicky grumbled.

“I don’t give a shit,” Andrew said as he stood up from the table, quick to grab the remaining bottle of vodka before Aaron took that, too. Neil was amused when he found his wrist grabbed as a close second. “We’re going to Neil’s, you can crash here for the night,” he told Nicky.

“Yeah, because ‘friends’-“

“Fuck you,” Andrew snarled at his brother as he dragged Neil from Tilda’s apartment.

The quiet of the hallway was almost a relief, after everything that had happened during the day. Neil felt a comfortable buzz in his head from the vodka, nothing too potent just yet, as they made their way to his apartment, and was grateful for once for the small space when he unlocked the door and waved Andrew inside. “You know we’re going to have to get used to it,” he warned as he began to unbutton his shirt. “We’re stuck with Nicky now.”

“We’ll see how bad he is after I neuter him.” Andrew grumbled.

Neil laughed at that as he fumbled with his shirt and kicked off his shoes; he knew he should brush his teeth and so forth, but he was tired, was exhausted and buzzed and just wanted to curl up on his bed and let the day end. Andrew seemed to feel the same way, as they peeled off their clothes until they were down to their underwear, and soon curled up beneath the blankets of the futon.

“Don’t punch me tomorrow,” Neil told Andrew as they ended up lying half on top of each other as if seeking assurance that the other was there.

“No promises,” Andrew slurred as he fell asleep, and Neil found himself smiling despite himself as exhaustion took over.

*******

Andrew came out on to the front porch where everyone else was waiting and nodded. “It looks good.”

Amy Philips, the realtor, smiled upon hearing that and pulled out her phone. “Great! If there’s no objections….” She glanced around, but Nicky, Aaron and Neil had been waiting for Andrew’s final input, so her smile widened as she stepped off of the porch as she went through the call. “Jane? Yeah, it looks like we got a bid. How does-“

“Oh wow, we may have a house.” Nicky got up from the top step and walked around the porch. “It’s weird, thinking that we have a house.”

“We need them to accept the bid first,” Aaron snapped, his face sweaty and skin a bit pale; he was starting to run low on the Xanax and stretching out the few pills he had left.

Andrew shared a look with Neil as he leaned against one of the porch pillars and waited for the realtor to come back; they had a certain criteria when looking for a house, a certain price range, yard allotment and ability to move in right away, and this current house was one of three that fit those requirements. It was probably the best out of the three, being the cheapest and ready to move in, but they still had options if the owner turned down the deal – the main thing was having something soon so they could deal with Aaron and be ready for the school year.

Tori Iorio had dealt with the legal paperwork so Nicky could become Andrew and Aaron’s legal guardian, and was working with the insurance company with what should be an unexpected and generous payout for them – even Aaron was shocked to know that Tilda had set something up in that regard. Upon talking to Neil for a little bit, she had told him she’d look into Nathan Wesninski’s estate in Baltimore, claiming that he should probably have the title to the house at least – not that Neil really wanted anything from his father – but there was enough money coming in that they didn’t need to worry too much about the cost of the house despite the accounts Durand had set up last year.

Even so, Nicky was determined to cover some of the monthly bills on his own and had put in applications at several of the local businesses, and since all he had was a high school degree, he would be starting a job waiting tables at a restaurant named ‘Sweetie’s’ soon. He didn’t want anyone – didn’t want his parents – to be able to claim that he wasn’t doing what was necessary to support Andrew and Aaron, even if they were using Neil’s money and the life insurance claim to buy a house.

All Andrew cared about was that he had a place to live that wouldn’t be snatched away by someone else; Neil had said that the money was ‘theirs’, so he didn’t see why it was a problem to spend it on someplace they lived. That Aaron wanted to spend his portion of the insurance money on a house… yeah, more power to him.

This one might not be anything too fancy – Neil was sticking to that ‘nothing extravagant’ theme – but it had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den and a decent kitchen, and more importantly, had a nice bit of property with it, some tall trees for shade and a nice porch, a bit of seclusion that Andrew wasn’t used to seeing after living out in California for most of his life. Yet it wasn’t too far away from anything in particular, from the highway and shopping and the school district, and it would suit Andrew’s immediate needs just fine.

After talking on the phone for a few minutes, Amy came back with a huge grin on her face. “They accepted the offer!”

Nicky let out a loud whoop and jumped off of the porch to go over to stand by her. “Great! So, uhm, what do we do now? How soon can we move in?”

Amy laughed at his exuberance. “Come to the office tomorrow, I’ll have all of the paperwork ready for you then. Main thing is that you’re already cleared, credit-wise, so it’s just the last bit of technical stuff. I’d say it’ll be yours in a couple of days, since you said you wanted this expedited.”

“Yeah, my cousins.” Nicky waved back to the porch. “Need everything done for the school year.”

“I understand,” Amy said as Nicky walked her to the shiny dark blue sedan parked in the driveway.

“So, we have a house,” Neil murmured as he stared at the grey floorboards of the porch.

“If you start hyperventilating, I will punch you,” Andrew warned him, and offered a cheerful smile when Neil looked up to glare.

“No.” Neil shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s sinking in, now.”

“I want to know who’s sleeping where.” Aaron wiped at the sweat on his face as he came to stand beside Andrew. “Don’t tell me I’m stuck with a bedroom by the two of you.”

Neil frowned as he tucked back the bangs falling into his eyes. “What do you mean? We’re not sharing-“

Aaron made a rude noise to cut him off. “He’s been in your apartment ever since Nicky arrived, I think that means you can handle sharing a room together even if you’re just ‘friends’.” He rolled his eyes and huffed. “I’m not sharing a room with Nicky just so you two can have separate rooms and then fuck when it’s convenient.”

Okay, *now* it looked as if Neil was going to hyperventilate. “But-“

“So, what are we talking about now? Neil? Uhm, try to breathe.” Nicky made as if to reach out and pat Neil on the back, but stopped and gave Andrew a wary look instead as he climbed back onto the porch.

“Rooms,” Neil choked out as he rubbed along the back of his neck.

“And the sharing of,” Andrew explained with a bland tone. “Apparently, Aaron believes Neil and I now count as one when it comes to them.” Aw, it looked as if Neil managed to get his breathing under control before he passed out, that was no fun.

Nicky scoffed as he gestured toward the front door of the house. “Of course you do! Young lo… erh, hormones and all that!” He gave a nervous laugh as he eyed Andrew – and Andrew’s hands with an evident and well-earned caution at last. “Neil, help me out here.”

“No,” Neil told him in a flat voice as he stepped away from everyone.

This was taking too long. “We get the biggest room, then,” Andrew decided, his lips twitching at the way Neil’s eyes widened upon hearing that. “Only fair, since it’s two of us.”

Aaron shrugged as if it didn’t bother him. “Great, that means you’re downstairs and I don’t have to listen to you two get it on.”

“But… but I liked that room,” Nicky pouted. “Thought it would be great for when Erik visited and everything.”

“You’re not paying for the house,” Andrew reminded him.

“And you better keep the freaky shit to a minimum when your boyfriend visits,” Aaron snapped as he stalked off of the porch. “Why do I have to put up with this stuff?”

Nicky appeared crestfallen for a moment, and then he smiled as he chased after Aaron. “Are you *sure* you like girls? I mean, you’re the odd one out here!”

“Andrew, give me the keys so I can run over this asshole,” Aaron called out, while Nicky laughed.

“At least now we’ll have lots of room to bury his body,” Andrew muttered as he made sure that the door to the house was locked behind them. “And don’t say it, I’ll make him dig his own fucking grave before I put him in it.”

That pulled forth a weak grin from Neil as he fell in step beside Andrew. “You’re going to force me to go furniture shopping tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Of course, I know how much you love doing it.” Andrew brushed the back of his right hand along Neil’s left. “The bedroom thing really bothering you?”

“It’s just… we’ll need a big bed.” Neil’s smile took on a wry twist. “Maybe then I won’t get knocked out of it too much.”

Andrew was getting better, on the whole, on not waking up and lashing out at Neil being in bed with him; some part of him seemed to recognize that *this* person was safe, was to be trusted. But they both had their nightmares, had the times when the past was too close to the surface… and those times could startle Andrew, could wake him up before his brain caught up to the instincts, the need to defend himself, and yeah, Neil usually ended up going over the edge of the bed as his own instincts kicked in to flee. Andrew didn’t know why Neil put up with it – put up with *him*… but he did.

“The room should fit a king-sized one, I’m thinking.”

That made Neil laugh. “Great, I can’t wait to hear Nicky’s comments about *that*.”

“Maybe I should let Aaron run him over,” Andrew mused, only half-kidding as they approached the car and found Nicky still laughing and running around it while Aaron glared at him.

Neil sighed and shook his head. “Too much damage. Find a way to kill him that won’t cost us money and effort – and do it after you turn eighteen.”

What amused Andrew the most was never knowing just how serious Neil was just then – oh, he knew that Neil would be upset if he pulled out his knives at the moment, but in another few months? It was up in the air, if he could get away with it then, as long as he didn’t make his friend dig the damn grave. There was something to be said for messed up people coming together.

*******

The days leading up to moving into the house went by with a blur, as they got everything ready to move in and to start the new school year. Andrew did indeed take great delight in dragging Neil, along with Aaron and Nicky, to a furniture store where they picked out everything the house would need – it was decided that they wouldn’t bring anything from Tilda’s apartment. A ‘fresh start’, Nicky called it, while Neil knew that Andrew wanted to make certain that Aaron couldn’t smuggle any of his mother’s drugs into the new home.

As soon as the house was closed on and they were given the keys to the place, Andrew had Nicky take Aaron out to shop for some clothes, something to distract Aaron for a couple of hours, while he and Neil headed to the new home. The furniture had been delivered earlier that day and they were set to officially move in that evening, but before then, Andrew and Neil got to work in the upstairs bathroom – school would start in two weeks and they didn’t have much time.

Andrew had bought a huge stack of newspapers, and after they had removed everything they could from the bathroom – things like the door to the medicine cabinet, the towel rack, the lid to the toilet’s water tank, a couple of small shelves on the wall, they started taping the paper to the floor in several thick layers, and even some on the walls and over the window. They also wrapped rags around the faucets and any other ‘sharp’ edges, and then brought in the cases of bottled water and Gatorade, and boxes of protein bars and crackers. The last thing they left was a pile of soft towels, blankets, rolls of paper towels and toilet paper, and a box of garbage bags, before Andrew finished up by putting in a new door knob.

“You think this is enough?” Neil thought the place looked like some sort of nightmare survivalist… something.

“It should get the job done. Xanax takes about a week to work its way through the system.” Andrew had that flat look on his face, but Neil knew that he wasn’t being uncaring at the moment, not when Aaron’s health was at stake. He was just doing his best to not let emotion get in the way of what needed to be done.

Neil almost offered to call Uncle Stuart, to see if there was some sort of program they could get Aaron in… but he knew that Andrew had promised to help Aaron and that was what he was going to do, and that if anyone knew enough about therapy, it was Andrew. There had to be a reason that Andrew was so insistent that his brother go through this the hard way.

With the bathroom ready, they went downstairs and waited for Nicky and Aaron to return, which took about half an hour; during that time, Neil brewed a pot of coffee with their new machine, and managed about a cup despite his nerves. When they finally arrived, Nicky carried in several bags of clothes, since Aaron looked miserable and barely able to walk under his own impetus.

“Uhm, we took advantage of a few good sales. You should go with me next time, Neil.” Nicky had a too-wide smile on his face, as if he was trying too hard to appear cheerful.

Meanwhile, his face sweaty and complexion too pale, Aaron stumbled inside and looked about until he saw Andrew. “I need… I need a drink,” he slurred.

“No, no more alcohol,” Andrew informed him. “It’s time.”

Aaron’s eyes went wide upon hearing that and he shook his head. “No. No, maybe there’s something left in-“

“Yes,” Andrew insisted as he went to stand in front of his twin. “You said you didn’t want to be like her. You said you wanted me to fix things. Come upstairs.” He held out his right hand and stared at Aaron as if waiting for something.

“What is-“

Neil shushed Nicky with a curt wave of his right hand as he watched the siblings, and after several seconds, Aaron let out a shuddering breath and allowed Andrew to lead him upstairs.

“Okay, seriously, what is going on?” Nicky set the bags down and gave Neil an unhappy look. “Aaron threw up but refused to come back early. What’s going on with him, and don’t tell me it’s the flu or something he ate.”

“He should just be out of Tilda’s Xanax pills.” Neil finished his coffee and got up to get some more; he had a feeling it was going to be a long night. While over there, he held up the mug to see if Nicky wanted some.

“Shit.” Nicky’s dark eyes went wide and he shook his head. “I know she… dammit, I figured that she let him smoke pot and there was the drinking, but I had hoped that she didn’t go that far – I would have thought that my dad would make sure it didn’t go that far.” He rubbed at the back of his head for a moment then motioned for some coffee. “How could you do that to your kid?” At Neil’s bitter smile, he laughed, the sound sad and broken. “I mean, I know how people can do it, but… yeah, how.”

Neil didn’t say anything until he brought the mug over to Nicky. “Andrew’s going to help him get over it.”

“How?” Nicky stared up at the second floor. “Wait, what were the two of you doing while we were out?”

“You’re going to have to use the bathroom down here for the next few days,” Neil warned him. At Nicky’s confused look, he sighed. “Andrew’s locking Aaron up there – he won’t let him out until the Xanax is out of his system. We made sure he won’t be able to hurt himself while he’s in there.” At least physically – Neil trusted Andrew, but he hoped that his friend knew what he was doing, because this wasn’t something he’d try on his own.

“What the hell?” Nicky nearly dropped his mug upon hearing that. “He’s making him quit cold turkey? Ah man, poor bastard.”

“They both feel it’s the best way.” Neil shrugged to show that he didn’t understand it, but it wasn’t his decision. “Either way, Andrew’s going to be busy the next few days.”

Nicky gave a weak laugh upon hearing that. “Yeah, go figure.” He pushed away his mug and ran his fingers through his hair. “This is just… it’s insane. But Aaron… okay, if it makes him better. Whatever I can do to help.”

Neil almost told him to stay out of Andrew’s way, but he figured that would be evident enough. As it was, he gave it a little time and then took some coffee and a couple of sandwiches he’d put together upstairs to Andrew, who was stationed outside the bathroom door. Andrew nodded in thanks, but it was clear that his friend wasn’t in the mood for any company.

It fell on Neil and Nicky to do the unpacking, not that there was that much to do, since most of the house was full of new furniture and items. Neil and Andrew had brought in the groceries earlier, along with their few personal items, so Neil helped Nicky with the few things he’d brought from Germany, along with Aaron’s belongings and the new things they’d bought. There would be more stuff arriving in the few days for Nicky, packages that Erik had promised to send, but for now, that was about it.

“Uhm… I think… ah, I’m gonna crash on the futon,” Nicky told him, motioning to the den; they had brought Neil’s furniture from his apartment, just because it was still new. “I’m not sure I want to sleep up there while… uhm, yeah.”

“That’s fine.” Neil was going to be spending the night alone on the huge bed Andrew had picked out, the biggest bed he’d ever slept on. “Should be quiet down here.”

A hint of a leer came over Nicky’s face. “Well, you know, if you’re lonely, I can-“

“Nicky, I do know how to use Andrew’s knives. Don’t make me go get one,” he warned.

Nicky held up both of his hands as he took a step back, eyes wide and a nervous smile on his face. “I was just going to say, I could find a teddy bear for you or something!”

“Sure you were,” Neil sighed. “Let’s watch a movie.” He didn’t want to go to bed just yet, not with what was happening upstairs, not when it was the first night in a house that he partially owned, of all things.

“Yes! Great idea!” Nicky seemed very excited to have been asked to do something, and even though he had to spend about fifteen minutes making sure the tv and everything was set up right, soon had a movie playing – it was something Neil hadn’t seen before, but that wasn’t anything new since there were a lot of movies Neil hadn’t seen before. There was something about a virus and zombies and people escaping the city, and around that point they heard a lot of banging and cursing from upstairs.

It sounded like the withdrawal symptoms were really kicking in.

Nicky tried to turn up the volume, but the banging continued, along with some hoarse yelling, so after about fifteen minutes Nicky turned off the movie. “I’m, I’m sorry,” he told Neil, huddled over on the couch with his arms wrapped around his abdomen as if it hurt. “I just… this really sucks.”

He got up and walked outside, and when Neil didn’t hear the car start up, he debated things for a minute or two, then got up and poured two mugs of coffee before following.

Nicky ended up to be sitting on the back porch, where one couldn’t hear Aaron carrying on that much. He appeared surprised when Neil sat down a couple of feet away and handed him a mug of coffee. “I – you didn’t have to come out here,” he said, but he sounded happy all the same. “I figured you’d stay in there with Andrew.”

“I think Andrew’s busy with Aaron right now, and it’s quiet out here,” Neil told him.

“Still, maybe Andrew could use you.”

Neil took a sip of the coffee and wished that he’d grabbed his friend’s pack of cigarettes. “I think this is something he has to do with Aaron,” he admitted. “If he needs something, he’ll let me know.”

“The two of you….” Nicky shook his head and held up his left hand when Neil frowned. “No, not being snarky or sappy or anything, but seriously, I’d love to know the real backstory about the two of you. I mean, I’d do anything for Erik, would give him everything I have and help him out if he did something like this for his family… but he’s my everything. He… he saved me, not to be too dramatic.” Nicky regarded Neil with a heavy gaze for several seconds. “So yeah, just wondering what went down with the two of you for you guys to be like this.”

Neil had a sudden interest in his coffee just then, rather than figure out what to say to that.

“Uh-huh, I thought so.” Nicky seemed rather pleased with himself just then. “I’ll get the truth out of you two eventually, no one can resist the Nicky Hemmick charm for long.”

“Have you met Andrew Minyard?” Neil gazed at the man with weary exasperation. “I’m beginning to really believe you are suicidal after all.”

Nicky waved aside his concern. “I’ll just make sure you’re around, you won’t let him kill me.”

“I’m beginning to rethink that decision, too.”

“Ha, ha.” Nicky leaned back with his left elbow on the porch and looked out over the dark yard, everything cast in deep shadows due to the cloudy night sky. “I mean it when I say that Erik is my life – I don’t know if Aaron told you anything, but I was a mess when I got to Germany. You may have noticed, but my parents… yeah, they don’t accept the whole ‘gay’ thing.” His voice grew quiet as he continued to gaze out over the yard. “They even sent me to one of those Bible camps where they try to make you straight, they try to ‘fix’ you, and I actually tried to pretend it worked.” His expression was a bit bitter then. “It was Erik who made me accept who I really was and accepted me in return.”

Neil had heard some of it from Aaron, that Luther had tried to ‘fix’ Nicky and that upon Nicky coming out in Germany, Luther and Maria had cut off all ties to him, but that was a bit more extreme than he had thought. “Thank you, for stepping in to look out for them.” He motioned back at the house. “It must be difficult, being away from your boyfriend.”

A wide smile curved Nicky’s full lips. “You know, I think that’s the first time someone’s said that to me.” He chuckled when Neil blinked in surprise. “Oh, it’s okay, I know Aaron and I’m getting to know Andrew, too. It’s not really the family way.” He chuckled again and shook his head. “Just keep Andrew from killing me and we’ll call it even.”

That prompted a faint groan from Neil. “You don’t ask for much, do you?”

“Hmm, a kiss then?” Nicky waggled his brows as he puckered his lips.

Neil gave him the finger and got up to fetch some more coffee. “You’re not helping with the whole ‘don’t let Andrew kill me thing’, you know.”

Nicky’s laughter followed him into the house. “Aw, I had to try!”

“Yeah, remember that when Andrew just has to try to show you your spleen,” Neil reminded him, but he couldn’t help but smile a little – at least until he heard Aaron shouting about something upstairs and it sunk in that here he was in a house, a house he now shared with Andrew and his family, a house that would be Neil’s home for the next two years. And for the first night in it, he had an addict locked up in the bathroom while he sat outside with his friend’s possibly perverted cousin rather than sleep in an obnoxiously big bed in his own room by himself.

He gave it two more hours before he went to shoplift some alcohol, unless Nicky had any decent fake ID.

******* 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> And there you go. Some Neil and Nicky bonding. A bit of Neil and Andrew, but as you can see, despite as much as the two boys have come together, they still need to 'sync' up themselves as there's still a lot of difference in their pasts/the way they think in spite of all the common ground they have. My babies....
> 
> And yes, shoplifting, BAD (especially under-age alcohol). And doing what Andrew does to Aaron? (cold-turkey, no medical supervision drug withdrawal) DO NOT RECOMMEND. But it's canon, so....
> 
> Next chapter will start some time jumping, obviously I need to do that or this fic is going to drag on FOREVER.
> 
> As always, thank you so very, very much for all the comments and kudos!  
> *******


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pets the poor boys* Hmm, this chapter... okay, they're living together and adjusting. It's not always easy.
> 
> *******

*******

Eight days after Andrew had locked his brother in the upstairs bathroom, he unlocked the door for a final time; Aaron was pale, his face covered with stubble and he reeked from sweat, but his eyes were clear and he no longer trembled from withdrawal. It took some time to clean him up and get him into his new bed, but the worst was over, other than helping to build back up his strength.

When Andrew returned to the bathroom, Neil was busy cleaning it up, throwing away the remaining newspaper and soiled towels; Andrew had entered the small room a couple of times when Aaron had been passed out from exhaustion to clean things up, including his brother, and make sure that Aaron was doing all right. Now that Aaron was tended to for the time being, Andrew stood in the doorway with a cigarette in his hand and stared down at his friend, took in the shadows beneath Neil’s pale eyes and the way he focused a little too much on cleaning the room. “I can take care of this.”

“Seems to me that you’ve been dealing with it enough lately. Just go lie down or something.” Neil shoved some more garbage into a bag and tied it off, not looking at Andrew the entire time. “There’s a nice big bed you haven’t tried out at all. It’s comfortable.”

Was Neil mad at him? Upset that he’d put Aaron first these last few days? Neil knew that Aaron was important to Andrew, that this needed to be done and hadn’t argued about it when they’d discussed the plan; when Neil went to leave the room with the garbage, Andrew grabbed onto his arm and noticed how Neil flinched as a result. Neil managed a weak smile as he pulled free. “I think Nicky wants his bathroom back, so let me get this done.”

“It’ll be faster if we both do it.”

“Not if you’re dead on your feet, which you are. Just let me handle it,” Neil argued, even though he appeared just as tired as Andrew right then. He offered up another weak smile and continued on his way, to take the bags downstairs and toward the garbage cans outside.

In the kitchen, Nicky appeared to be getting ready to leave for his shift at Sweetie’s and he smiled at Neil, his expression much too bright for Andrew’s liking at the moment; he might have been wrapped up with Aaron for the past week, but he had noticed how Neil had been spending a lot of time with his cousin lately. “Hey, do you want me to bring anything home tonight? That club sandwich you like so much?” His gaze flickered to Andrew and faded a little. “Maybe some ice cream, hmm? You think Aaron’s up to anything yet?”

“A sandwich would be good, and some ice cream,” Neil agreed.

“Let me take that for you,” Nicky offered as he grabbed the bags. “I’m on my way out, anyway.” He paused as he once more glanced at Andrew. “So you told him, eh?”

Oh, like *that* didn’t sound suspicious as hell, especially when Andrew noticed the way that Neil’s shoulders tensed up and the slight shake to his head. “Go to work,” Neil told Nicky. “And bring lots of ice cream home with you.” He sounded rather tired just then.

“Shit,” Nicky muttered as he backpedaled out of the kitchen as fast as he could. “Sorry,” he mouthed at Neil, and then he was gone as if he knew that shit was about to go down.

Andrew smiled at Neil, the expression oh so sweet as he backed his friend into the corner of the counters. “So, what are you supposed to tell me, hmm?” He trapped Neil between his arms and noticed another slight flinch. “Just what have you been up to, you and *Nicky*?” Oh yes, he would be having a nice chat with his cousin later tonight, about the folly of keeping secrets with Neil.

Neil sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “I have a new phone.”

Andrew’s fingers dug into the fake granite counters hard enough to drive spikes of pain into his nails. “And why would you waste the money on a new phone, when you nearly had a heart attack about all the new furniture for a house – a house that you had to hide in a bathroom for over an hour about, once it became clear we were going to buy it, hmm?” Even with Aaron contributing to the cost, just the fact that Neil would own something so… so *permanent*, something that locked him in with Andrew and the others… yeah, that had been a fun evening.

“I wanted to wait a little longer before telling you about this,” Neil mumbled as he glared at Andrew; he had slouched down a little, so they were eye level, his fingers twisted in the cuffs of his grey long-sleeved t-shirt.

Yeah, Andrew had definitely missed out on a few things this past week. “Tell me *what*,” he snapped as he leaned in closer.

“That… that Riko sent us a present for the new house.” Neil’s eyes flashed with… with *something*, something sharp and annoyed before he closed them and shook his head. “Before you tear into me, I didn’t tell you because you were dealing with Aaron. You had more than enough on your hands.” He didn’t sound bitter just then, didn’t sound jealous, just sounded tired.

Andrew took a moment to accept that and then let out a harsh breath. “What was it? More flowers?”

“No, it was a lovely package full of dog dishes and a crate and leashes and dog food.” Neil opened his eyes to give Andrew a scathing look. “There was a definite theme going on there, and the note was ‘for your new home, here’s hoping the mutt knows its place’.” Something must have shown on Andrew’s face because Neil winced. “I had Nicky donate everything to the local animal shelter.”

So that explained how Nicky was involved, not that Andrew would forgive either of them. “How does the new phone come into play?”

Neil jerked his right hand through his hair. “Because when Riko texted me to see how you liked the gifts, I told him to keep his perverse sexual preferences out of my life.” A hint of a smile curved Neil’s lips for a moment before he shook his head. “It… hasn’t gone well since then.”

Because Neil was once again feeding Riko, was taunting him, was making Riko all that much more insistent on having Neil for his own to break him and- “Dammit, what part of ‘don’t feed the monster’ do you not fucking get!” He didn’t realize that he was shouting until Neil’s face had paled.

Only it didn’t seem to be from fear, it seemed to be from anger. “What was I supposed to do? Aaron needed you, I wasn’t going to divide your attention for an asshole like Riko,” Neil snapped.

So while Andrew had dealt with his twin, had dealt with the mess Tilda had inflicted on Aaron, while Aaron had cried out for Tilda despite it being all her fault… Neil had once more faced down Riko and only made things worse. Never again, Andrew swore. He would have a nice, long chat with Nicky later, would make it perfectly clear to his cousin that from now on, Nicky would come to *Andrew* right away if there were any future packages or Neil thought to hide anything – or else.

Andrew drew in a ragged breath as he slipped a hand along the nape of Neil’s neck. “Never again, do you understand? You made me a fucking promise, and I’m getting tired of you being unable to grasp that I’m supposed to protect you-“

“But-“

He tightened his grasp on the back of Neil’s neck. “No, no *buts*,” he ground out. “It’s amusing, this impulse of yours that you need to protect me in return, that you need to watch out for me,” that Neil was the only person who had ever done such a thing for Andrew, “but it’s not part of our agreement. You tell me the truth, *no fucking delays, no fucking hesitation*, and I protect you.” He pulled Neil’s head toward him until their foreheads rested against the other. “Do you understand? Think before you speak.”

Neil shuddered even as he dared to tangle his hands in Andrew’s wrinkled black t-shirt. “I hate that he tries to get at me through you,” he admitted, his voice hoarse and quiet. “I’m so tired of people being hurt because of me.”

“I’m not your mother,” Andrew informed him, not unkindly. “Trust me that I’ll tear Riko to pieces if he tries – this shit he’s pulling? It’s juvenile.” Andrew knew true pain, and these weak insults were nothing.

“It bothers me that you’re a target because of me.” Neil pulled him closer. “It’s easier to not care when there’s nothing to lose.”

Andrew didn’t want to think of the implications of that statement, of the fact that he was something that Neil didn’t want to lose, so instead he pulled Neil even closer. “Yes or no?” He didn’t want to think about how he wouldn’t lose Neil no matter what.

Of course his idiot breathed out ‘yes’, he always did.

“Then come on, I hear there’s this incredible bed I need to try out.” Aaron was passed out upstairs, Nicky was gone for the next few hours and… and Andrew just needed Neil right then, needed to be assured that right now, all was right between them even if everything else was up in the air.

Aaron and Nicky and Riko could wait a little longer.

*******

Neil entered Columbia High School with Andrew and Aaron at his side, and felt slightly more comfortable than when he had walked into Park back in Racine. They had driven to the school in Andrew’s new tricked out GS – they had finally gotten the check from Tilda’s life insurance policy, and had spent the weekend at a dealership while Andrew had wasted a good portion of his part of it on a fancy black car with too many features and worth too much money, but it he’d been pleased as he’d driven off the lot. When Neil had asked him ‘why’ later, Andrew had just shrugged and said that he thought it fitting, spending the money on a car when she’d died in one, and he was tired of driving used cars. It was his money, so Neil didn’t really care, not when it freed up the Nissan for Nicky to use, not when there was enough space in the GS to take him and Andrew and Aaron to school each day. Not when Aaron had transferred money into his and Andrew’s account to contribute toward paying for the house.

Still, it was a new school, and Neil hated feeling all those looks directed toward to him, especially when he was wearing the clothes that Nicky insisted that he buy since his other outfits were ‘utterly horrible’. It didn’t help that Andrew had forced him to the mall as well, and here he was in jeans that weren’t loose and shirts that weren’t pale and… and… he just kept his head down and hoped that he didn’t stand out too much.

“Meet up with us at lunch,” Andrew told him as Aaron and Andrew left him at his locker. “Try not to get the Japanese Club falling all over you.”

“I hate you,” Neil muttered as he figured out the new lock.

“225%,” Andrew informed him as he flicked at Neil’s bangs. “And Exy tryouts aren’t until next week.”

Yeah, it was going to be such a great year, especially when Neil noticed the girl to the left of his locker staring at him with open curiosity and a hopeful smile.

*******

So far Andrew wasn’t that impressed with Columbia High – the color scheme was barely better than Park’s with all the red and gold around, and he’d been mistaken for Aaron three times already. Apparently it would take some time for word to get around that Aaron had a twin brother.

He did manage to pass Neil in the hall on his way to his German language class when Neil was leaving Japanese, and his friend had a harried expression on his face as a couple of kids tagged along in his wake; Andrew took great satisfaction in grabbing Neil by the back of his neck and reminding him of their meet-up at lunch, while the fan club stared on in shock. Neil just nodded and said that he’d be there.

After Intermediate German was the chemistry class that Andrew shared with Aaron, and as he entered the large room with various workstations, he noticed that Aaron was already there and hanging out with a small group of teenagers with ripped jeans hanging down on their hips and t-shirts displaying the names of various bands and skateboarders, expensive but worn sneakers and ratty backpacks with some… interesting decals. As he approached the group, Andrew could smell an abundance of body spray, some lingering cigarette smoke… and another distinctive odor.

“Hey,” Aaron called out to him, a hint of a smile on his lips. “These guys didn’t believe me when I told them that I had a twin. You just won me twenty bucks.” He motioned to Andrew as he held out his right hand. “Pay up, this is my brother Andrew.”

“Holy shit, he really does look just like you,” said the guy with the spiked up brown hair. “Imagine that, two runts.” The others laughed while their teacher, a young man maybe several years older than them, came into the room and called out for everyone to find a partner.

Andrew set his bag on the lab station and sat beside Aaron, who gave him an odd look. “Ah, I figured maybe you could partner with Mike,” Aaron nodded to the guy with dark brown hair with bleached tips. “He’s-“

“No,” Andrew told him. “This works out better.” As the three strange teens stared at him, he gave them a flat looked and waved them away. “Looks like class is about to start, better go find your seats.”

“But-“

“*Fuck off*,” Andrew told them with a bit of force and a hint of teeth as he leaned forward, while beside him, Aaron had gone still. “Get it now?”

The one teen with the spiky hair shot Aaron a confused look, but when Aaron didn’t say or do anything, he scoffed and grabbed his bag before going away, and the others followed. By that point the teacher, McIntyre, was yelling at them to hurry up and find their partner so he could get the class started.

Andrew reached into his bag to pull out his notebook, and had just opened it when Aaron finally spoke up. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I told you, no friends unless I approve of them, and I don’t, not those three.” He turned to look at his brother and tapped his pen on top of the hard surface of the lab. “Stay away from them.” He hadn’t spent a week sitting outside of a bathroom for nothing, so shit like that could got Aaron hooked on something again or some other type of trouble.

Aaron’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, but he forced himself to flip open his notebook as well, even if he tore the corner of a page. “You don’t have the right-“

“I do,” Andrew reminded him. “It’s the deal you made with me, and I’m honoring my end of it. I’m here, so shut up and honor yours.”

Aaron didn’t look at him for the rest of the class.

*******

Neil had never been so thankful to return home from school – well, there had been that day back in Racine when Riko had tracked them down, but he wasn’t certain that it counted. No, as first days went, it hadn’t been *too* bad, other than thanks to Andrew he was now aware when people paid too much attention to him – still had no clue why, but he could sorta figure out the difference between friendly and ‘friendly’. Well, there wasn’t much to figure out when someone came right up to you and asked if you were dating someone. For all the careful lies Neil had spun over the years, he’d just sorta… blanked on that one and mumbled something before running to his next class.

If that hadn’t been bad enough, there appeared to be something going on between Aaron and Andrew, which had led to one very uncomfortable lunch with the twins, with Aaron back to glaring at Neil and Andrew sitting there with that awful blank expression on his face the entire time. The ride home in Andrew’s new car hadn’t been much better, so much so that Neil had wished that he could have been the one sitting in the back seat, rather than Aaron. At least now they were home and he could retreat to the den or on the back porch, wherever the brothers *weren’t*.

Coming into the house, they found Nicky in the kitchen dressed for a shift at Sweetie’s, which he would be leaving for soon. “Hey! How was school? Learn much today?”

“Yeah, that some people are assholes,” Aaron muttered as he tossed his bag onto the table.

“And that some people don’t pay attention when they make promises,” Andrew added with a dangerous smile on his full lips.

Oh yeah, Neil was going to definitely *not* be wherever these two were for as much as the evening as possible; he crept over to the cupboards so he could grab a snack or two to tide him over for the next few hours.

“Okay,” Nicky drawled as he glanced back and forth between the twins. “I’m on the night shift tonight, but it’s a split shift the next couple of ones, in case you need any help with your German homework.” He seemed eager to be of some assistance and smiled at the twins.

“Sure, whatever, only reason I took the class,” Aaron said as he fetched a can of soda from the fridge.

“Andrew?”

Andrew shrugged and, before Neil could make his escape, grabbed onto Neil’s left shoulder. “I’m doing fine.”

“I’m sure you think you are, it’s just the first day,” Nicky said with a patronizing grin. “But it’s not the easiest language to learn. You’re just at the beginning.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Aaron paused in drinking to glance back and forth between his cousin and his brother. “He’s in his second year of classes. I thought you knew that.”

Not only had he been unable to escape, now he was stuck here for this; Neil held the box of crackers to his chest and sighed as realization hit Nicky. “What, you mean Andrew knows German? Oh shit!” That was a distinct look of panic on Nicky’s face just then, probably as he mentally went through all of the times he’d spoken to Erik in front of the three of them.

A rather cruel smirk spread across Andrew’s face as he nodded. “Neil and I do – I’d say I’m past the current curriculum for the year so the class will be easy.” He flexed his left wrist about, showing off the black arm band encasing his forearm. “Might want to think about what you say to your boyfriend from now on.”

The look Nicky sent Neil just then was one of utter betrayal. “How could you? All this time and nothing?”

“Not about to interrupt you and your boyfriend and your… yeah.” Neil scrubbed at his face with his right hand. “Can we go now?” he asked Andrew, having had enough of Andrew’s warped sense of humor for the week, let alone the day.

Humming a little in evident satisfaction, Andrew nodded. “Why not?” As they left the kitchen, they could hear Nicky wailing to Aaron about how long he’d known and not said anything.

“Feel better now?”

Andrew tilted his head to the side as if he was considering the question. “It’s always amusing to put Nicky in his place, so slightly.”

Neil almost asked what had happened between the brothers at school, but all Andrew did was take him to their room and push Neil onto their huge bed, then went around to the other side and sit down on it – all without asking ‘yes or no’. It appeared that he was in the mood to be away from Aaron and Nicky  but not alone, to sit there in their room and work in the day’s homework in quiet, so Neil just sighed, curled up his legs beneath him as he pulled out his books and his notepads, and shared the crackers he’d brought along.

*******

“So, how did try-outs go?” Nicky smiled at Andrew as he handed over a can of beer – Andrew didn’t ask where he got it from, he just accepted it.

“Neil’s on the starting striker line, I’m a starting goalkeeper, and Aaron’s a sub backliner.” He shrugged a little to show that it didn’t bother him, Aaron not making the starting line-up. “We all made the team, though yeah, Aaron was on it last year.”

“Aw man, you make me wish that I was still in high school or something, not that I was anything special.” Nicky grinned as he knocked his beer into Andrew’s. “I loved playing Exy, though I don’t think I was anything near as good as you and Neil, from the sounds of it.”

Aaron came into the living room, a beer in hand as well, and dropped onto the couch near Andrew. “No shit, after seeing the two of them during the tryouts.” He slanted a look at Andrew. “Thought you said your last team was shit.”

“It was – it wasn’t total shit thanks to Neil and me.” He watched as Neil came into the room with a bottle of water in his hands, and chose to sit on the floor near Andrew.

“We had a lousy coach,” Neil explained as he leaned against Andrew’s legs.

“Fucking puppy,” Andrew spat out. “He’s probably crying, now that we switched schools.”

“Hmm,” Neil agreed. He seemed a lot more relaxed today, now that he’d made the team – as if it was ever in doubt. Still, it was one less thing for him to worry about.

“So what, you’re happy now that you made the team? Somehow I didn’t figure you two for big jocks.” Nicky gave a nervous laugh as he stared at Andrew and Neil, as if he’d somehow figured out that there was a reason Neil was pushing so much to get on the team.

Andrew tightened his hands in Neil’s wavy auburn hair. “Some of us are serious about Exy, and that’s all you need to know,” he snapped, his gaze narrowed at Nicky; after a few discussions he’d had with his cousin, the idiot should be better about picking up cues by now.

Beside him, Aaron stirred and gave the two of them a narrowed look. “Funny, how Exy is so important.” He tossed back the rest of his beer and got up to go to the kitchen, where the rest of the beer was; Andrew stared after him for a few seconds before hearing Nicky clearing his throat made him turn his attention to his cousin even as he continued to card his fingers through Neil’s thick hair.

“You know, there’s this….” Nicky began to fidget with the empty can held between his hands.

Even with Neil leaning against his legs and the feel of Neil’s thick, cool hair between his fingers, Andrew’s temper grew sharp and jagged. “Spit it out,” he snapped while Neil tilted his head back to look up at him.

“Okay, there’s this stuff they sell at Sweetie’s,” Nicky rushed out, his face flushed as if embarrassed. “It’s called ‘cracker dust’, but it’s probably because people go to the salad bar and grab cracker packets, and depending on how many they get, we deliver the packets of… drugs to them.”

Andrew tightened his fingers in Neil’s hair enough to make Neil murmur out his name while he glared at his idiot cousin. “You’re dealing drugs now?” And the asshole gave them shit about shoplifting alcohol.

Nicky flushed and sat up in the chair. “Only once I made sure it wasn’t anything bad!” He seemed to think about that and shook his head. “Seriously, I checked the stuff out, and it’s okay. Not addictive, nothing too strong. It’s a bit like E and all.”

That sounded a bit familiar…. Andrew stared at Neil, who was tilting his head back as well. “What did Anna call it, back at that party?”

Andrew paused to remember. “Pixie dust?” He remembered that one girl hoping for a threesome and all. “She said it was really new.”

Neil nodded. “Said it was okay, that it was fine for the party because the stuff wasn’t bad or addictive.”

As if the idiot would object to anything Anna approved – he knew that Neil was still talking to her and all. “What’s the point to all of this?” he asked Nicky.

“Well… I know Aaron is still….” He shrugged and looked toward the kitchen. “Guess I just wanted you to know that there were options and all.”

Andrew considered that, considered how Aaron had been withdrawn from everything lately. “Bring some packets home,” he told his cousin. “If I don’t have a problem with it, then it should be fine.” He felt Neil stir against him and gave his friend’s hair a slight tug. “What, you want to try a little, too?”

Neil shook his head. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I’m not going to be stupid,” he told his friend as he leaned in close. He would also make sure first that it wouldn’t create more problems for his twin. After a quick brush of lips, he sat back on the couch.

When he noticed that Nicky was making an odd humming sound, he glared at his cousin. “What?”

Nicky gave him a wide smile. “Nothing. Oh, wait, yeah, wanted to say that I probably won’t be working too much longer at Sweetie’s – I got an offer at Eden’s Twilight.” When Andrew just stared at him upon hearing that, he sighed in disappointment. “It’s one of the most popular clubs in the city?”

Andrew waved that aside. “Whatever.” He hadn’t been to a club since leaving Oakland.

However, Nicky appeared outraged at his blasé dismissal. “No ‘whatever’! This is really one of the better clubs in the area! If I get a job there, you should come!”

Neil tilted his head up at Andrew. “Uhm, club?”

Oh, now this seemed interesting. “You haven’t been to one?”

“No?”

“Okay, we’re going.” Nicky insisted. “This I have got to see.”

“Eh?”

Andrew just combed his fingers through Neil’s hair. “Hush.”

“Such an asshole,” Neil muttered, but he curled up against Andrew’s legs none-the-less.

“You’re going to have your hands full there,” Nicky warned with a huge grin.

“What else is new?” Andrew’s fingers tightened in Neil’s hair for a moment, but he figured that Aaron could use the night out so he’d put up with it.

*******

Tired from their first week of official week of Exy practice and the after practice that he put in with Andrew and Aaron – a very sullen Aaron who glared the entire time while Andrew and Neil practiced their French, Neil was grateful to return home and wash off in the shower. He relinquished the bathroom to Andrew and had pulled on some shorts and a loose, long-sleeved t-shirt then went into the kitchen to fetch some water when he found Aaron already there, glaring into the fridge as if its contents offended him.

“Uhm, if you see a bottle of water, you can throw it at me,” Neil said as he leaned against the counter.

Aaron grunted as he reached into the fridge and did just that, throwing the bottle with a bit more force than necessary.

Neil arched an eyebrow as he looked at Andrew’s twin. “Problems?”

He had meant the question as a bit of a general one, but Aaron seemed to take it as serious as he glared even more and opened the can of Coke that he’d grabbed before slamming the fridge door closed. “Let me see – I’m tired, I’m cranky, and every time I try to talk to someone at school, my brother has to be an asshole and scare them away. Well, unless they happen to the ‘friend’ he’s fucking, that is.” Aaron’s voice dripped enough attitude just then for about a dozen angsty teens.

It wasn’t often that Neil felt the urge to drink, but he wished right about then that he had something stronger than water on hand. “You’re an ass,” he felt it should be known, before he continued with the conversation any more.

“Really?” Aaron glared at him from across the room. “That’s what you have to say?”

“Yes,” Neil agreed. “You have any idea what your brother does for you?” He waved aside anything Aaron was about to argue just then and decided to just vent what he’d been holding back all these weeks. “No, seriously? We could have gone *anywhere*, the whole country was open to us, I could have gotten us passports even, and he insisted that we come to Columbia.” He let a hint of bitterness creep into his voice then. “I’ve been all over Europe, been around Canada, and he insisted in coming *here*.” The smile he gave Aaron just then was rather patronizing. “Even after teaching him French and German he insisted on coming here. So yes, I think it’s rather plain that you’re the reason we’re here, and yet you keep pushing him away. You keep refusing to see everything he’s given up for you.”

Aaron stared at him as if he wasn’t speaking English. “I don’t… you’re not making any sense.”

“Aren’t I?” Neil shook his head. “Look, I’m am only child, I don’t quite get what’s going on between you, but I know that Andrew’s given up a hell of a lot for you,” even if Andrew wouldn’t tell Neil why that was so, “and all you seem to be doing is pushing him away. And that’s pissing me off, quite honestly.” Neil allowed some of his frustrations, some of his annoyance to come to the forefront – not that Andrew was putting so much importance on Aaron, but that Aaron didn’t seem to give a shit about Andrew’s feelings. “You seem to think I’m a threat? It’s the complete opposite – I don’t think I can get him to leave while you’re here,” Neil admitted, which made him want to curl up in a tight ball of suppressed fear when he thought about his prospects of future Class I teams versus the Ravens. “So stop treating him like shit, stop whining about Tilda and recognize your brother for what he is,” he snapped as he grabbed his bottle of water and prepared to leave the kitchen, unwilling to put up with Aaron and his issues any longer.

He got to the bedroom he shared with Andrew, the room mostly taken up by the king-sized bed, and sat down on the soft mattress while he combed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm his temper.

He had been there for about twenty minutes or so, eventually stretching out on the bed and resting with his eyes closed when he heard someone come in, mostly because of the door opening and closing. There was the weight of another person sitting on the bed and then the gentle touch of fingers stroking through his hair, the faint scent of burnt tobacco. “Aaron seems rather pissed off with you right now.”

“Go figure, I’m not terribly pleased with him right now myself,” Neil murmured as he enjoyed the feel of Andrew playing with his hair.

“Thought the two of you were tolerating each other lately.”

“We were.” He sighed as he opened his eyes and found his friend staring down at him, expression not quite completely blank. “I may have gone off on him for being an asshole toward you.”

Andrew was quiet for about a minute, his fingers moving through Neil’s hair the entire time. “I’ll handle my brother.”

Neil made a spluttering sound as he sat up. “Look, I know he’s your brother, dammit. I’m not trying to get in the way or… or I don’t know, mess things up. Though fuck me if I can figure out how it’s possible to make things more messed up than they are right now,” he snapped. “I just told him that he’s being an asshole to you, that you’ve given up a lot for him and he should treat you better.” When he saw Andrew’s expression become completely blank, he threw his hands up in the air. “I just… I don’t like it, okay? Maybe I said too much but I have to stay here and put up with this… whatever it is, between the two of you.”

Andrew’s hands clenched into fists and he looked away from Neil. “You don’t get to interfere with my promise with him – just like he doesn’t interfere with our deal.”

Had Neil spoken English just then? “How am I interfering by telling him that he’s being an asshole?”

“Just *don’t*”,” Andrew insisted as he got up from the bed. “Stay the fuck out of it!”

Neil stared at him in shock before he slipped away from the bed as well, careful to step away from his friend. “You want me to stay out of it, fine, I will. But *this*?” He waved around him to indicate the house. “This is all on you – we’re all here together because you wanted this. I’m just trying to get through the damn day without it seeming like everyone hates each other.” He tugged at his hair again as he pushed thoughts of Baltimore out of his head. “I just don’t get why you’d force someone to stay if there’s so much hate,” he admitted in a quiet yet frustrated voice before he stalked out of the room.

Nicky was at work and Aaron must have retreated to his room, because the rest of the house was quiet as Neil raced through it to grab his sneakers and then hit the street running; he was still a little tired from Exy practice but as always, once he got about a block or so into the run, once the houses and mailboxes began to blur past him, the faint exhaustion fell away along with his anger and frustration. He could feel his phone buzz inside the pocket of his jeans but he just didn’t care at the moment, didn’t care who it was calling him when the streets stretched out in front of him and it seemed like he could run on forever.

The was setting by the time he finally returned home, several of the windows glowing with a soft light but the front porch dark. Neil slowed as he reached the driveway, shirt wet with sweat but breathing even, and was startled when he saw a shadow move on the steps, caught the bright glow of a cigarette’s tip.

He paused a little then was about to walk past Andrew, to go in and take another shower, but Andrew snagged onto his wrist and held on until Neil got the hint and sat down on the steps beside his friend. “I need to wash off.”

“You need to answer your damn phone,” Andrew said, for once sounding more tired than angry.

“Rather difficult to do that when I’m running.” Still, Neil pulled it out and noticed that he’d missed three calls, all of them from Andrew. There weren’t any messages, which probably was a good thing.

“You and your obsession with running. Almost as bad as Exy.” Andrew’s tone sounded almost nasty just then, as he ground out the cigarette and stood up. “Come here,” he demanded as he walked down the steps.

Neil had a feeling that it wouldn’t do much good to argue that he was tired and thirsty and just wanted to wash off then finish his homework before going to bed – better to just get… whatever this was out of the way, he told himself as he followed Andrew into the back yard. His friend leaned against one of the large maple trees and lit another cigarette, which he proceeded to smoke while Neil stood there with growing impatience.

“If all we’re going to do is stand here, I’ve things to do,” Neil snapped when Andrew was about halfway through the cigarette.

Andrew gave him a flat look. “Really, what are you going to meddle in now?”

“Fuck you.” Neil was too tired for this. “I’m going inside.” He’d sleep in the den or something, he wasn’t in the mood to put up with Andrew when all he’d done was try to help out – lesson learned on that one.

He’d turned around but didn’t get very far, since Andrew had latched on to his wrist again. “I’m not done yet,” Andrew informed him as he pulled Neil back for the step or two he’d taken.

“You haven’t done anything,” Neil felt he should point out, then shut up after he received an annoyed look in return.

“This...,” Andrew waved his right hand in the air, the cigarette tracing a jagged bright line through the darkness, “isn’t easy. I forget, sometimes, because you don’t… you don’t push. You just… with everything that goes on, you just take it and you deal with it. Anyone else would be digging, would be asking….” Andrew huffed as he threw the cigarette aside. “Sometimes it annoys the shit out of me, how you just blink at things and then roll with it. Because you shouldn’t *get* it, but you do, and I don’t know which of us is more fucked up.”

Neil wasn’t certain where Andrew was going with this, and fought not to wince as his friend’s grip on his wrist tightened enough to hurt. “I promised you the truth,” he tried to explain, “not the other way around.” Andrew didn’t owe him a thing in that regard… and he wasn’t going to push, not when it was clear that Andrew guarded his secrets like some people guarded money or status. Not when he knew enough about Andrew’s past to figure out that the knowledge was better left buried and unspoken, if it would help Andrew move on from it.

“And you do keep your word, don’t you?” There was an odd twist to Andrew’s full lips just then, difficult to figure out in the dim light. “Must drive you crazy, to look at Aaron and feel that he’s getting off easy.”

“I don’t think he’s getting off easy, dammit.” Neil jerked his wrist free so he could throw his hands up in the air. “I just don’t… why do you go through so much effort for….” He didn’t know what to say just then and shook his head.

“For Aaron?”

“For either of us,” Neil admitted. “I don’t get it, don’t get what’s in any of this for you.” At least Aaron was blood for Andrew, was family, even if he was an ungrateful shit.

Andrew was quiet for several seconds before he let out a long, slow breath. “Did I… did I ever mention Cass?” As he spoke, he ran the fingers of his right hand along the inside of his left arm, the skin covered by the material of his black arm band.

“Uhm, no?” Neil couldn’t recall that name.

“She was… it was the last foster home I was in, the Spears.” Andrew took to staring at something in the distance. “She had fostered children before, but for some reason… for some reason she was willing to adopt me, to give me a real home. ‘Andrew Jospeh Spear’, she said. I’d finally belong.” There was so much bitterness in his voice just then that Neil winced to hear it, and knew to brace himself for something awful.

“What went wrong?” he dared to ask after there was another pause, unwilling to look at the awful mocking twist on his friend’s lips any longer.

“Hmm, Cass happened to have a son, Drake.” Andrew’s hand tightened around his left wrist. “Great guy, if you like rapists.”

“Ra- shit.” Neil felt his heart seize in his chest. “What… you? Oh fuck.” He had known that things were bad because of Lola’s words back in Reno, but to hear this….

“Hmm, at least you didn’t try to tell me it was all a ‘misunderstanding’,” Andrew spat out the word, “like Luther did. Yes, Drake had a thing for young boys, it seems. I thought I could outlast him, just had to wait until he joined the Marines. Except… except that was around when Aaron and Tilda found out about me, and Drake thought it would wonderful, if I had my newfound brother join us.” Something dark and terrible twisted Andrew’s features even more just then. “Always wanted to try twins, he said.”

Neil felt sick. “So you….” He had to swallow a few times to keep from throwing up, even if he hadn’t eaten in several hours.

“So one day when I was out shopping, some random pervert or whatever got a bit fresh and I….” Andrew shrugged as he let go of his wrist and held up his hands in fists. “They took him away in an ambulance and me to good old Wayward. It mostly worked out, since it got me away from Drake. When a cop I knew came around investigating later, I told him enough to make sure that Cass wouldn’t get any more kids to foster to keep them out of Drake’s hands.”

So… so what, Andrew had thrown away the only home he had known at that point, one he had endured – Neil shook his head. “You told Luther?”

“Huh, at dinner that first night, he said that Cass and Drake had been in contact, guess they had reached out when everyone was trying to find out where I had gone.” There was evident anger in Andrew’s voice just then. “I told him to never speak to them again, and why, and the asshole dared to tell me that I must have ‘misunderstood’, that Drake was too fine of a man to have done anything to me.”

That startled a weak, sour laugh from Neil. “Why am I not surprised? He disowns his son for loving a man, but can’t see a pedophile for what he is.” He scrubbed at his face as he tried to make sense out of everything. “So why are you telling me this?”

“Because…” It was rare to see Andrew appear so uncertain. “Because I’m not walking away from Aaron, I don’t care how much of a shit he’s being. Even if he’s going back on his word and can’t get over Tilda.”

Because Andrew had been watching out for Aaron longer than Neil had suspected – longer than Andrew had known Neil, even if there had been no formal promise in place. “Okay, I get it.” He managed a slight smile as he tucked back his damp bangs. “He’s family and you’re looking out for him, and you always will. I said my piece today and I’ll back off.” There wasn’t that much more he could say to Aaron anyway.

Figuring that Andrew was finished, Neil went to go inside, wanting nothing more than to wash off and just curl up on the futon then, to get some sleep and start the next day. However, once more he barely got a couple of steps before he was stopped. “I’m not done,” Andrew told him, holding out his hands in front of Neil.

“What now?” That came out sharper than Neil had intended, but he was tired and uncertain that he wanted any more revelations.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, probably at Neil’s tone, and he huffed in annoyance. “Keeping you from something important?”

“I’m tired,” Neil tried to explain. “I’m tired and a shower would be really nice right about now.”

“You’re the one who decided to go running for over an hour.” Andrew’s tone made it clear what he thought about that stupidity.

“You know how I feel about burying bodies,” Neil shot back, and waited for the insinuation to sink in.

Andrew dropped his hands and shook his head, his expression blank once more. “Fine, go wash off, you stink after all.”

That was what Neil had wanted, but for some reason now…. “What?” When Andrew remained quiet, he asked again, but quieter. “What was it?”

Andrew had turned away and was headed to the house before he spoke out. “It’s because you do keep your word, you know. Why you’re here, why I’m not letting you walk away either.” Then he gave a dark chuckle. “Well, more like run, in your case.” Then he was up the porch and inside the house.

Neil stood outside for another minute or two while he rubbed at the back of his neck and tried to figure out just what the odd feelings inside of his chest meant, before he gave up so he could take that shower. Afterwards… well, he wouldn’t sleep on the futon, after all.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... yeah, next chapter will take a little time, have barely any of it done. And big things happen in it. BIG. *hums*
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the kudos and the comments, so greatly appreciated, they are!!
> 
> ********


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully there's not too many mistakes in this chapter. Did go through it but... hmm.
> 
> And we're really starting the time skips here, because some of this I think I've covered before and because I'm trying to get to the important stuff. So yeah, time skips and compressing a few things. Hopefully everything still makes sense.  
> *******

*******

Before Nicky quit his job at the restaurant, he brought home several packets of ‘cracker dust’, as he said he would, and Andrew made sure to try one of them; he’d done E back in California and so was familiar with the effects, and had to admit that the euphoria washing through him just then was similar. After a few hours he had a dry mouth and a bit of a headache, but didn’t feel any worse than that and didn’t feel the need to take more of the drug. He tried it once again just to be certain, and then allowed Aaron to have some that weekend, along with some beer Nicky had bribed an older server to pick up for them.

It wasn’t much of a party, considering that it was just the four of them and Neil barely participated, only having a couple of beers and none of the cracker dust, but it seemed to allow Aaron to let off some much needed steam, getting drunk and somewhat high, dancing around a little with Nicky and playing video games through the night. Andrew kept a careful eye on his twin while he drank with Neil curled up at his feet and laughing at the other two’s antics, and had a pleasant buzz going on by the time he finally led Neil off to their bedroom at some ungodly hour late Saturday night. They slept in the following morning, and got to smirk at the two hungover idiots all the next day.

They fell into a routine of sorts for the next several weeks, school and Exy during the weekdays with Nicky finishing up his shifts at Sweetie’s and then starting at Eden’s Twilight, Exy games every other Friday and their mini-parties on Saturday nights. The exception was the rare weekday ‘celebration’ where there was no cake, no presents, but a large bottle of vodka and several cracker packets on hand as the twins turned eighteen.

The pattern lasted until one day in mid November, after Nicky had worked a couple of weeks at Eden’s Twilight.

“I’ve been chatting with Roland, one of the bartenders,” he explained as he helped Neil put together a simple dinner.

“So, you talk to a lot of people.” Andrew shifted back in his chair so Aaron could finish setting the table.

“Roland’s been teaching me a lot about bartending.” Nicky smiled at Andrew over his shoulder. “Anyway, he told me that the place has a few other positions available, that there’s a lot of turnover.” He paused in making the garlic bread to go with the spaghetti to glance at Aaron and then looked back at Andrew. “Said there’s always some jobs available in the kitchen and the general stuff. I hear they’re pretty good about letting said staff into the club without checking ID.”

That got Aaron’s attention. “What, you mean we could get into the place if we worked there?” He’d been interested in going to the club since Nicky had mentioned it a month or so ago, but supposedly it wasn’t so easy to get into if one was under-aged.

Nicky shrugged and seemed to pay too much attention to sprinkling garlic powder on the bread. “Just a rumor I heard, but Chris - I knew him as well from Sweetie’s – he’s not twenty-one yet and he’s been working at the club for a month now. We were chatting the other day and he tells me he gets in whenever he wants.”

In other words, spend a couple of nights cleaning dishes or carrying ice around, and they wouldn’t have to worry so much about hitting people up to buy alcohol for them or stealing it – Nicky had been on them about that, telling them that it would only be a matter of time before they were caught in the act. Andrew glanced at his twin, who shrugged while nodding. “Should be doable, a couple nights a week.”

“Will be nice to have some spending money, too,” Aaron agreed.

“They’ll hire all of us?” Neil finished draining the pasta and looked over at Andrew; when he noticed Andrew’s frown, he shook his head. “No, I’m not going to sit at home while everyone’s out working.” There was that annoying set to his jaw that made Andrew… made Andrew want to do *something* just then.

“You need to focus on your precious Exy,” Andrew reminded him. “Don’t mess that up.” Usually that argument worked.

“We’re 3:1 so far, and no one expected us to beat Raleigh.” Neil dumped the sauce on the pasta then turned around to glare at Andrew. “I go with you or I’m stuck here, by myself, doing who knows what.”

Yeah, like that was much better than the idiot being in the middle of a club unsupervised; Andrew glared at Nicky, whose fault all this was, while Aaron took to smirking. “You better not be lying about the drinking thing.”

Nicky slid the bread into the oven and then held up his hands. “Honest! I’d never lie about such an important thing!” He made a motion as if crossing his heart. “So, should I call Roland and tell him that I’ll be bringing a couple of bar backs with me?”

“Two bar backs, one kitchen helper,” Andrew clarified as he stared down Neil. “No arguments.”

“I don’t know why you act like I’m going to cause trouble,” Neil grumbled as finished with the pasta then carried it over to the table.

“Let me refresh your memory – who taunted a striker twice his size during the last game, hmm?”

There was that stubborn jaw thing again. “I got him red carded, didn’t I?”

“Yes, at the expense of your head being slammed into the wall a few times. Most impressive tactic there, sacrificing your least important body part.” Andrew smiled as Neil gave him the finger while he sat down at the table.

Nicky sighed as he fetched the garlic bread. “Some day, the two of you are going to get past this whole first grade courtship mentality.”

“No they aren’t,” Aaron argued as he helped himself to the pasta. “This is as grown-up as they get with their ‘friendship’.”

Andrew glared at his twin – he was considering stabbing Aaron each time he heard that word from now on.

“Hush, don’t spoil my dreams here,” Nicky chided Aaron as he set the tray down on the table.

“Everyone needs to shut up and eat,” Andrew warned as he held his fork in his hand, ready to start the stabbing.

Dinner went along its usual lines, with Nicky being an obnoxious, hyper idiot and Aaron spurring him on, Neil watching them as if he’d never seen such antics before and stepping in when Andrew’s death threats were about to become reality. Aaron and Nicky got left with cleaning up the kitchen, since Neil had done most of the cooking and Andrew could never be bothered, so Neil and Andrew retreated to their bedroom.

Andrew had settled at the top of bed with his laptop so he could finish his homework, while Neil stretched out along the bottom with a book from his English class. “What do you have against me working at the club?” Neil asked after about fifteen minutes or so.

Saving the essay he was writing for German class, Andrew set the laptop aside for a minute. “Because it’s going to be busy and I won’t be able to keep an eye on you if I’m working, so stay the fuck inside the kitchen.”

Neil lifted up on his arms and scowled, not appearing to be angry just yet but not pleased either. “You think I’m going to screw up or something?”

“I think Riko’s been awfully quiet the past month or so,” Andrew admitted, and noticed how Neil’s narrow shoulders tensed up beneath his plain white t-shirt. There had been the ‘lovely’ housewarming present, and the occasional text – how the bastard always managed to track down Neil’s new phone number, Andrew would love to know – to show how he was following the Columbia Caps’ Exy season. That he was following *Neil’s* season, in growing anticipation of being able to recruit him as a Raven.

There was no fucking way that Andrew was allowing that to happen.

“So yes, it seems your damn paranoia is catching, and you better have fun washing dishes,” he said as he set the laptop back on his lap so he could finish the essay.

“Okay.” For once there was no arguing, no snarky comeback from Neil, so he assumed that the matter was settled for the night. It wasn’t until he had just finished with the German assignment and he went to look around for his chemistry notebook, that Neil dropped his book over the side of the bed and rolled over onto his knees, then crawled up to Andrew.

“’Yes’ or ‘no’?” he asked as he set the laptop aside on the nightstand, those long legs of his straddling Andrew’s thighs.

Andrew still had some homework to do… but he could always harass Aaron into giving him the answers tomorrow, he figured as he wrapped his arms around Neil’s waist. “Yes,” he answered as he pushed forward and toppled the idiot onto his back, had Neil sprawled out beneath him smiling and eager.

*******

Thanksgiving came around with two more wins for the Caps’ season record; Coach Jackson was already talking about them making the district finals that year, and possibly going further. There was also noise about recruiters showing up after the new year if they kept up their winning streak, with Coach Jackson giving significant looks Andrew’s and Eddy’s – their captain – way. Neil tried not to put too much thought into it, too much hope, but if they could both get signed on to the same university team….

His days were full of school and Exy practice and more Exy practice and homework and now a couple of nights at Eden’s Twilight, where he had the pleasure of washing dishes and cutting fruit while Aaron and Andrew hauled buckets of ice, racks of glasses, kegs and cases of alcohol back and forth. There were times when Neil felt utterly exhausted by it all… and then Nicky would do something so stupid and outrageous to make him smile, Aaron would make a snide comment that shouldn’t be funny but was, and Andrew…. There was the ‘yes’ and ‘no’, were the nights when they just sprawled out on their huge bed to do their homework together or sat out in the backyard near the fire pit that Nicky splurged on one day after finding out that Neil had never had s’mores. It was exhausting and a bit crazy and Neil knew that it would end one day, that either Riko would win out or he’d have to leave for university – and that made it all the more precious.

Nicky had seemed depressed about Thanksgiving at first, probably because of his parents, and there had been talk about them making a big, fancy dinner. However, Andrew had put his foot down, had insisted that none of them really knew how to cook that well and he refused to put that much effort into the day (into anything, really), and that him and Neil had a perfectly fine holiday last year. Upon hearing about it, Nicky changed his mind and got on board, though he did insist on at least buying a pumpkin pie or two from a local bakery.

So there was pie and lots of Chinese take-out and several bottles of alcohol, courtesy of Roland from the club, and they all watched a bunch of movies together while yelling at Nicky to shut up and stop ruining the plots for Neil (Aaron did most of the yelling, Andrew the usual threats and Neil wondered why he just didn’t allow Andrew a little maiming to get it out of his system one of these days). Even if they didn’t practice Exy at all that weekend, it was a great time. Good enough to make Neil worry about how long such a thing could last, to make him check his phone to see if Riko had left a message or anything. Because nothing this good had ever lasted so long.

*******

Andrew dropped off the two stacked racks of clean glasses for Roland. “Anything else before we open?” It was a Thursday night, so it should get pretty busy once they opened the doors.

The bartender flashed him a wide, white grin and leaned sideways against the bar, which made the tight black t-shirt he wore bearing the club’s logo stretch across his rather impressive chest; Andrew didn’t mind the display, though the artifice of it was a bit annoying. “You and your brother work pretty hard, how about a little something, hmm?” Roland continued to smile as he reached beneath the bar and pulled out a decent bottle of whiskey, then poured Andrew a shot. When Andrew just stared at him, he laughed a little and poured another one, then made a show of tossing it back.

“And Aaron?” Andrew asked as he picked up the shot.

“Tell him to stop by when you see him, and I’ll give him one then.” Roland’s smile tightened to something a bit more secretive, which showed off a dimple. “But it’s nice, being able to talk with you now.”

“I’m not very talkative,” Andrew said before he tossed back the shot himself.

“Hmm?” Roland gathered up the empty glasses and put them in the sink filled with disinfectant solution. “Well, we don’t have to talk, really.” When Andrew continued to give him a flat look, his smile faltered. “Or maybe I’m completely wrong about you.”

Andrew shrugged as he filched a cherry from the tray set out for drink decorations. “Not really, but I’m….” He frowned as he bit into the sweet fruit and tried to figure out what he wanted to say. What were he and Neil? “Not available,” was what he settled on as he pulled out the stem and pit a moment later.

“Oh.” Roland seemed a little disappointed upon hearing that. “Then I won’t take it personally, knowing that someone beat me to you.”

“Ego much,” Andrew scoffed as he filched another cherry.

Roland gave him a saucy wink. “I’ve no complaints. Just keep me in mind if-“

“Where the hell did you and Aaron go off to? The glasses are piling up back there!”

Andrew turned around to find Neil standing by the bar with a couple racks of glasses in his arms and a glare on his face, his hair almost curly from the humidity in the kitchen and black outfit covered by a white apron.

“Give me that,” Andrew snapped. “And what the hell did I say about staying in the damn kitchen?”

“I’m running out of space-“

“I don’t care, get back there.” Andrew glared at his idiot until Neil gave him the finger and left, all the while muttering about slacker twins and assholes. When he went to set the racks down on a clear bit of space at the bar, he found Roland grinning at him in a rather suspicious manner. “What?”

“Nothing, that’s just the most emotion I’ve seen from you since you started working here. So is Neil ‘unavailable’, too?”

Andrew shoved the racks at the asshole with a good bit of force. “Don’t even think about it.”

Roland winced as he scrambled not to drop the racks. “Okay! I got it, message received.” Then he chuckled as he set them down on top of the bar. “Though he’s a bit young for me, and not quite my type.”

“Good, that’s much healthier for you.” Andrew gave the bartender a warning look before he started to unrack the glasses. “Lot of nasty workplace accidents that can happen around a bar, you know.”

“And now I’m never going back into the kitchen, thank you very much.” Still, Roland laughed as he helped Andrew with the glasses. “Would another shot get me back in your good graces?”

Andrew grunted in agreement, and after sharing second shot with Roland, finished with the glasses so he could go find out what his brother and idiot cousin were doing – they better be setting up the other bar, or else one of those ‘workplace accidents’ was about to happen.

*******

“Neil! Neil Josten!”

About to leave the court, Neil turned to look up at the stands and noticed a blonde woman waving at him; it took a few seconds for him to recognize her at Agent Sonja Wolfe, in part because she was dressed in jeans with a bright red wool coat. “Ag- ah, Ms. Wolfe?” He waved back and then looked at his racquet for a moment.

“I’ll take that, go see your friend,” Sarah, one of the dealers, told him. He gave her a nervous smile in appreciation and took off his helmet as he headed for the stands, and wasn’t surprised when Andrew soon caught up with him.

“Why is she here?”

“I’ve no clue,” he told his friend. “It doesn’t look like it’s for anything official.” Still, a small knot of worry formed in his chest.

If it was odd to see Sonja Wolfe at one of his Exy games, it was even odder when she reached over and gave him a brief hug. “You were amazing!” she told him with a laugh when he did his best not to flinch, then turned to Andrew and smiled. “You too! I wish I had the two of you on my team.”

“You play?”

Sonja smiled at Neil. “Oh, nothing too fancy, but we have an amateur league at work. Right, Bryan?” She smiled up at the man standing beside her, who appeared about the same age and height as her, with dark brown hair shot with a few strands of grey and pale green eyes behind his wire-frame glasses. “Oh, this is Bryan Finley.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he told them with a slight incline of his head. “And don’t let her fool you – it’s an amateur league in that there’s no money involved, but it’s a cutthroat as if it’s the pros.” He laughed a little as he rubbed his right hand along his ribs. “I’m still sore from the beating the forensic team gave us last week.”

“Don’t worry, we take them on next, I’ll defend your honor for you.” Sonja reached back to give his hand a squeeze. “Bryan works with arson squad.”

“Okay.” Really, what was Neil supposed to say just now? “So… you came to see the game?”

Sonja nodded. “Yeah, we had the night free and Bryan attended Columbia High, ages ago.” That prompted another laugh from her… date? Boyfriend? “We couldn’t resist.” She seemed to notice his confusion and her smile dimmed a little. “I’m not checking up on your or anything, not really. Though it is good to see that you’re doing well. We just had the night free and thought it would be fun, watching a game and all.”

“Okay,” Neil repeated, and this time he managed a smile. “It’s a good thing we won, since you stopped by.”

“Yes, you’re doing much better than back when I was on the team – more like on the team bench,” Bryan agreed. He smiled at them then patted Sonja on the shoulder. “We should get going.”

She nodded and smiled once more at Neil and Andrew. “Seriously, I’m glad you’re both doing well. Keep letting me know you’re still alive now and then, that’s all I ask, and keep winning.” She waved goodbye and followed Bryan off the stands.

“Well, that was weird,” Neil admitted as he watched them leave.

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around a cop being here and me not getting arrested.” Andrew seemed to not take his attention off the pair until they were out of sight.

Neil turned to look at his friend and shook his head. “And you say that I have issues.” He smiled until Andrew hit him in the stomach with one of his gloved arms.

He was still wincing when Aaron caught up with them. “That was the one agent, right? What the hell did you do now?” he asked, staring pointedly at Andrew.

Neil managed a wheezing laugh when Andrew removed his glove and threw it at his twin.

*******

Andrew went into winter break with mixed feelings – on one hand, it was great to get away from Exy and school for a while. The Caps had one of the best records in the district, was currently second and Coach Jackson was being a pain in the ass about, was pushing for ‘more effort’ and ‘give it your all’ and all those other platitudes that made Andrew want to punch him. The team was good, was so much better than the Panthers, but they weren’t perfect. Neil was out there busting his ass in each game, along with Terry, another striker, and half the time their backliners could barely defend the goal. The good news was, their ineptitude made Neil look all the better, made him learn all the faster, and Andrew had to do something other than just stand around in the goal whenever he was on the field. It was annoying… but it was almost fun, looking out over the court and seeing Neil run around with a smile or that determined gleam in his eye, taunting the other team to goad them into making a mistake. To watch Aaron’s back and yell out the occasional insult to his twin to make Aaron pay attention and stop the damn ball before it got to Andrew. There were times when he didn’t mind playing.

Which was good, if the recruitment talks were true that the universities would be doing the high school circuits after the new year and were intending to swing by Columbia to check out Andrew and Eddy, and to pre-scout Neil and Terry and maybe even Saul, who was developing into a halfway decent dealer. Andrew knew that Neil had to make it to a Class I Exy team in the next year and a half, but what about him? Just how far did Neil intend for… there was the very real possibility that Neil might go too far for Andrew to follow. That wasn’t something Andrew wanted to think about just then.

There was also the fact that Aaron was back to being a little shit, after seeming to take whatever Neil had said to him to heart; it probably had to do with Andrew stepping in on the burgeoning relationship, if one wanted to call it that, he had tried to get going with the one junior on the soccer team. Or, more appropriately, that she had tried to start and Aaron had been more than happy to follow along with, until Andrew had pulled the girl aside one afternoon and ‘explained’ to her why she was going to leave Aaron alone. Considering how easy she’d been to scare away… he heard the talk, about how him and Aaron had the nice car, the house ‘perfect for parties’, were ‘lucky’ enough to not have parents (Nicky didn’t seem to count), and the hot two roommates (the two very unavailable roommates, considering it was mostly the female student population talking). The supposition was there that they had money (somewhat true – Aaron was saving the rest of his life insurance settlement for college, if he could get his grades up enough to make it into a decent one, Andrew had a very attractive watchdog over his account who wouldn’t allow a raging kegger for idiot high school students). So why Aaron hadn’t appreciated the save… there were a lot of things Andrew couldn’t figure out about his twin, and that was just one of them.

So yes, no Exy, no matter how much Neil wheedled and begged (though it would be fun if his friend tried), no school, but one very sullen twin and the fact that they had just picked up Nicky’s fiancé from the airport after a completely ridiculous display of physical affection. “You’re just scared me for life when it comes to airports,” Andrew said as he pulled out onto the highway; beside him in the front of the car, Neil was slumped down in the seat and rubbing at his temples as if he had a headache – that or trying to clear his brain of the images forced into in in the last five minutes.

“My apologies, but it’s been too long.” Erik was huge and blond and smiled too much – if Nicky knew what was good for him, he’d keep his boyfriend away from Andrew as much as possible during the holidays, because there was only so much tall blond happiness he could stomach.

“Ignore him, he thinks he’s being affectionate when he tells Neil how much he hates him. Now come here, I can’t believe you were finally able to visit!” Nicky dragged Erik back toward him and did things that made Andrew wonder if his insurance covered him burning his own car since it was tainted now.

They made it back to the house in record time, since there was no way Andrew could stomach listening to his cousin make out any longer, and after Nicky introduced Erik to Aaron, the two headed right upstairs. Aaron watched them leave the kitchen with a type of fascinated disgust. “I’m sleeping in the den until that guy leaves.” Then he glanced over at Andrew and Neil, the first time he’d looked straight at Andrew in the last several days. “You two don’t make much noise, I bet you’re quieter than them.”

Neil tugged on his bangs as he went to the fridge for a bottle of water. “It’s times like these that I appreciate not having any family around.”

“What, and miss out on the fun of having strange men come over to have sex in your house?” Andrew snatched the bottle of water from Neil since he was thirsty, and smiled at the glare he got for his actions.

“No, because everyone in your family is an asshole,” Neil informed him as he fetched another bottle of water then stalked out of the room as if he couldn’t stand to be in it one moment longer.

“Kind of difficult to argue with that,” Aaron said as he played some sort of game on his phone. “Looks like I won’t have to worry about you two making much noise at all tonight.”

Andrew threw the cap from the water bottle at him. “That’s what you think, he gets more into it when he’s all fired up. Better break out the earplugs.” He smirked at his twin and gave him the finger as he went to track down his idiot, and ignored the mumbled sounds of German from upstairs.

Neil did eventually calm down and Aaron had another thing to hate Andrew for in the end, but Andrew decided not to hold it against him. That and Aaron complained about all the German being spoken in the house, since four out of five people were mostly fluent in it, while Nicky laughed and told him it would help him improve his grades in the class. If Aaron was frowning for most of the break, Nicky was smiling, obviously pleased to have his boyfriend by his side and with some sort of family for the holidays. He even went out with Erik to get a small tree, which he decorated with red ribbons and gold garland ‘for good luck’, since they didn’t have any other ornaments, and bought presents as well. There was almost an air of desperation to his activities, as if he was desperate to make the holiday a good one, so Andrew just gave Neil a dark look and upped the percentage one point when he was dragged off to the mall for some shopping.

For the actual holiday, they once more got Chinese take-out and drank the red wine Erik bought for the day while they exchanged the few presents they had bought; Nicky had got Aaron, Neil and Andrew new messenger bags for school, some nice sweaters for Neil, games for Aaron and a pair of leather boots Andrew had been eyeing for the past month. Andrew and Neil (more Neil) had gotten Nicky a new scarf and minutes for his phone so he could call Erik, and Aaron had bought him some new headphones, though Aaron complained he should be keeping them for himself after what he’d been put through the last couple of days. Aaron gave Andrew a gift card for the local bookstore and Neil one to the local Exites shop, surprising Andrew a bit in that his twin had gotten them anything at all, and appeared surprised in return when they got him a new MP3 player since he still had an old one. He didn’t say much after opening the bag, but he didn’t seem so sullen any more for the rest of the day.

Despite Nicky cajoling them to open their gifts for each other in front of everyone, Neil and Andrew waited until it was just the two of them to do that – by late night, Aaron was passed out on the couch and Andrew had enough of Nicky pretending there was mistletoe everywhere and molesting Erik whenever he could. Neil had only sipped a glass or two through the night so he appeared more tired than anything and grateful for some quiet, when they went to their bedroom.

He fetched a small, bright blue and silver bag from a drawer in his dresser and handed it to Andrew before he climbed up on the bed and sat with his legs crossed. “It’s not much, but I know you’re not a big fan of presents.”

“You think?” Andrew huffed as he thought about the big mess out in the living room and catering to Nicky all day, even as he pulled out the silver tissue paper to see what Neil had gotten him. Like last year, there was a new book, one he’d been looking forward to reading, and a white box. It didn’t come as much of a surprise when he opened it to reveal a metal flask about the size of his hand, also monogrammed with a stylized ‘A’ to match his lighter. It wasn’t a surprise, but it still made his chest ache in an odd way.

“You’re going to have to figure out something new for next year,” he said as he set the gifts aside and reached under the bed for the bag he’d set there earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Neil shook his head and smiled.

“It be funny to get you cufflinks or something, just to see what you’d do with them.”

“Throw them at you, most likely.”

“Yeah.” Neil kept smiling as he dug through the bag, then sighed. “Another party?” he asked as he held up the black shirt, this one sheer but layered with a white shirt beneath it.

There were matching black cargo pants and new boots in the bag; Andrew had gone out with Nicky to pick out the outfit. “We’re going to the club for New Year’s Eve.” It was about time they finally went to enjoy a night out and not work, and he was willing to bet that Aaron would be very happy to hear about it.

“Oh joy.” Neil’s tone just then was flat, but his eyes were bright with amusement and he set the bag filled with the new outfit aside with care. “At least it gets me out of the kitchen.”

“Always a comeback with you, Josten.”

“Hmm, I try.” Neil reached out for Andrew’s hands and, when he didn’t resist or pull away, tugged him down onto the bed until they were lying beside each other. “Merry Christmas.”

“If you insist.” Still, Andrew closed his eyes and lay there on the bed, slightly buzzed and warm and oddly content, as Neil chuckled and lay beside him. It wasn’t a bad holiday, all in all, even with Nicky and everything.

*******

After working the last several weeks at Eden’s Twilight, it took some getting used to being let in through the front door as a guest, Neil thought as he looked out over the crowded dance floor. There was also something to be said about being back in the kitchen where it was a lot less crowded and noisy. Still, Aaron actually had a smile on his face and Nicky couldn’t stand still, he was bouncing around so much with excitement, while Erik laughed at his boyfriend’s antics.

They managed to find a table up near the bar, and Andrew volunteered to go get them their drinks – which meant that Neil got to tag along, following in his friend’s wake as Andrew somehow managed to make everyone get out of way with a flat stare and bad attitude alone. The bar was just as crowded as the rest of the place, but Neil didn’t mind pressing his back against Andrew’s firm chest, especially if it kept him from touching the strange redhead who seemed way too intent on downing her large margarita next to him.

“Andrew! And Neil!” Roland smiled at them – well, more at Andrew, Neil noticed, as he came to stand in front of them. “Haven’t seen you guys in a few days.”

“We took some time off since Nicky has his significant other in town.” Andrew handed over a couple hundred dollar bills. “So we need some drinks – whiskey, that Jaeger stuff Aaron likes, Nicky’s crap, and some of those lime shots you were making that one night.”

Roland laughed as he accepted the money. “Very concise, I’ll see what I can do.” He gave Andrew a wink before he got busy with the order.

“You two seem friendly,” Neil remarked as he made a point to rest his weight against Andrew.

“He gives me and Aaron free shots.”

“Uh-huh.” Neil still remembered Ryan and wasn’t buying it. “Free shots.”

A hand settled on his right hip and gave it a tight squeeze. “Don’t go there, considering half the Japanese and Anime clubs are coming to our Exy games these days. Something tells me they’re not there for newfound team spirit.”

“Whatever,” Neil muttered.

“I thought so.” Still, Andrew kept his hand on Neil’s hip and didn’t push him away, even when Roland returned with a tray full of drinks and smiled at them.

“Fun time starting all ready?”

“Something like that.” Andrew waved him off as he picked up the tray and carried it with ease despite all of the drinks back to their table. Nicky let out a cheer when he caught sight of them, and snatched up the colorful shots which he handed some over to Erik, along with a couple of packets of cracker dust. Aaron wasn’t too far behind in downing his Jaeger bombs, and soon it was just Andrew and Neil left at the table. “Are we going to have to carry them out of here?” Neil remembered how quickly people got trashed at the New Year’s party last year.

“I told Erik he’s responsible for Nicky while he’s in town, so that leaves us with Aaron.” Andrew slid over a couple of pale green shots toward Neil. “Drink up.”

He eyed them with some trepidation, remembering the vodka shots from last year and how quickly he’d become drunk. “I’d rather not be carried out, thank you.”

“Then don’t drink too much too fast.” Andrew picked up a double-shot of whiskey and tossed it back. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Neil never did, yet somehow he found himself picking up one of the glasses. “What is it?” He braced himself for something disgustingly sweet, knowing Andrew, and was surprised when it was only a little bit so, reminding him a bit of the slice of pie he’d had at Sweetie’s the one night at Nicky’s insistence.

“Something that Roland whipped up the one night, it was popular. Thought you might like it.”

“Hmm.” Neil set the empty glass down but didn’t pick up the other one just yet, he was content to just sit there with Andrew for the time being and nurse his shots for the next couple of hours. “So, Erik leaves the day after tomorrow.” He looked out onto the dance floor and thought he could see the German thanks to his height- that and Nicky hanging on him.

“Not that I’m counting down the hours or anything.” Andrew grimaced as he tossed back another whiskey. “I think Aaron will be happy to be able to sleep in his bedroom again.”

“Just a little.” Neil shook his head as he thought about Andrew’s brother and his recent mood swings; at least he was semi-decent some of the time. “Then back to school.” As much as he missed playing Exy, the break had been nice. “We’ll start the semi-finals in another month or so.”

“Imagine that, being on a team that makes it to them.” Andrew stared at Neil as he held the empty shot glass cradled in his right hand, his expression blank. “Must make *you* happy.”

Neil hesitated a moment before he spoke again and had another of the lime-flavored shots to stall for time. “It’s what we wanted, me getting on a decent team and being noticed.” He stared at the table as he figured out what to say next. “It’s getting you noticed, too.”

“Hmm.”

Dammit, couldn’t Andrew help him out here? “I hear… I hear there’s some good scouts out during the quarter finals. Penn State, USC, Breckenridge and the such.”

“Edgar Allen,” Andrew said with a sneer that Neil didn’t need to look up at him to see.

“Yeah, them too.” Neil sighed as he sat upright. “But they… I’m not focused on them.” He was doing his best not to even think about them. “Penn State and USC… they’re almost as good.”

Andrew set the glass down on the table. “I wouldn’t know, we’ve just been talking about them for the past few months.”

Neil wanted to hit him just them. “For me, we’ve been talking about them for *me*. What about you?” He let out an angry hiss and shook his head at how Andrew was avoiding the topic – things seemed to have been taken for granted at first that maybe Andrew would just follow Neil, but now there was Aaron and Nicky and… and Andrew’s graduation didn’t seem so far off. “Are you just going to stay here forever, or will you accept a scholarship if they give you one?”

The asshole stared into the remaining shot of whiskey as if he found it to be utterly fascinating. “There’s Aaron…”

“I thought that deal was through high school.” Neil wanted to snatch the glass away from Andrew.

“It is.” He finally looked at Neil. “What about the house here? Your senior year of school?”

“It’s part Aaron’s, isn’t it? If he can’t use it, rent the damn thing out.” Neil forced himself to take a deep breath. “See what offers you get, we’ll figure something out. That’s… that’s all I’m saying. Switching schools… that doesn’t bother me.” Not if it meant that he wouldn’t be facing five years away from Andrew.

Andrew sat there in silence for a good minute or two, while Neil wondered if he shouldn’t just… just go up to the bar or pretend he had to go the bathroom or something, anything to get away from the table for a little while. Then Andrew pushed another one of the lime shots toward him. “First I have to get some offers, right? Let’s see which schools come through and then we can figure it out.”

Relief flooded into Neil as he picked up the shot. “Okay.” He laughed a little as he held it near his chest. “Though I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, not with how well you’re doing this season.”

“Worry about your own ass, Josten,” Andrew told him as he picked up his last shot.

“I thought you did that for me, too.”

Andrew shoved the last shot toward Neil. “Just for that, you are going to drink now.” Yet there was a hint of a smile on his lips as he watched Neil pick up the glass.

*******

Sitting on the bench, Andrew watched as Steve just barely blocked the latest shot from one of the Bulldog’s dealers, the team appearing intent on not going back to Decautur in defeat. Neil, Eddy and Terry had worked hard to build them up a nice cushion of points in the first half, but once Phil had been subbed in for Andrew and Terry benched with sore ankle, the lead had been eaten away enough that the Caps were fighting for the last minute or two of the game.

Next to him on the bench, Aaron made a hissing sound as Neil was slammed into the wall, but it cleared the way for Sarah to grab the ball and send it in for a final goal. “Which scout’s supposed to be here today?”

“Penn State,” Andrew answered as he glared at his idiot until Neil stumbled to his feet, head shaking and hands loose around his racquet while the rest of the team shouted as the buzzer counted down the final seconds of the game.

“Bet they’re real impressed right now.” Aaron’s tone was pure sarcasm as they watched the majority of their team jump up and down on the court. Neil dodged a hug from Jay and stumbled toward the line-up as the teams shook hands. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Andrew followed him out onto the court and took his place next to Neil, who wavered a little as he attempted to stand up straight. “How hard were you hit just then?”

“Uhm….” Neil paused to yank off his helmet, his face flushed and sweaty. “I’m seeing double?” He motioned toward Andrew and Aaron.

“Idiot,” Andrew huffed as he hit him on the back of the head, and just glared at the Bulldogs as they came past to shake hands – especially the dealer who had slammed into Neil.

The whole stupid ‘good game’ ritual over, Andrew tugged Neil off of the court. “You might want to rethink running around in circles until you’re sure you can stand up.”

“I’m fi-ah!” Neil’s arms windmilled for a few seconds as he struggled to remain on his feet, since Andrew gave him a shove as soon as he started in with his usual bullshit. “Asshole,” he muttered once he could walk again.

“Yeah, but not one who seems determined to become concussed on a monthly basis,” Andrew sneered, while beside him, Aaron’s lips twitched as if he wanted to smile.

As soon as they reached the locker room, Andrew heard his name be called out, along with Eddy’s; he looked over to see Coach Jackson waving at him from down the hall.

“Go on, I’ll make sure Josten doesn’t walk into any walls or something,” Aaron told him as he herded Neil toward their section of the locker room.

“You’re both assholes,” Neil complained, but he gave Andrew a slight nod.

Having an idea what this was about, Andrew handed Neil his helmet and gloves, then went to get it over with; he wasn’t surprised to see some middle-aged guy wearing a Penn State jersey waiting inside of the office, along with Eddy and Eddy’s father. The Cap’s captain still appeared flushed from the game, sweat gleaming on his face and soaked into the bandana he wore over his close-cropped black hair. Beside him, his father loomed over the senior, taller and heavier, but there was a smile on his broad face whenever he looked at his son and Eddy always talked about how his dad was a great guy.

Must be nice.

“Since you’re both here and I’m sure tired after such an exciting game, I won’t waste your time.” The scout leaned over to shake hands with Eddy and his father, and arched an eyebrow when Andrew just stared at him. “I’m John Donahue, and I’m here on behalf of Penn State’s Exy team.” He stepped over to the desk, where a briefcase rested. “Since I’m certain that I’m not the first scout to talk to you, I’ll save you the usual song and dance, but both of you have some very impressive statistics.” He opened the case and pulled out two large folders. “It would be great if you’d consider our program,” he told them as he handed both Andrew and Eddy an envelope with their names on it. “I’ll be in town through tomorrow night, if you want to talk to me some more – and my number’s in there so you can call me at any time.”

Since Andrew already had similar envelopes from Breckenridge and Maryland, and he knew that Penn State was at the top of Eddy’s wish list since the teen wanted to get into a good engineering school, he just nodded at Donahue and waved with the thick envelope. “Sounds good. Anything else?” He glanced at Jackson before he headed for the door.

“Minyard!” Donahue caught up to him out in the hallway, a chagrined smile on his face. “I’ve heard you’re a hard sell.”

“I didn’t know that people were talking about me.” Andrew narrowed his eyes at the man.

Donahue shrugged as his smile slipped away. “Guys like me, we talk when we cross paths. You know, I’m not just here for this year – there’s four graduating upperclassmen on the school’s team next season. I’m keeping an eye out for prospective replacements for them, and Josten’s at the top of my list. Something to consider if that makes your decision any easier.”

Like he would trust the word of a stranger, unless he had an ironclad contract. Still, something to consider indeed, especially since he hadn’t talked to USC yet. It wasn’t unheard of for a school to sign a player in their junior year – he was certain that Edgar Allen would snatch up Neil right now if he called Riko to say ‘yes’.

By the time he made it back to the locker room, most of the team had finished with their showers and had left. Aaron, in the process of removing his protective gear, nodded at the envelope in Andrew’s hands. “Another one?” There was a hint of wistfulness in his voice, since it was clear there would be no scholarship offers coming his way, at least not from the type of schools he wanted.

“Probably the same as the others.” Andrew shoved it into his locker and began to take off his own gear, mindful of Neil’s attention on him; by the time they got ready for their showers, everyone but Eddy should be gone, and he was willing to bet that the teen and his father would be in there with Donahue for a while. “You up for washing off here?”

“Yeah.” Neil didn’t sound so sure, but he managed to get his gear off on his own; he had the beginnings of a nice black eye, but his pupils didn’t appear dilated.

Andrew figured it could wait until later, when they were alone, to look through what Penn State had to offer and talk about what Donahue had said.

*******

Neil swiped off the bandana which had held back his bangs while he worked, grateful that his shift was done for the night; with the Caps in the semi-finals, Coach Jackson was working them hard enough that Andrew and Neil were skipping their extra practices, needing the break and the time to catch up on their homework – especially with the shifts at Eden’s Twilight. He didn’t hold out much hope of them advancing to the final rounds, not with the way they had barely won their last game… but they should be able to hold out another game or two, long enough for the USC scouts to come check on Andrew.

“Good job, Red,” Joe called out to Neil as he left the kitchen, and Neil gave his coworker a weary wave as he went looking for Andrew, Aaron and Nicky. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to find the twins near Roland’s bar as he broke it down for the night, glasses in their hands. When Roland smiled at him and held up a bottle of what looked to be vodka, Neil shook his head.

“Where’s Nicky?”

Aaron grimaced as he set the empty shot glass down on the bar. “Something about helping someone get a taxi.”

“Carlos,” Roland explained. “Bad break-up, he had a few too many tonight.”

Neil thought Carlos might be one of the other bartenders, but he wasn’t certain. “Okay.” He nodded in thanks when Roland handed him a glass of water. “We going to be here long?” More importantly, was he going to have to drive everyone home?

“Waiting on Nicky,” Andrew explained as he tossed back what looked to be his second shot.

Great. Neil had just had a sip of the water when one of the servers, he thought her name was Cory, ran up to them in a panic. “Come on, these guys are beating up Nicky!”

Neil stared at her in confusion for a moment, the words not making any sense – why would anyone want to beat up Nicky? Then it sunk in that Andrew was off and running, so he dropped the water and raced after his friend.

It was dark outside, the parking lot mostly deserted with a few cars here and there, mainly those belonging to the club’s staff. About ten feet from the club’s sidewalk there was a cluster of people, were about five guys huddled around what turned out to be someone on the ground – that someone being Nicky. He made an awful sound as he was kicked in the stomach.

Neil heard someone yell out to call the damn cops, and then he saw Andrew barrel into the group, saw his friend punch the guy kicking Nicky and then lash out with his foot at another person. In all of the years back in Baltimore, on the run from his father’s people… Neil had never seen so much rage, so much hostility unleashed in such a short span and in such an effective manner.

Andrew was constantly on the move, swinging his fists and lashing out with those heavy boots of his, hitting where Neil knew it mattered the most, striking kidneys and throats and sternums and the sides of knees, all the less obvious points of attack. The few times one of the other guys managed to land a hit on him, Andrew seemed to shrug it off as if it was nothing, his eyes gleaming in the dim light and a cruel twist to his lips. He took the hits and kept dishing them out.

“Fuck,” Neil whispered when he realized that Andrew wasn’t stopping. “Grab Nicky,” he yelled at Aaron as he circled the melee.

“What?”

“Nicky,” he yelled again while pointing to his friend huddled on the ground, then wrapped his arms around a guy barely standing and threw him with all of his strength into the nearest car. Aaron finally got with the program and half-dragged a moaning Nicky away from the fight, Nicky’s face bruised and bleeding, which left Neil to deal with Andrew.

“Stop it,” he yelled at his friend, who seemed determined to bash one of the guy’s head into a lamp post. “Stop it before you kill someone!” When Andrew continued to ignore him, he took a deep breath and dared to grab onto Andrew’s left arm.

Even braced for it, the punch to his face hurt so *damn* much it took his breath away, and he almost forgot to latch onto Andrew’s arm as it pulled back to strike him again – or at least try. “Stop!” He thought that more or less came out as he clung to Andrew’s arm, the arm bands rough beneath his palms, and then he was sent flying into at least one of the other guys.

The impact knocked out the bit of breath he had managed to get back, and then he was punched again, this time in the mouth, and as he was sent to the ground, a kick to his side made him cry out. He felt hands in his hair pull him upright, then another guy was shoving his attacker away – someone other than Andrew. “Not the redhead!”

Neil blinked in shock upon hearing those words, then heard the guy cry out as Andrew came after them, this time with a knife in his right hand. Cursing himself, Neil threw himself at his friend’s legs, intent on stopping the idiot. “No, dammit!” He took another hit, this one to his back, before Andrew jerked him upright.

“Get out of my way,” he spat out, left cheek swollen and upper lip split.

“No,” Neil managed to more or less get out. “Stop it.”

Andrew made as if to punch him again, the knife held clenched in his fist, then screamed, the sound more noise and rage than any articulated word, and threw the knife aside. In the distance Neil could hear the sound of sirens, could hear them draw closer with each passing second, and noticed that Roland, Aaron and a few others from the club had the two remaining attackers who could still stand surrounded.

“I hate you,” Andrew seethed as he shoved Neil aside so he could stand a few feet away, hands clenched in fists as if he still wanted to beat something.

Just then, the words didn’t sound like a joke, like a defense mechanism. There was too much real emotion behind them, and Neil could only nod as he stumbled away. “I know.” He all but collapsed onto the hood of someone’s car, body one huge ache, and watched as the police cars pulled into the parking lot, with what looked to be the lights of an ambulance not far in the distance. Seeing how everyone stood away from Andrew as if in fear, he winced as he reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone to make a call.

*******

“Minyard, you have a visitor.” The police officer motioned for Andrew to get up off of the bench and follow him out of the holding cell, to a small room with a table and two chairs. “You going to be good, or do I have to restrain you?”

Andrew gave him a blank look in return, and when the cop didn’t move or say anything, sighed. “I’ll be fine.” Somehow the words seemed hollow just then.

“You better.” The cop left the room, and a moment later Andrew was stunned to see Sonja Wolfe walk into it, dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a black blazer; she looked tired and had on no make-up, making him think she’d gotten out of bed to come down to the police station.

He had a feeling that a certain idiot was behind this.

“Well, I’ve had better Friday nights,” she started off with as she motioned for him to sit down, while she did the same. “Sure you have, too.” When he gave a slight huff at that, she shook her head. “I’m also sure you know why I’m here.”

“Neil called you.”

“Yes, he did.” She rubbed at her eyes as if tired. “Said you were in trouble and he’d appreciate it if I made sure that things didn’t go wrong. Considering what I know about your personality… I don’t blame him.” She tapped a short, manicured nail against the table as if waiting for him to say something, then after about a minute scoffed. “It’s not good, but it’s not as bad as it could be.”

“Meaning?” He wasn’t in the mood to draw this out.

“Meaning that thanks to your friend, your previous record is sealed.” Wolfe glanced up at the camera in the corner. “A smart prosecutor will know that you did something and can even track it down, but by law, they can’t bring it up in court. They can’t bring it forth in front of a judge. So you’re going into this with a clean slate. That helps a lot. So does the fact that, by the account of numerous witnesses, you were beating off the men who were attacking your cousin. Witnesses who are more than willing to sign affidavits that it was a case of a hate crime, considering the homophobic comments that were made during the attack.”

Someone sure had been busy in the last few hours, hadn’t they? Andrew motioned to the small room. “Then why am I here?”

“Because two of the men require medical attention – nothing too serious, but one was unconscious and the other isn’t going to be able to eat solids for a while.” Wolfe’s expression hardened as she tapped her fingers against the table again. “Heard the medics wanted your- wanted Neil to get checked out as well, but he refused any and all medical attention.” Her eyes narrowed when all Andrew did was stare back at her. “Some witnesses report that he got roughed up trying to stop you, but he won’t go on the record saying that.”

“He’s an idiot.”

“Yes, on that we agree,” Wolfe said, her voice low and very displeased. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I don’t care for people who beat up their partners, whatever the circumstances.” She huffed when Andrew continued to give her a blank stare. “Back to you, there’s a lawyer who is currently handling the charges for you, one who is quite good at what he does. Martin thinks you’ll get slapped with a little probation and mandatory therapy, but that should be it.”

It felt as if Andrew had been punched in the chest just then, there was a sudden release of the pressure that had been building inside of him. “You’re joking.” He knew how this went, he knew how it went for people like *him* and he’d had every expectation of being locked up again.

Wolfe shook her head. “No, I’m not – you’re lucky didn’t hurt anyone worse than you did and you effectively don’t have any priors on your record, as well as the right contacts.”

He went to push away from the table and remembered the camera in time. “Wait, why do I even have a lawyer? Why is he doing all of this?”

“Because your friend and your family member, your brother, have retained his services.” Wolfe waved aside his suspicions. “You have an issue with Martin’s hard work, you take it up with Neil and Aaron, which you’ll be able to do shortly since Martin is also working on your bail.”

Part of Andrew wanted to tell her to pass on a message to the lawyer and the two busybodies to go fuck off, that he would take care of things on his own… but he was crawling in his own skin, being here in detention and they had put him in a private cell so far. “They shouldn’t have bothered.”

She rose up from the chair with her hands on the table as she stared down at him with blatant disapproval. “But they did, Minyard, even if I have to say I agree with you. So don’t expect me to keep bailing you out because of Neil. He helped us out, so we wiped your record clean. He’s not running, so I’m willing to work with him a little. That is it, and I’m not going to clean up your messes. Keep your fists to yourself from now on.”

He almost let her walk out of the room without saying something, but something had been bothering him ever since he’d calmed down. “Who were the guys – the ones who beat up Nicky?”

Wolfe paused right before she got to the door. “Some prejudiced assholes whom I’m sure the DA will just love to rake over the coals.” When Andrew considered to stare at her, she shook her head. “Nope, that’s all you’re getting out of me. You got your pound of flesh out of them, almost literally, so forget about them and move on. It’s in your best interest.” That said, she knocked on the door so the cop waiting outside could let her out.

Andrew thought about that as he was returned to the empty holding cell to wait for ‘Martin’ to work on his bail, thought about Neil and Aaron working on getting him a lawyer and Neil calling in Wolfe to help him out. He thought about the blinding rage that had filled him when he’d gotten out into the parking lot to see those bastards beating on Nicky – someone who annoyed him on a daily basis yet who had come through for him, who was one of his own. And he thought of Neil and how his friend had got in the way of Andrew doing what needed to be done, of the look on Neil’s face when Andrew had told him that Andrew hated him.

Then he thought about that barely heard ‘not the redhead’, the words just on the periphery of his conscious during the fight, something filed away until he had the time to calm down, to think about everything that had happened.

Those thoughts went round and round in his head as he sat alone in jail, his fists sore from punching and body aching from the fight, but the pain preferable to focus on than what might lay in store when he was let go.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I had to end it there, this chapter just kept going on and on and on. Next scene picks up with Nicky and Neil, promise! (and Nicky's just banged up, I'd say no actual Nicky's were harmed during this fic but he was dinged up JUST a little, the poor sweet soul). Obviously, this is one of those instances where I'm going to take a canon event and give it a twist where it gets changed because of the whole Andrew/Neil thing.
> 
> (And don't hate on Wolfe too much, she's just dealing with Andrew while knowing part of the situation.)
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the kudos and comments, which are adored!
> 
> *******


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, so, a nice big chapter. Which is good, because the next few days will be busy so not sure when I'll get the next one up. And is that another familiar face????
> 
> *******

*******

Neil sat once more in Lexington Medical Center’s ER, this time with an ice pack that one of the nurses had practically forced on him held against his face and his phone cradled in his hand as he waited for them to finish up with Nicky, something about scans and x-rays. It had been decided back at the club that he would go with Nicky while Aaron went to the police station for Andrew, not that he’d objected too much to the decision. Not when all he could think about was the way Andrew had looked at him at the end there, the emotion behind that final ‘I hate you’….

He pressed the ice pack against his split lip and wished that it was still cold, that it could numb more than his sore face. Funny how he hadn’t figured out yet just how little wishing did him any good.

His phone vibrated in his hand which caused him to huff a little, cursing out Nicky for giving Erik his phone number before the medics or the nurses had taken the damn thing away from the injured man. Preparing to text back that Nicky hadn’t been released yet, Neil stared at the message from the blocked sender and slowly set the ice pack on the empty seat next to him.

‘Mutts who bite their masters should be put down’

He had to fight the urge to get up and search the room, to look around to find if anyone was watching him, to just… to *run*… but Nicky was still being patched up and needed a ride home. Aaron was at the police station, waiting for the lawyer Sonja had gotten them to get through the red tape and release Andrew with the money Neil was providing. Andrew-

Neil dropped the phone onto his lap and jerked his hands through his hair, never mind the pain just then. Actually, the pain felt good, was a welcome distraction from the awful muddle of his thoughts, from things he didn’t want to acknowledge. Part of him wanted to delete the message, to pretend it never came through. To deny its awful implications on what had happened tonight and for the life he’d built here in Columbia. More than anything he wanted to get up and stomp on the phone until it was nothing but tiny pieces. But even if Andrew hated him now, hated him for real, that would just be another betrayal, would break their deal – Andrew had said no more holding back when it came to Riko. So Neil sat there and pulled on his hair and bit into his split bottom lip until the pain helped to subsume the awful ache in his chest and the burning need to get up and run until he couldn’t go another inch further.

This early in the morning – or late in the night, depending on your outlook – the ER was quiet, with only a few other people scattered about the room, so Neil was left alone as he struggled not to have a panic attack over the situation. He had things mostly under control by the time he received another text, and it only took him about ten minutes to gather up the nerve to look at his phone again, to find out that the current message was from Aaron to let him know it would be another hour or two until Andrew was released. It was clear from the emojis and lack of grammar that Aaron was rather displeased about that.

Neil was just about to text him back when he heard his name be called out, so he shoved his phone into the pocket of his torn jeans and got up from the chair – or at least tried to. Wincing in pain as his body protested the movement, his left knee throbbing, entire torso sore and… and he’d felt worse, so he forced himself to move, to push past the pain and the dizziness and ignore the concerned look of the nurse. “Yeah?”

“Nicky Hemmick is ready to be released.” She looked him up and down. “Are you certain you shouldn’t get checked out yourself?”

“I’m fine,” he gritted out. “Where is he?”

She motioned toward the one station, across the room, where a huddled figure was bent over signing papers. Neil felt a rush of relief to see Nicky on his feet and hurried over there as fast as he could, and came to a stop a couple of feet away.

Nicky’s face was swollen, both eyes bruised and a cut over the bridge of his nose and along his left cheek held together with butterfly bandages. No stitches, nothing appearing to be broken, but he had to be in a lot of pain.

Nicky seemed to notice him as he finished signing the paperwork and turned around, a small bag clutched in his left hand. “Neil!” He smiled, his lips just as swollen as the rest of his face, and attempted to hold out his arms as if to embrace Neil. “Ow!” He winced and hunched over. “Oh, not good, not good at all.” The words came out slurred, and not just because of his face, Neil was willing to bet.

He glanced at one of the nurses watching him. “What’s the verdict?”

The woman, who looked to be in her early thirties maybe and about Neil’s height, seemed to understand the question. “No internal injuries and broken bones, no concussion, just a lot of bruising, including to his ribs. We’re sending him home and recommending lots of bed rest for the next day or two, maybe avoid any rock candy while he’s at it.” She smiled as she gave Nicky a gentle pat on the back.

“You’re funny, Mia,” Nicky told her as he clutched at his meds.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. No more fights for you, okay?”

“I’mma lover, I tell ya.” Nicky shuffled over to Neil and leaned against him. “You tell her, Neil.”

Neil shook his head and allowed Nicky to use him as a crutch even if the weight made his body hurt even more. “We’re going home.”

“I want Erik,” Nicky whined as they both shuffled toward the exit.

“Call him as soon as you get to the car.”

“Battery died.”

Neil tried not to wince as Nicky wrapped his arms around Neil’s shoulders. “You can use my phone.”

Nicky sniffled a little into Neil’s hair, which would have made Neil cringe in disgust but at that point, he just didn’t care anymore, he was too tired and too sore and… it all was just too much. “You’re wonderful,” Nicky murmured.

No, he wasn’t, he was anything but because here was Nicky doped up on meds because he’d been beaten up because of Neil. Because Neil had come into his life and brought the same death and destruction he always did, the same evil that always followed him around. Only this time it hadn’t touched people who knew about it, who were prepared for it, it had touched someone nice like Nicky. And that was anything but ‘wonderful’.

But Neil couldn’t say anything just then, so he suffered through Nicky’s clinginess and got him into the Nissan then handed over his phone, so Nicky could call Erik and reassure his boyfriend that he was all right, that the doctors said he’d be fine in a few days and gave him these *amazing* meds and oooh, there were jewels on the road, a pretty necklace and Neil, Neil go get the necklace, why wasn’t Neil stopping to get the necklace, bad Neil, and what? Oh yes, Nicky loved Erik, he was so sad that Erik wasn’t there right now, he hurt and he wanted Erik and don’t cry, babe, it hurt Nicky’s face to cry too and- Neil started thinking in Japanese to block out the rest of the conversation, thought in Japanese as he mentally went through every step, every city he and his mother had been since leaving Baltimore all those years ago.

He had Nicky end the call when they got home, belatedly realizing that he’d never answered Aaron back, and after propping Nicky up against the kitchen counter, texted Aaron back to let him know that they were home. He got called an asshole for that, but Aaron seemed in a better mood now because they were finally beginning the process to release Andrew.

Neil wasn’t sure how he felt about that, knowing that Andrew would be home soon, but he was exhausted and sore and not really in the mood to put up with too much more at the moment.

So he set his phone down on the counter and turned to face Nicky, who was frowning at his own phone as if trying to figure it out. “Are you good for the night?” He had to ask the question again before Nicky responded.

“Huh? Yeah. Tired.” Nicky went to rub at his face and yelped in pain. “That hurt.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna do that for a while,” Neil assured him. “Time for bed.”

“Okay.” Nicky shuffled toward him and gave him a weak hug, during which Neil did his best not to flinch. “Thank you.”

“It’s fine.” Neil couldn’t really manage a smile in response, since he felt overwhelmed with guilt. “Go to bed.”

“’kay.”

Neil made sure that Nicky managed to get up the stairs, then went to get ready for bed himself; he swore as he pulled off his dirty and torn clothes, all the while thinking about the meds Nicky had brought home from the hospital before settling on some pain relievers in the bathroom when he washed off and brushed his teeth. They weren’t anywhere near as good, but they wouldn’t add to his guilt.

Going back into his bedroom, he stared at the nice, soft bed in there for a couple of minutes before he decided that it would be better to crash the night in the den, not wanting to… it would just be better. It only took a minute to set up the futon, even if his side complained the entire time, and he had just found a semi-comfortable position on it when the sound of someone shuffling into the den startled him wide awake.

“Neil?”

He stopped sweeping his hand beneath the pillow for a weapon that wasn’t there when he recognized Nicky’s sleepy, slurred voice. “Yeah?” What was the man doing down here?

There was more shuffling and then a weight on the mattress. “Can’t sleep.” A slight pause and then Nicky was stretching out beside him. “Can I sleep here?”

Neil had the impression he really didn’t have a choice – Nicky had come down with his own pillow and was already taking up half of the bed. “Stick to your side,” Neil sighed as he scooted over, unwilling to say ‘no’ after everything that had happened that night.

Even in the dark room and with all of the bruises, he could tell that Nicky smiled just then. “Thank you! I just… don’ wanna be alone,” Nicky mumbled as he tugged the blanket over his legs.

“Your side,” Neil reminded him, not unkindly.

“Hmmm.” Nicky stole a bit more of the blankets as he closed his eyes, and Neil lay on his back while he listened to the other man’s breathing even out with a bit of a snore, probably because of his swollen nose.

Neil thought it would take him a while to fall asleep with Nicky beside him, but he was too exhausted and too eager for the night to end to lay there staring at the ceiling for long.

*******

When Andrew was released from jail, it was to find Aaron waiting for him along with Martin Dupree, the lawyer who had spoken to him an hour or so ago when it looked as if his bail was going through. Martin reached Andrew first and handed him a business card. “I’ll be in touch, I should have an idea in the next couple of days when this will go in front of the judge. Until then, don’t go anywhere without letting me know.” There was a stern expression on his face until Andrew accepted the card; wherever Wolfe had found the guy, it was obvious he was used to dealing with troublesome clients yet didn’t seem to allow it to bother him. Dupree seemed confident in his ability to get Andrew off with a minimum of ‘fuss’ and even with it being almost daylight outside, appeared fresh in his dark grey suit and white shirt, with no hint of stubble on his dark complexioned face.

“I know the drill,” Andrew snapped, just wanting to get this over with and talk to Aaron – he didn’t see Neil anywhere.

“Good, then you know not what to do and won’t cause any unnecessary problems. We’ll talk again soon.” Dupree gave him a curt nod before he left, expensive shoes clacking on the stone floor of the police station.

Andrew almost shredded the bastard’s business card right there, but forced himself to shove it into the back pocket of his jeans instead as he stalked over to Aaron. “Where is Neil?”

Aaron gave him a surly look as he pushed back the bangs falling into his bloodshot eyes. “And a good morning to you, too. You’re welcome, by the way.” Without saying anything else, he turned around and headed toward the door.

Andrew clenched his bruised hands into fists and followed. “Where’s Neil?”

“Oh, now you’re worried?” Aaron let go of the front door to the police station, and Andrew had to scramble to keep it from closing in his face.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Out on the sidewalk, he reached for his twin’s shoulder and jerked Aaron around to face him. “Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Aaron knocked Andrew’s hand aside and stood there with his arms folded across his chest as if to keep them from lashing out, his face set in anger.

“It means, you sure as hell didn’t seem to care about him last night, when he kept you from killing those guys. And you don’t seem to give a damn about Nicky, either.”

Because Nicky didn’t have a psycho after his ass, but Andrew wasn’t willing to get into that right now. “Why the *fuck* isn’t Neil here, and how is Nicky?”

Aaron gave him the finger and continued onward, to what looked to be a parking station. “Neil isn’t here because I decided that it would be best if the police didn’t see the evidence of you beating up someone while we tried to get your ass out of jail so he went to the hospital instead to take care of Nicky. Nicky’s fine, by the way – well, as fine as he can be, after what happened, and him and Neil got home an hour or so ago.”

So he’d basically been left alone, Andrew thought as he pushed down the rage and… and it wasn’t panic, he told himself. “Are you sure he’s at home?”

Aaron gave him an odd look. “He sent me a text saying that he was there with Nicky. Where else would he be?”

“Just give me the keys,” Andrew snapped, and snatched them when Aaron held them out.

At least there wasn’t any traffic at that time of the day, since the entire way home, Andrew thought about Riko pulling something else, of Riko having hired more thugs to carry through with all of those threats to break Neil.

“You know, it’s not a good idea to get pulled over right after getting bailed out of jail,” Aaron remarked as Andrew went 60mph down a 25mph street.

“Oh look, this is me caring.”

“Something’s going on.” Aaron braced himself against the dashboard as Andrew turned onto their street while going a bit too fast around a corner. “This isn’t normal behavior for you.”

“This doesn’t con-“

Aaron reached over to punch on the horn before Andrew could knock his hand aside. “Don’t you dare say that, not when Nicky got beat up and your ass landed in jail! What the hell is going on? You didn’t want Neil at the club in the first place, and now something like this happened? Don’t you dare say it doesn’t concern me – me or Nicky.” Aaron glared at them as they pulled up to the house.

Andrew clenched his hands around the wheel and ignored the pain in his knuckles for a moment; everything looked all right, the Nissan was parked in the driveway and the door was closed. “Not right now,” he warned before he shut off the engine and got out.

“Later then, but we *are* talking about it.” Aaron got out of the car as well and hurried after him up the porch.

The door was locked, which was a good sign, the kitchen in order save for a bag of meds and two phones left out on the counter, and two pairs of shoes scattered about as if their owners were too tired to leave them by the door. Andrew tossed the keys to the GS on the table and continued into the house without bothering to toe off his shoes, heading straight for his bedroom.

Neil’s clothes were in a pile on the floor by the closet, but the bed was empty. Andrew stared at it for several seconds, his fingers curling and straightening several times as he attempted to figure out what its emptiness signified – had Riko done something? Had Neil been pushed too far and decided to up and run? Letting out a curse, Andrew spun away as he jerked his left hand through his hair and his right hand scrambled for his phone – he should have called as soon as the police returned it and ordered the idiot to stay put. It wasn’t until he heard the answering ring in the kitchen that it sunk in, the importance of the two phones left there, and he cursed again when Aaron touched him on the back and nearly ended up punching his brother.

Jumping back, Aaron held up his hands in a defensive position. “If you’re looking for Neil, I’ve found him. Found both of them, in fact.” There was a hint of a smile on his face which faded the longer that Andrew stared at him.

“Where?”

“The den.” Aaron motioned behind him and hurried to get out of the way. “He- ah, hell.” From the sound of it, he was following after Andrew.

Why was the idiot sleeping in the den? Andrew barreled into the room, only to be brought up short by the sight before him; Nicky was sprawled out over most of the futon, bruised face turned toward the right, and Neil had maybe a third of the bed and was lying on his side facing Nicky, with his pillow shoved between them as if a barricade or shield of some sort. Something must have woke him up, either Aaron or the phone ringing or something, because Neil was blinking and trying to sit up, but moving slowly and wincing.

“Wha?” He blinked a few more times and caught sight of Andrew staring there, his blue eyes going wide and body still. “You… you’re back.”

“Get up,” Andrew told him, voice quiet because if he didn’t control it, he’d start yelling. “Get up now.”

Neil remained still for a couple of seconds, then sighed before he moved again, to slowly push aside the blanket and get off of the futon. He moved as if an old man, hunched over as if his ribs or stomach hurt him, that beautiful face marred with bruises that Andrew knew he was at least partially responsible for, and all Andrew cared about just then was getting him out of the same damn bed as his cousin.

Dressed in just a t-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs, Neil paused for a moment when he found Aaron standing out in the living room, but by then Andrew’s brother had seen the scars on Neil’s arms and so just arched an eyebrow at him, probably a silent commentary about Neil’s sleeping arrangement for the night. When he caught sight of Andrew, though, Aaron made as if to hold out his arm before he seemed to think better of it.

“Don’t,” Andrew told him.

“Just… don’t do anything stupid,” Aaron said as he stepped back.

Andrew gave him a cold look before he shoved Neil toward their bedroom. Neil stumbled a little, appearing unsteady on his feet, but managed to get inside without saying anything. As soon as he did as well, Andrew slammed the door behind him and locked it for good measure.

Neil flinched at the loud noise and paused, then went and curled up on the bed; Andrew suspected it was more because he was too tired to stand for long, not for the sake of comfort. With the light turned on, Andrew could see the split bottom lip, the bruised jaw and blackened right eye. “What did the doctor say?”

“That Nicky will be fine in a couple of days,” Neil answered in a quiet voice as he hugged his right knee to his chest and wrapped his arm around it, his eyes tracking Andrew as if waiting for some sign – or another punch.

That was *not* helping Andrew’s temper any. “About you, you damn idiot.”

Neil shook his head, then took to tugging on his bangs. “Nothing, I’m fi-“ he scooted back on the bed, eyes wide and face pale, when Andrew picked up the first thing in reach, which happened to be the alarm clock, yanked it free from the wall and threw it against the opposite wall with all the force he could muster as soon as he heard Neil start with the same old bullshit.

“No,” Andrew ground out as he did his best to hold on to the fraying edges of his control, to not get lost in the rage again before he did even more harm to Neil. “No, you do *not* say those words right now, do you understand?” He waited until Neil gave a couple of curt nods. “You say nothing but the truth to me, because…” He flexed his fingers again and let out a shuddering breath. Because he couldn’t take Neil being evasive, being a fucking martyr right now. “What did the doctor say about you?”

“Nothing,” Neil repeated, once more tugging on his bangs in a clear sign of agitation. “Because I didn’t get checked out.” When Andrew glared at him, he shook his head. “It’s… it’s nothing serious. I’ve been in fights before, I’ll be- just give it a day or two,” he finished in a ragged voice.

Andrew reached out to him, and noticed how Neil seemed to force himself to remain still. “I hit you.” It was a statement.

“You hit a lot of people.” There was no reproach there, no accusation, just Neil making a statement in return as he let Andrew’s fingers skim along the right side of his face. “Did you even know it was me you were punching?”

“No,” Andrew admitted. Not at first, he’d just turned in reaction to someone touching him and it hadn’t been until he’d shoved Neil away that it had sunken in, that he’d realized who had been shouting at him and what, that he’d realized what he’d done. The rage had been too powerful, his intent too strong to make Nicky’s abusers pay for him to care about what he’d done, not then. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he insisted. “You shouldn’t have gotten in my way.” He ended up half-kneeling on the bed so he could thread his fingers through Neil’s hair, and some part of him eased when Neil didn’t pull away but allowed him to do that.

“I wasn’t going to let you kill them.” Neil’s expression hardened as his fingers brushed along Andrew’s forearms, which reminded him that he hadn’t gotten his arm guards back from Aaron yet; his brother had managed to take them from him right before the cops had arrived, and probably had them hidden in the car somewhere. He’d been so worried about Neil… dammit, he needed to start thinking straight. “They weren’t worth you getting in trouble like that.”

“What, you mean you didn’t want me falling into Riko’s trap?” He stared at Neil when he said those words, and tightened his fingers when Neil didn’t react other than to close his eyes. “’Not the redhead’, one of them said.  You heard it too, right?”

“Kind of difficult to miss when he was stopping the other one from breaking my ribs,” Neil admitted. “When did you figure it out?”

“I had plenty of time to think things through, while waiting for the fancy lawyer you hired to work on my bail.” Andrew tugged some more. “You interfered tonight. You put yourself at risk stopping me and you called Wolfe.”

Neil opened his eyes and glared. “I’m not going to stand by and do nothing while you just… just… argh!” He made as if to shove Andrew’s hand aside before his fingers curled loosely around Andrew’s wrist instead. “Go ahead and hate me if you must, but I’m not going to do nothing if I can help you.” He said that last part so quietly and while glancing aside, his fingers letting go of Andrew’s wrist to fall down onto his lap, that Andrew felt some of his anger fade.

“Why were you sleeping in the den?”

The change in topic seemed to confuse Neil, as he looked back at Andrew, his brows drawn together and teeth biting into his swollen bottom lip. “The den? But you – I figured you’d just want to sleep when you came home, so-“ he motioned to the bed they were on. “You probably didn’t want to see me.”

Because he’d told Neil that he hated him. “I really do hate you, you know.” He watched how Neil flinched at those words and kept Neil from scooting away any further with the grip on those soft, reddish strands. “You shouldn’t… I hate how you affect me. I hate you having this much control,” he admitted, his voice harsh as his fingers twisted enough that he had to be hurting Neil again. Why did it seem that he was always hurting Neil somehow?

Yet all Neil did was go still and look up at him, to run a light touch along his arm. “I won’t lose you,” he said, his voice quiet but fierce. “To your own stupidity or Riko, I *won’t*.”

Andrew was surprised when a slight laugh slipped free and he bent his head forward to rest against Neil’s. “That wasn’t stupidity last night, you idiot.” His fingers relaxed enough so they could skim down and rest against the nape of Neil’s back.

“It wasn’t you at your brightest, trying to tear five guys apart with your bare hands.” Tension left Neil’s body as he relaxed against Andrew.

“Who looks the worst right now?” He allowed himself this moment, the feel of Neil against him and the peace of their room, before he pulled away. “So, Riko. When did *you* figure it out?”

Neil rubbed at his left eye, exhaustion and pain making him appear younger than his nearly seventeen years. “Probably around the same time you did, a bit after the fight.” He sent still for a moment and then sighed. “Had my suspicions when the one guy stopped beating me up, but knew for certain when Riko texted me.”

The anger Andrew had worked so hard to bank flared up when he heard that. “What did he say?” Before Neil had a chance to answer him, he was off of the bed, having remembered about Neil’s phone being left out in the kitchen.

He made it there before Neil did, fumbling with the lock aside, and was swiping through the texts when Neil limped over and Aaron looked up from the cup of coffee he was nursing for some reason instead of being in bed. It was easy to figure out which one was from Riko – it was the only blocked one in a sea of texts from Erik, Aaron, Agent Wolfe and even Roland that night, and Andrew felt an overwhelming urge to destroy something as he read the words. Something must have shown on his face, because Neil began to shake his head.

“No, don’t, don’t do anything – dammit!” The last was for Andrew dropping Neil’s phone into the garbage disposal and turning the machine on, for it to grind onto the phone with an awful crunching sound for several seconds before producing a high pitched squealing; around then Neil managed to push Andrew aside and turn off what was probably the busted machine. “Dammit,” he repeated in a quieter voice as he stared into the sink strewn with bits of plastic and metal.

Yeah, that had helped a little. Not as much as shoving Riko’s hand into the thing, but it helped a little.

Once Andrew was finished, Aaron got up from the table, mug in hand, and peered into the sink. “Huh, nice.” He glanced back and forth between Neil and Andrew. “I’m seeing a pattern here,” he said as he stared at Andrew. “Is willful destruction of phones part of your two’s foreplay or what?”

Andrew gave his twin a flat look to say he was *not* amused by the pathetic joke. “Are you offering up yours to test out that theory?”

“Do you have any idea how awful it is to keep getting new ones,” Neil complained as he slumped against the counter, appearing utterly done with everything. “They *know* me at the store now. At all of the stores, as soon as I walk in.” He said that as if it was painful, like having a tooth extracted or something.

“That’s what happens when you feed the monster,” Andrew snapped, and mentally kicked himself when he saw the way Neil’s face became blank as a result. Dammit, Riko would be harassing Neil one way or another, it was just too easy to lash out at someone within reach than at Riko, who was safe behind Castle Evermore’s walls. Still, for some reason, Andrew couldn’t make himself apologize.

Busy paying attention to what was going on, Aaron narrowed his eyes before he went over to refill his mug with some coffee he must have just brewed. “So, this is where you two start with the explaining, I believe.” Once his mug was filled, he reached into the cupboard above to fetch two empty mugs. “Sit down and start talking.”

Neil stirred a little and shook his head. “What about Nicky?”

“He can be caught up later.” Aaron pointed at the kitchen table. “I want answers.”

Neil chewed at his bottom lip and looked at Andrew as if taking his cues from him, and sighed when Andrew nodded a couple of seconds later; as much as he’d tried to keep his brother and his cousin free of anything that had to do with the Moriyamas, Riko had dragged them into the whole mess last night. It was time to come clean.

When everyone had their coffee and was seated at the table, Neil started by telling Aaron about his childhood, about his father and that day at Castle Evermore. About how he knew now the importance of the day, about how he was meant to be handed over to Tetsuji Moriyama as an asset, to play Exy as a Raven and earn money for the Moriyama family. As he continued with his story, went on about his mother and her running away with him, first disbelief and horror spread across Aaron’s face. He stared intently at Neil during it all while barely sipping his coffee, until Neil, his voice ragged from talking and face bleak from discussing the past, reached the point where his past had crossed Andrew’s in Oakland.

Andrew took it over from there, the details sparse as all that Aaron really needed to know was that he and Neil had met, had fallen in together and Andrew knew what he was getting into by running off with Neil. He glossed over the whole Reno mess and summed up them living in Racine in a few words, leading up to Riko tracking them down there and revealing Neil’s past, that he was Moriyama property. It was because of him that they left Racine and came to Columbia, where they made a deal with the FBI to wipe clean Andrew’s criminal record and set Neil up with a new ID, and in hopes of managing to wrangle Neil free from Riko’s grip. Unfortunately, Riko didn’t seem willing to let go.

By the time they were finished, most of the coffee was gone and Neil looked ready to fall asleep at the table. Meanwhile, Aaron kept shaking his head. “That’s… it’s insane. Where do people get off just… just handing over their kids like that?” The look he gave Neil just then was one of pity.

“At least his father assumed he had some value, he didn’t give him away as if he was nothing,” Andrew said.

That made Aaron’s face become flushed and Neil lean back in his chair, face carefully blank. “It’s not the same,” Aaron insisted, his voice rough and hands clenched around his empty mug.

“Whatever.” Andrew was too tired to get into a fight over Tilda right now. “You wanted to know what was going on, and now you do.” He stood up from the table, unsteady on his feet for a moment as he felt every one of the punches which had landed during the fight earlier, and sighed. “Come on, we’re going to bed,” he told Neil.

“’bout time.” Neil was even more unsteady on his feet and nearly walked into the doorway as he preceded Andrew to their bedroom. It was a good thing that the alarm clock was in pieces on the far side of the room, because Andrew just wanted to sleep until he couldn’t anymore, and somehow he didn’t think he’d have to worry about Neil getting up early to go running or anything.

Resting in his spot by the wall, he waited for Neil to curl up on the bed as well, lying down facing him. He reached out to brush his fingers once more along the bruises, but Neil caught his hand and entwined their fingers together as he closed his eyes.

Taking that – Neil still here with him, saying that he refused to lose him – to mean that he was forgiven, Andrew didn’t pull his fingers free and closed his own eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep.

*******

Neil had worried that the worst of what would come out of the attack would be the legal impact to Andrew and Nicky finding out that he’d been hurt because of Neil. The first seemed to be under control as Andrew’s lawyer, Martin Dupree, called them early in the following week to let them know he had been in talks with the D.A. and the judge who would handle Andrew’s case, and it was likely that due to Agent Wolfe putting in a good word for him, along with the circumstances of the case and Andrew’s age, that all Andrew would face would be some court-ordered therapy and a probationary period – Dupree was working out the specifics of both with the D.A. at the moment. Once they reached an agreement, he would notify Andrew and have it signed off by a judge, and Andrew’s record would be cleared once again as soon as he completed the requirements without incident. Andrew didn’t seem to believe the man, but Neil put that down to his friend having received few breaks in his life.

As for Nicky, Neil was certain that the young man would hate him once he found out the truth, but he’d just hugged Neil afterwards – a very uncomfortable thing for them both, considering Nicky’s injuries and, well, *Neil* - until Andrew had threatened to stab Nicky to make him stop molesting Neil. Nicky seemed to care more about what Neil had gone through than the fact that he’d been beaten up because of Neil, which Neil just… didn’t understand. But as long as the man didn’t hate him, Neil would accept it.

The true fallout of the of the fight became evident when they returned to school, Neil and Andrew still sporting bruises from the fight, though Neil’s knee had finally stopped bothering him. Somehow word of the fight must have gotten around, because people were giving Andrew odd looks and avoiding him, making certain to get out of his way. Neil received several pitying looks his way throughout the day, and noticed that people gave their table a wider berth than normal at lunch. He almost said something to Andrew and Aaron, but decided not to because of Aaron’s bad mood and Andrew’s twisted amusement.

However, the amusement came to an end later that week during Exy practice, when Andrew was called into Coach Jackson’s office when they were done for the day. They’d been pushed hard all week because of the upcoming away game at Charlotte, where it was expected that USC would have scouts. Since Eddy had signed with Penn State the other day, Neil wondered if Coach wanted to talk to Andrew about something before they left for the game… and was outside running laps, Aaron sitting on the bleachers and playing on his phone, when Andrew came storming out several minutes later.

Catching sight of the murderous expression on his friend’s face, Neil cut across the field to intercept Andrew. “What happened?” Aaron was just as quick to notice and was coming down from the bleachers.

“Fucking Riko.” Andrew ground out, a rare show of true anger on his face as he clenched his fists and glanced around as if looking for something to punch. “It wasn’t just about trying to kill Nicky or locking me up, damn him.”

Neil felt something cold run down his back despite being warm from practice and running. “Riko….” What did Riko have to do with Coach Jackson? “What do you mean?”

Andrew reached out and fisted his hands into Neil’s jersey. “The damn scholarships – Jackson just told me that he’s heard from Breckenridge and Penn State already, and it’s only time for Maryland, too. They all have policies against recruiting anyone with any type of criminal record, and those nice charges that I have pending?” He gave Neil a quick shake before letting go. “He fucked up the scholarships.”

“But why would he do that?” Aaron looked as if he wanted to reach out to his brother but stopped with his hand just short. “What does it get him?”

“It keeps Andrew from signing at the same school I’m trying for,” Neil said as he struggled not to have a panic attack. “He knows I’m trying for a school other than Edger Allen and he’s blocking Andrew from getting into them.” What were the chances of Andrew submitting a regular application for one of the schools? His grades had been decent the last year or so, but on the whole, good enough to get into Penn State? USC?

Andrew nodded. “He’s trying to take away your guard dog.” He reached out to give the back of Neil’s neck a quick squeeze, as if to help calm him down. “Jackson told me I can forget about USC. Had this whole spiel about how disappointed he was in me and about how I better not drag you down with me, I walked out about then before I broke his damn neck.”

Neil winced when he heard that. “Ah, thank you.” Yeah, that had been a remarkable amount of restraint on his friend’s part.

“So let me get this, not only did this asshole pay guys to beat up Nicky, but he did it to set you up so you’d get arrested and lose your scholarships?” Aaron almost sounded impressed, even if he looked ready to break some necks himself. “Why is he still alive?”

No, that was not what Neil wanted to hear just then – feeding the monster indeed. “Because he has a small army perfectly willing to kill anyone who tries to change that condition,” Neil snapped before either of the two idiots got any stupid ideas into their heads.

Andrew patted Neil on the head. “Let the adults worry about the petty details.”

“Those petty details have guns,” Neil gritted out.

All Andrew did was hum a little as he patted him again before walking past him with Aaron falling in step beside him.

Oh that so didn’t seem like a good thing. Neil scrubbed at his face despite the soreness of his right eye before he gave in and followed the twins.

*******

“Well, that’s another one down,” Aaron said to Andrew as they went out onto the court so Charlotte could wish them a good game – the Caps had beaten them, had actually done a good job tonight, between Andrew blocking out all goals for his half of the game and Neil running around the court as if demons were chasing him. The latter was almost true, in a metaphorical way, considering that the USC scouts were in the crowd and he had an even more pressing reason to want to catch their attention now. As for himself, Andrew had considered his performance earlier as one big ‘fuck you’ to the school and their strict recruiting policy.

Out of breath from all that running around, Neil leaned against him for support while he did the handshaking thing and Andrew just glared at the other team, and then they headed for the lockers; as soon as they reached them, Aaron was quick to text Nicky to make sure that their cousin was still doing all right alone at home for the night. He gave them a thumb’s up whenever the idiot texted back and rolled his eyes, probably because of Nicky’s dumb response.

“How’s the knee?”

Neil shrugged as he removed his gear. “A little sore, but it held up okay.” At Andrew’s frown, he sighed and shook his head. “No, really, I’m not going to risk messing it up.”

“Still, don’t go running off any time soon. Just sit your ass at home this weekend.” Andrew had noticed him favoring it a little during the game.

That earned him a frown in return, but Neil had at least agreed to stay at home with Nicky until he felt well enough to return to working at the club, which should be a few more days. Ah, guilt was such a wonderful thing when it came to keeping certain trouble-magnets out of harm’s way.

They were still waiting for the showers to empty out enough for Neil to use them when Coach Jackson came over with an odd expression on his face; considering what Andrew had said to him the other day, the two of them had barely talked to each other, outside of the man giving Andrew instructions on playing the game.

“Andrew, there’s someone here to see you.” He made a jerking motion back to one of the private room. “Now.”

Well wasn’t that interesting, considering the fact that he was basically untouchable to USC? Was there some other university out there that didn’t have such high standards? Neil had gone on guard upon hearing their coach bark at Andrew, while Aaron was staring at him as if waiting to see what he’d do.

“Well, this should be interesting,” he said as he removed his shoulder pads. “Let’s go see who wants to talk to me, hmm?” He noticed that the few remaining teammates who weren’t in the showers, such as Sarah, Jay and Steve, were paying attention to everything as well, since word had spread about him losing the scholarships.

He didn’t know what he expected when he entered the small room with a table and a couple of chairs, maybe someone from a university with a second string Exy team like Baylor or Kent State, but when he saw the black outfit with the red shirt, saw the familiar face, his reaction was immediate – he got one punch in before Jackson managed to pull him off of Kevin Day.

“Minyard? What the hell? What are you doing?” Jackson shoved him across the room while Kevin straightened up and wiped at his mouth; good, the bastard was bleeding. “Do you want to get arrested again? Do you have any idea who the hell you just hit?”

“Yes, and get the hell out of my way so I can do it again!”

“He’s here to recruit you, you ungrateful little shit!” Jackson seemed to realize what he just said and shook his head, his face flushed with anger as he stepped back from Andrew. “Sorry, that was out of line, but you can’t go hitting people like that!”

“I can when they’re bastards.” Andrew bared his teeth at Day. “Where’s your master? Did he have the balls to come here?”

Kevin’s eyes went wide at that comment and he gave a quick look at Jackson. “He – ah, I’d really like to talk to Andrew alone, Mr. Jackson.” Despite his bleeding lip, he summoned one of the smiles that he always flashed on tv. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding here.”

To say that Jackson appeared incredulous just then was an understatement. “Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Minyard has some… anger management issues.”

Yeah, way to be on his side. Still, Kevin’s smile smoothed out. “I think it was the surprise of the moment, sir, and we’ll do fine.”

“There’s supposed to be an adult present for these things.”

“It’ll probably go a bit better if it’s just the two of us, being we’re the same age.” Kevin continued to smile at Jackson until the man grumbled a little then nodded.

“I’ll be right outside the door.” He gave Andrew a warning look as he pointed at the door. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Oh, I assure you, nothing of the kind,” Andrew told him in a too-sweet tone. Nothing stupid at all about killing a bastard traitor in his book. He waited until the man left and then scowled at Day. “What, don’t want anyone to hear me badmouth Riko? To go on about what an absolute psycho he is, sending men down here to beat up my cousin?”

Kevin’s smile slipped away, to be replaced by a mix of fear and horror. “You can’t say things like that! You have to know what he is by now!” He cursed under his breath in what sounded to be Japanese as he dabbed at his mouth. “It’s insanity!”

“No, the insanity is all on Riko’s part,” Andrew informed him. “Try to tell me you don’t get that by now.”

All Kevin did was shake his head. “I didn’t come down here to argue with you about Riko, I’m here to recruit you.”

Oh this was just priceless, Andrew thought to himself as he stroked his right hand along his left arm guard and toyed with the idea of sending Kevin back to Riko in pieces; only the fact that he refused to fall into another of that asshole’s traps kept him from beating Day’s face into a bloody pulp. “You’ve got to be kidding me – Riko fucks up my chance to get in with all the other universities and then he sends you to me?” Something in his voice just then made Kevin flinch. “You were there when he talked about beating me, and you think I’m going to sign up for that, willingly? You want to talk insanity? Go look in the fucking mirror, Day.”

Again, Kevin shook his head. “No, I promise you, that won’t happen – I got the Mas- I got Tetsuji’s word.” Kevin actually seemed earnest just then, which was sickening as all hell. “Riko doesn’t care about you anymore, he said that you’re my responsibility of you come to the Nest. He swore that he wouldn’t touch you, so you’ll be safe. Just sign up and you can play Exy.” He was actually smiling at the end there.

Andrew stared at him for several seconds, and then he was across the room with Kevin slammed up against the room with one of Andrew’s knives at his throat. “*I’ll* be safe? And what the fuck am I supposed to do when it’s Neil’s turn, hmm? Do you think I’m fucking stupid? Do you think I don’t know why he sent you down here?” The blood drained from Kevin’s face, making the tattooed ‘2’ stand out all the more against his left cheekbone. “His fucking endgame is to get his claws on Neil, and it makes it so much easier if I’m at Edgar Allen, doesn’t it? Well *fuck* *you* and fuck your offer.”

Kevin made as if to shake his head but stopped when the blade pressed against his neck. “No! It’s not – dammit, he’s going to win anyway, so just take it! Take the damn offer,” he ground out in a desperate whine. “This way you get to play and you’re safe, and Nathaniel has you there. You’re too damn good to let Riko ruin your career, and Nathaniel’s going to need you when- ah!” He hissed in pain when a drop of blood inched its way down his throat.

“Don’t,” Andrew crooned. “Don’t assume, it’s much too dangerous. Don’t assume that Riko’s won, don’t assume he’s gotten Neil and don’t ever assume he’s beaten me.” He held the knife against Kevin’s throat for another second or two and then forced himself to step back before he went too far and couldn’t stop. “Now go back to your master and tell him that I said ‘fuck off’.”

That said, he wiped the blade clean on Kevin’s black jeans, enjoying the way that the other teen flinched in response, and slipped it back in the guard as he headed for the door. Jackson was standing just outside of it, as was Neil and Aaron with clean clothes in their hands, and a few other teammates a few feet down the hall.

“Andrew! Dammit, think about what you’re doing,” Kevin called out as he came running after him, and Neil paled when he caught sight of him; Andrew latched on to Neil’s arm to pull him along, while Aaron’s eyes went wide in surprise. “Nathaniel, tell him to-“

Andrew pushed Neil ahead of him while he spun around to glare at the bastard, right hand held up in a fist. “What part of ‘fuck off’ do you not get? I told you ‘no’ now shut up!” Around him, Jackson, Sarah and the others gasped, as if it was some unfathomable thing, saying ‘no’ to Kevin Day.

Kevin took a step back, expression now wary as he looked first from Andrew and then to Neil. When he next spoke it was in Japanese – which did nothing to calm Andrew’s temper. Neil’s expression hardened, and then he spoke back in the same language, Andrew thought he heard the word ‘Ichiro’. When he was done, he tugged Andrew with him in the direction of the showers.

Jackson, asshole that he was, could be heard apologizing to Kevin, but Andrew didn’t give a shit, as long as the bastard just left. “What did he say to you?”

Neil tugged on his bangs and was quiet until they entered the empty shower room, and waited until Aaron took up guard by the entrance to start undressing. “He told me to talk sense into you, that it would be better for me if I had an ally at the Nest when I joined the Ravens.”

Andrew was almost tempted to go track down Kevin and punch him again. “And what did you say back to him?”

“To tell Riko that I don’t answer to him, I answer to Ichiro and so I’m never going to be a Raven.” Neil gave him a sheepish grin. “I know, don’t feed the monster.”

“I think this one time I’ll let it slide.” Uncaring about where they were at the moment, Andrew leaned in for a kiss, one Neil was eager to return – at least until Aaron cleared his throat.

“More showering, less ‘friendliness’, I want to wash off too, you know.”

Andrew gave his twin the finger but started to undress so he could wash off and get ready to return home.

*******

The days following the Charlotte game were… were not the best. It wasn’t long before the texts started pouring in on Neil’s phone, which he refused to look at until he, Andrew and Aaron returned home late that Friday night. As expected, Riko hadn’t been pleased with either Andrew’s refusal to join the Ravens or Neil’s comment, and after telling Neil that ‘the mutt would never set foot on Edgar Allen soil’, started in on Neil about how he would pay for each of Andrew’s ‘insults’. Neil’s hands shook with rage and the urge to type back when Andrew snatched the phone from him, read the texts with a blank face and then began to respond.

Having an idea where this was all going to lead to, Neil got up from the couch with a weary sigh and went to fetch two bottles of water, and came back to the living room to see Andrew still at it, with a scary smile on his face while Aaron and Nicky watched on with an almost hypnotized fascination.

“I thought he said ‘don’t feed the monster’,” Aaron whispered to Neil.

“Yep,” Neil began a mental countdown as he took a sip.

“So which monster is doing the feeding right now?”

“Very good question.” Neil cringed when Andrew’s smile twitched, just a little, and sighed again when his phone was thrown across the room with enough force to leave a sizable dent in the wall. Nicky yelped in surprise and covered his head as if it had been thrown at him, while Aaron just blinked. The same smile on his face, Andrew got up and went over to stomp on the broken phone for good measure.

Once he was finished, Neil glared at him. “You’re paying for that,” he said as he handed over the other bottle of water; he was getting so sick and tired of ordering new phones and changing his number.

“But it’s such a pleasurable method of transference,” Andrew insisted. “Until the time I get to do that to dear Riko’s face, allow me my simple fun.”

“Your ‘simple fun’ is costing me money,” Neil complained.

“Hmm, you’re right, much better to just go to the heart of the matter and end it right now.”

Neil gritted his teeth and shook his head, well aware of what Andrew was doing. “You know it’s not. Fine, just keep destroying my phones.”

There was a hint of a smirk around the mouth of the bottle as Andrew had some water. “Ah, now it’s okay. Still, the phones are only a temporary measure.” The smile vanished, to be replaced by that awful blank look. “He’ll have to be dealt with eventually.”

Like that was a pleasant thought. Neil finished his water and led Andrew to the bedroom, more than willing to go to sleep after such a long day. He would need some, since the next day would mean yet another new phone and him putting up with Nicky while Andrew and Aaron worked at the club. Nicky was mostly healed from the previous week’s fight, but didn’t want to return to Eden’s Twilight until all of his bruises were gone, so that meant Neil had to put up with a hyper and sometimes jumpy Nicky, watch some rather dubious movie choices, put up with learning how to play some video games, and do his best not to overhear some rather sappy and x-rated phone calls. Why the man couldn’t just stay up in his room when he talked to Erik….

Sunday was the best day out of all of them, with his phone turned off and most of it spent in the bedroom with Andrew, catching up on homework and… well, spent in the bedroom with Andrew and ‘yes’. It was worth it to put up with the teasing from Nicky at dinner and Aaron’s sardonic ‘friends’ comments, even if he had to intervene to save them both from Andrew a couple of times.

Which was important, to have had that one good day, because it really went downhill once they were back in school; somehow word had gotten out that Andrew had turned down Kevin Day, had turned down an offer from the *Ravens*. Neil wanted to blame Riko for it, but there was too much sullenness directed his friend’s way from the rest of the Caps during their practice on Monday, too much anger and disbelief and jealousy. Even Coach Jackson seemed curt and unwilling to deal with Andrew, and Neil remembered the look the man’s face as Andrew had told Kevin to fuck off, the same looks on Jay’s and Steve’s, and knew that his own team was at least partially to blame for the rancor in the locker room. Eddy tried his best to restore the sense of unity, until Jay made a snide comment about him having a full ride so what did he care? Besides, it wasn’t as if *Eddy* was good enough to be scouted by the Ravens, huh. At that point, it was clear that even Eddy had to distance himself before he did something to jeopardize his own scholarship – and Neil couldn’t blame him.

Andrew walked out halfway through practice; Neil went to go after him, but Aaron stopped him. “No, it’ll only make him that much more pissed off if you mess things up for yourself,” Aaron warned. “Stick it out.”

Neil’s hands tightened on his racquet as if it was one of the necks of his teammates. “This isn’t right.” For all of their faults, he couldn’t see the Panthers tearing into each other like the Caps were doing right now.

“No, it isn’t. They’re just jealous that they’re not good enough for Kevin to have come for any of them.” Aaron stared at the rest of their team with open loathing. “Watch your back with these guys.”

The rest of the week was more of the same, with the kids at school whispering about Andrew behind his back, even worse than after his arrest, and with him only showing up at practice enough to keep an eye on Neil and Aaron. Half the time he’d suit up and then sit on the bench without doing anything, would just give Coach Jackson a flat look if the man tried to talk to him, and he refused to speak to anyone else on the team.

Aaron was trying to engage Neil in a bet about how badly they were going to lose on Friday; Neil just gave him a blank look in return for the poor joke, but he secretly agreed about their chances for the game.

The only high point was Martin Dupree calling to say that a deal had been worked out for Andrew; two years’ probation and mandatory therapy with a psychiatrist of his choice once a week for that same time period.  Andrew was set for a date in a couple weeks’ time to go before a judge and make it official, and as long as there were no new incidents during that time period, his record would be wiped clean once again.

Even with that bit of good news, it wasn’t much of a surprise when Aiken did defeat them come Friday night – the team was too fractured, the players too focused on playing as individuals and not cooperating with each other. Neil did what he could, but if he was honest with himself, he just didn’t care enough at that point. He’d worked hard all season, had pushed himself to improve as fast as he could… and didn’t know if he could try any harder to take this team onward after what they had done to Andrew.

As for his friend, Andrew barely made a token effort to defend the goal, his movements lazy and attitude a far cry from the last game. Coach Jackson was quick to sub him out with Steve, not that the change helped the game that much. Neil could see that the man wanted to strangle Andrew when Jay was subbed out for him and he got to sit out the final last few minutes of the game, by that point their lose a forgone conclusion, but Andrew didn’t give a shit.

“Guess we’re done for the season,” Neil murmured as he took off his helmet.

“Hmm.” Andrew watched as the other team added to their score. “Let’s go to the club and surprise Nicky when this is all done.”

Neil looked at his friend in disbelief upon hearing that, while Aaron was quick to agree. When Andrew turned to stare at him, he gave a slight shrug before pulling off his bandana; okay, so Andrew wanted to celebrate their loss, it should be an interesting night.

Coach Jackson looked as if he wanted to do more than throttle someone when it came time to thank the other team for the game, since he probably had felt this year was his best shot at winning a title, and the acrimonious feelings only increased as everyone headed to the locker room. There were mutterings of ‘fucked it up for himself, so what, had to fuck it up for us as well?’, and ‘always were strange, those three’. When Neil did his usual drawing out of getting undressed so he didn’t have to shower with everyone else, he heard Jay make a loud, snickering laugh. “So what do you think they do in there, huh? Think it’s a threeway or one of them likes to watch? Josten’s pretty enough that-“

Andrew had been on his feet as soon as Jay started to talk, and the sound of his fist smacking into the locker near the striker echoed through the room. “If you didn’t get enough hits to the head tonight, just let me know, I’ll be happy to make up for the lack.” Neil couldn’t tell since Andrew’s back was facing him, but he had the feeling that Jay was being ‘graced’ with one of his friend’s awful smiles just then, where Andrew’s lips curved but his eyes went dead. Neil could tell from the way that Jay shook his head in a frantic manner and stuttered out a ‘no’, and how everyone around him rushed to go take their showers.

“So glad we’re done with these losers,” Aaron muttered as he stripped off his gear.

“Hmm.” Andrew seemed lost in thought as he worked on his gear, but since he kept said thoughts to himself, Neil left him be.

As soon as everyone cleared out, making a point to not look at the three of them, Andrew, Neil and Aaron went to wash off, talking all the while about their plans for the night. Well, Aaron did most of the talking, with Andrew clarifying a few points – they’d go back home to change into ‘suitable’ clothes for the club (mainly Neil) and then head to Eden’s Twilight, where no one was to wander off. Aaron was a bit annoyed with that, but as long as he got to drink, fine. They were picking up some last items from their lockers when they heard Coach Jackson call out Andrew’s name.

Remembering the last time something like that had happened and their coach’s displeasure with Andrew, Neil and Aaron left their stuff behind and followed Andrew as he went to the man’s office. “Someone wants to talk to you.” Jackson sounded rather surly about that fact.

“Oh, another surprise.” Andrew’s smile just then was chilling enough to make Jackson flinch. “Let’s hope for your sake this one turns out better than the last.”

“Kid… I swear that you’ve added five years to my life,” Jackson complained as he waved to the inside of his office. “Can’t wait to wash my hands of you.”

Andrew motioned that he would go in first, and shot a glance at Aaron before he did just that; Aaron put his hand on Neil’s shoulder to hold him back a moment, until he heard a man’s gruff voice call out Andrew’s name. As if that had been some sign, Aaron let him into the room.

Andrew was standing in front of an older man, probably late thirties, early forties, with dark hair and tribal tattoos creeping down the arms exposed by his short sleeved shirt – a shirt that bore a white and orange emblem. Neil stepped into the room just as the man introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, I’m David Wymack, coach of the Palmetto Foxes.”

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, some of you called it, go you! :-) Riko is an asshole (boo, hurting Nicky) but he set things up for Wymack, didn't he? Hmm, wonder if that's going to come around and bite him on the ass at all....
> 
> Where to go from here....
> 
> As always, thanks so much for all the wonderful comments and the kudos.  
> *******


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, not sure I'm 100% happy with the first scene, but I've fussed with it enough. Here you go. Still have to write the next chapter, so probably be a little wait for that.
> 
> *******

*******

Andrew didn’t know what he had been expecting in Jackson’s office, but it wasn’t someone who looked as if he should be down at the local bar instead of scouting Exy players, even if it was for a team with as bad of a reputation as the Foxes. “Wymack, huh?” He ignored the man’s outstretched hand and motioned to Aaron that it was safe for Neil to come further into the room since it wasn’t another Raven asshole.

Neil was staring at Wymack with wariness and a bit of confusion, as if wondering why he was here, and Aaron didn’t seem to recognize him at all. Meanwhile, Jackson stood in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest and a put upon expression on his face. “If these other two are bothering you, I can-“

“No, they’re fine,” Wymack assured the asshole with a wave of his left hand. “Though I’d appreciate it if you gave me a chance to talk to Andrew and his family alone, Bill.”

Jackson didn’t appear happy to hear that, though Andrew hadn’t seen him look happy about much at all, lately. “I don’t know, the rules-“

“You had no problem bending them for Kevin Day,” Andrew reminded him.

“And we all know how well that went,” Jackson shot back. When all Andrew did was stare at him with a slight smile, the asshole threw his hands up in the air. “I’m going to go make sure the locker room is all cleaned up. Take your damn time.”

Wymack waved him off and waited until the door was closed to speak. “Bill’s been coaching here for… damn, ten years or more? You guys looked good this season, I’m sure it broke his heart for your team to break down tonight.”

Andrew’s face went blank as he settled back between a tense Neil and Aaron. “And whose fault is that?”

“Well, part of it is his, for letting his team go out there so fucked up, but I noticed that you played a hell of a lot better at your last game than this one.” Then Wymack gave a quick chuckle. “But I’m not your coach, not yet, so I’m not going to bust your balls.”

Beside Andrew, Aaron stirred at that while Neil was almost perfectly still, all eyes and ears as if he was intent on not missing anything – or drawing attention to himself. “And why are you here?” Aaron asked.

“It’s simple, I need players for my team.” Wymack settled back against Jackson’s desk, a slight wince flashing across his face as his one hip lifted up. “I’m here to recruit you for the Palmetto State University Foxes.”

“You’re here to recruit Andrew?” Aaron glanced at Andrew and shook his head. “Right, after all the other schools turned him down because of the charges? I’ve heard the Foxes suck, but are you really that desperate?”

Wymack shrugged off the insult to his team and instead reached down and gripped the edges of the desk as he looked between Aaron and Andrew for a few seconds. “Palmetto State isn’t like other universities, they let me run my program the way I want to and I don’t give a damn about your criminal record.” When Andrew scoffed at that, Wymack gave a slight shrug. “Okay, I give a little bit of a damn, but I did my research before I came here, and your charges? Not bad enough to get you kicked out of my program.”

Andrew scoffed again upon hearing that. “Isn’t that so kind of you – I’d heard you recruited troublemakers, but you’re in over your head here.”

Wymack just stared at him for a few more seconds before reaching behind on the desk into an open briefcase for a folder, then flipped it open. “Andrew Wymack, eighteen years old, senior at Columbia High. Impressive as hell statistics, which is what had all those other schools sending their recruiters after you – recruiters you basically ignored.” His gaze flickered up at Andrew, then at Aaron and Neil. “Year before that you were at Park High, but as Aidan Hennon.”

“Found out I’d been adopted and decided to come live with my real mother,” Andrew lied, giving up the story he and Neil had decided upon when people had asked about how Aaron’s long lost twin had been ‘discovered’, and with a ‘friend’ in tow at that, as well as to explain his year as Aidan back in Racine.

All the explanation earned from Wymack was a slight nod. “You did a pretty good job there, so much so that the Panthers’ have suffered without you this year.” He closed the folder and gave Andrew an even look. “What I find interesting is the lack of anything beyond that, considering your skill.”

All Andrew did was shrug and stare back at him without any emotion.

“That and… you know, there’s this odd thing - about two, two and a half years ago, some coach out in Oakland, California called me.” Wymack continued to study Andrew while Neil took to leaning against him, just the slightest bit. “Davy Sanchez, he works at Wayward Burns, a juvenile detention center located there. Said he had this kid who played goalkeeper who was talented as hell, if lacking some motivation. Davy knows that I take on the hard cases, that I like to give second chances and was hoping that I could help the kid out a little, could maybe stop by one day if I was out that way recruiting for the team – but the kid up and disappeared not too long after that.” A slight smile crept over Wymack’s face as he went in for the kill. “Funny, how the kid’s name was ‘Andrew’, too.”

“Uhm…,” Aaron glanced between Andrew and Wymack, until Andrew hit him in the side with his elbow. “Ow!”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, that sounds like a rather weak coincidence to me,” Andrew insisted with a fake smile.

Wymack’s dark eyes narrowed yet the small smile remained. “Sure it is, but my point here is that everything about you, whoever you are, points to you being the right candidate for my team.”

So what if the guy had done his research, Andrew had heard enough – nothing that Penn State or the others had been selling him had been enough to catch his attention, not when it all depended on where Neil would end up in another year, and the guy with the worst team in the Class I division thought he could win Andrew over? “And I think you’re delusional, crazy theories and all,” Andrew told him as he nudged Neil in the side and pointed toward the door. “I’m not interested in your team.”

“You haven’t heard my offer,” Wymack called out as they started to move.

“I’ve heard enough.”

“What about your brother?”

“Wait, what?” Aaron came to a stop and turned around, as did Andrew once it was clear that Aaron’s attention was snagged. “What about me?”

Wymack’s smile strengthened while Andrew felt the urge to punch the asshole. “I said that I needed players, didn’t I? The offer is for more than just you, Andrew.” He reached back and grabbed two more folders. “Aaron Minyard, senior at Columbia High. Decent statistics, but you’ve shown some real improvement this past season. I can work with that.”

Andrew caught sight of the hope warring on his brother’s face with disbelief and clenched his hands into fists; he knew that Aaron wanted to do something with his life, that part of his fear with Tilda was that she’d drag him down to where he’d never be anything but a useless drug-addict. Because of her, his previous school years had been affected by poor parenting and drug use, and it was only this past one where he’d been able to focus on his grades and had any hope of pursuing his dreams of some sort of medical career. Now for this asshole to be dangling it in front of him…. “If this is some sort of sick joke,” he snarled. He refused to be manipulated because of his brother.

The smile was gone from Wymack’s face when he glanced his way. “It’s not – I don’t joke about shit like this. I told you, I did my research, and I’m here for players. I’m also willing to offer a scholarship to your cousin, Nicky Hemmick.” He held up the folders. “I can see that he was a decent backliner as well in high school.”

“If this is a damn joke, I will break your neck,” Andrew threatened, unwilling to accept that his family was being used against him, even as Aaron stared at Wymack as if this was his dream come true and something awful twisted in Andrew’s gut.

“It’s not,” Wymack repeated. “I always do my research, and I figured there’s a reason you came back to Columbia.” He glanced at Neil for a moment, until Andrew shifting in front of his friend made the man focus his attention back on him. “I figure having your family at Palmetto will be best for you.”

“So what, you only want us because of Andrew?” Aaron asked, that bit of hope wiped from his face.

“I won’t take anyone on my team who can’t be of use,” Wymack told him in an even tone of voice. “If you have a problem, don’t accept the scholarship.”

“Yeah, well you can just fu-“ Andrew stopped when he felt Neil tug on his arm and turned toward him in surprise. “What?”

“So that’s the offer? Three scholarships for Andrew, Aaron and Nicky?” Neil didn’t look at Andrew, he stared right at Wymack with a blank expression, one Andrew recognized from when he was determined to give nothing away. “Full rides?”

Wymack seemed just as surprised to hear from Neil but nodded. “Yes, full tuition, room and board for five years.”

Was Neil even considering for them to take the damn offer? The Foxes were the worst team out there, dammit, it wasn’t as if Neil had paid any attention to them before. “We wouldn’t need room and board,” Andrew told Wymack as he glared at Neil, trying to figure out what the hell his friend was thinking.

“Tough shit, all players are required to live on campus,” Wymack insisted.

“Andrew, what are you-“ Aaron, that hope returned to his expression, stilled when he looked at Neil. “Oh, fuck.”

Wymack seemed to have caught that. “Is there a problem with you living on campus?”

Andrew debated saying anything just then, but Neil continued to stare at him with that even expression which gave nothing away. “If we take you up on your offer, and that’s a big fucking *if*, we have to figure out someplace nearby for Neil to stay.”

“Oh, that.” Wymack waved his right hand as if it was nothing. “There’s decent apartments near the school, I’m sure one of the teachers can-“

“Not good enough,” Andrew ground out as he glared at the man even as he wondered why he was continuing on with this.

“We can talk about this later, just get the information about the scholarships so we can talk to Nicky,” Neil urged him as he tugged on the sleeve of Andrew’s t-shirt, a faint hint of apprehension showing as he glanced Wymack’s way. “That stuff isn’t important.”

Like hell it wasn’t important – the last thing Andrew was going to even contemplate was leaving Neil on his own, especially with how pissed off Riko had been after the whole Kevin Day shit. “Shut up,” Andrew snapped even when he knew it would piss off Neil. “It’s not up to debate.”

“What am I missing here?” Wymack asked Aaron.

The traitor answered the question. “Neil… has stalker issues. Ow, dammit!” He scowled at Andrew, who had kicked his foot for saying that.

“Huh.” Wymack gave Neil a considering look before reaching back into his briefcase for three thick envelopes. “Listen to your friend and read these over, then call me if you think they look good – I might have a solution for where Neil can stay for his senior year while you’re on campus.” He handed the envelopes over to Aaron.

“And where would that be?” Andrew snatched up the envelope with his name on it.

“Someplace safe and near campus, I’m not going to say anything more until I talk it over with the person.” Wymack shook his head as if to prevent any more questions. “You know, I’d make a deal with you, too, Neil, if I thought it would be any good. But word is you’re promised to the Ravens.”

Andrew almost dropped the envelope upon hearing that, especially when Neil’s fingers dug into his right arm. “What the fuck?” He glanced aside and saw that Neil was gaping at Wymack as if the man had just told his friend that Nathan Wesninski had come back from the dead. “Where the hell did you hear that bullshit!”

“That’s… no,” Neil insisted in a strangled voice as if he was trying to figure out what to feel. “No!”

Wymack’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at the both of them. “Huh, that’s odd, because Neil’s name is definitely up on the Raven’s forum as a future recruit. Talk on it is that you turned them down, Andrew, because they were just recruiting you as a courtesy, because Neil asked them to as a favor to him. You didn’t want to get in on the team that way once you found out.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, is there anything that asshole won’t pull?” Aaron muttered as he smacked his folder onto his left hand.

Andrew gave Aaron’s foot another warning kick as he smiled at Wymack. “Don’t believe everything you read. Now, is there anything else?” Neil was probably only a minute or two away from a panic attack, so they needed to get the hell out of here.

His arms once more crossed over his chest, Wymack regarded the three of them again for several seconds, his eyes hooded and lips pressed together in a thin line. “Again, I honestly think that the Foxes will be a good fit for you. Think about it, really think about it. Don’t listen to the crap some of the people say about us, keep an open mind and give us a chance. It’s what we’re here for – to give you a second chance.”

“Such trite words from a man looking to recruit bodies for his Exy team,” Andrew sneered as he pushed Neil toward the door.

“I’m a damn coach, not an orator. Just look at the folders and give me a call,” Wymack told them as they walked away.

Neil managed to hold it together until they got to the car, where he huddled into himself in the passenger seat. “Shit,” he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around his waist. “What is he putting out there? What if people believe it, like Wymack?”

“It’s his word against yours – you just keep playing and make sure you tell people you want to go to the other universities or something,” Andrew snapped. “Send them fucking applications or something.”

“You said that one Penn State guy wanted Neil, right?” Aaron said while he texted away on his phone. “Surely he won’t back off next year if Neil hasn’t signed with anyone.”

Who the hell knew, when it came to Riko and his tricks, Andrew thought, but that seemed to help calm Neil down, the reminder that he already had some schools interested in him. “What I want to know is, why are we even listening to this Wymack guy?”

Aaron made a low sound of frustration. “Why not? What, you think we don’t deserve some sort of scholarship? Isn’t Palmetto good enough for you?”

“Their Exy team sucks,” Andrew echoed out as he glanced at Neil out of the corner of his eye.

“So what, yeah they’re not Penn State or USC, but the school is pretty good. Some of us don’t give a shit about winning tournaments, we just want the degree,” Aaron shot back.

Andrew noticed that Neil wasn’t saying anything, so he waited until they reached home, which was just a couple of minutes away. Once the car was parked, he waved Aaron inside. “We’ll follow you.”

Aaron gave them both a suspicious look at that, but all he did was shrug. “Okay, but don’t take too long, we need to talk things over with Nicky. I texted him at work to tell him something’s up and he’s getting off early. Should be here soon.” He held the two envelopes in his hands up before he went running inside.

Now alone, Andrew leaned against the hood of his car as he lit a cigarette. “All right, now tell me why the hell you bothered to put us through that spiel.” He handed it to Neil and lit another one for himself and took a long drag. “There’s no way you’ll sign up for a team as bad as the Foxes so why lock me in to them?” He felt something tighten inside of his chest the more he thought about it. “What happened to us going away together?” Was Neil trying to keep that from happening now?

Neil inhaled a shuddering lungful of smoke and shook his head. “Riko happened,” he explained in a quiet voice. “I can’t think of any way for you to come with me to USC or Penn State, not attending school at least and… and I don’t want you to throw away this opportunity.” He held the cigarette cupped in his hand as he stared at Andrew. “I want… I want us to be together.” The cigarette fell to the ground as he stepped closer, as his fingers tangled in the hem of Andrew’s t-shirt. “But I’m not going to ask you to just follow me around and do nothing. Breckenridge isn’t too far away by car. Penn State is doable by plane.” Neil closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’d rather see you just on the weekends and holidays than feel guilty about how I made you give up a chance like this, about how it’s only about me,” he admitted in a quiet voice.

It was funny, how Andrew never minded touching Neil, how his hand would reach out as if of its own accord to slip his fingers through the soft, wavy hair or curl up behind Neil’s neck; the thought of doing this to anyone else repulsed him, but with Neil it was the opposite, it was calming. “It’s not a sacrifice, you idiot.”

Neil gave him a small, sad smile. “Yeah, but would you be happy to do it? Would you be fine leaving Aaron without anything and following me across the country, to maybe be stuck in an apartment all by yourself and work some crummy job when you had an opportunity like this?”

Andrew hesitated… and that’s when Neil nodded. “Four years, that’s all it is. It’ll suck and I’m already regretting it, but if I could spend more than five years running from my father, I can get through those four years.”

Andrew shook his head at the thought of Neil giving up anything for him even if it made sense, dammit. But there was a relief in knowing that Neil wasn’t trying to move on without him, even if this current plan truly did suck – there was a logic to it, but it sucked none the less.  He would have been willing to follow Neil regardless… but it would have eaten at him, leaving Aaron behind so… unfinished like that. “We still have to wait and see what Aaron and Nicky have to say, and then there’s finding you a safe place to stay. Are you even fine with switching schools again?”

“Aaron’s going to take it,” Neil told him as he tugged Andrew away from the car, though he stayed close enough that Andrew still kept his hold in Neil’s hair. “Nicky… either he stays here or he goes back to Germany, who knows. And I’m fine, moving. Think it’s better that I find a new team to play on, after this last season.”

“Wymack better come through with someplace decent for you,” Andrew insisted as he pulled Neil in close. Neil smiled at that, and bridged the remaining distance between them with only a slight hesitation for a kiss, which Andrew returned without any pause; there was no way he would break his promise to Neil just so Aaron could go to university. “So I guess we go in there and wait to find out what’s going on with those two,” he said once they broke apart. Or, more what Nicky was going to decide, because Neil was right – Aaron wasn’t going to turn down a scholarship – not when all he wanted was some sort of normal life. Not when in the end they all wanted some sort of normal life.

“Yeah.” Neil bumped into Andrew and then laughed a little. “I just thought of something – you’re back to wearing orange you know.” At Andrew’s confused look, he shook his head. “The Foxes’ colors, white and orange.”

Andrew groaned as he shoved Neil onto the porch. “156%,” he informed his idiot as they went inside.

*******

Neil didn’t know what was more worrisome, the large bottle of vodka placed on the coffee table or Andrew’s laptop when they all gathered in the living room. “Should we be drinking during this discussion? It seems rather serious.” He looked up from the items as he settled on the floor near Andrew’s legs.

Andrew motioned to Aaron as he reached to open the laptop, and as Aaron poured a shot, Neil could see how his friend was navigating to the Raven’s fan forum; he didn’t need Aaron’s urging to take the glass at that point and toss back the shot, especially when Andrew was clever enough to quickly figure out where to get to the ‘new recruits’ section which Wymack had mentioned.

Aaron crowded around them, as did Nicky. “Wow, that guy wasn’t lying, was he? They really have a website for stuff like this.”

“Their fans are like cultist wannabes, what do you expect?” Andrew sneered as he scrolled down the page, and Neil flinched when he noticed that somehow, someone had managed to get a picture of him and posted it online – it looked to have been taken at one of the away games. “Hmm, seems to be a lot of chatter about why the Ravens are interested in such a nobody with only two seasons behind him.”

“They shouldn’t – they shouldn’t have posted anything.” Neil struggled to control his breathing as his hand clenched around the empty glass; what if Jackson Plank or Patrick DiMaccio saw that? His father’s men were still out there and still looking for him, doubly so if they had found out that he’d turned evidence to the FBI. He didn’t think belonging to Ichiro would protect him from them, not since his father had fallen from the Moriyamas’ graces and he still hadn’t proven his worth to them. Was this another part of Riko’s plan? To force him from Columbia and to somewhere the Butcher’s men shouldn’t be able to touch him? Hide from the monsters in the lair of another?

Pressure against the back of his neck made him gasp. “Breathe,” Andrew commanded him as he took away the shot glass. “You’re no use to anyone dead from asphyxiation.”

Neil shook his head as he tugged at his bangs. “He can’t do this.”

“He already has, so accept it,” Andrew told him, words cold but hand warm against the back of his neck.

Nicky glanced back and forth between the computer screen and the two of them. “This Riko… he just… he’s not going to stop, is he? He’s just going to keep throwing things at us until he makes Neil join the Ravens, isn’t he?”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he slammed the lid of the laptop shut. “Not *us*, I’m not letting him get another shot in at the two of you even if I have to drive to Charleston and beat that into his head myself.”

“No,” Neil insisted with a low moan as Aaron handed over the refilled shot glass. “It won’t come to that.” He wouldn’t let it come to that – he’d do whatever it took to make sure it wouldn’t come to that, even if it meant angering Andrew; he’d said back in Reno that they could renegotiate their deal if it looked as if things got too dangerous for his friend, and he would do whatever was necessary to keep Andrew and the others from being dragged down with him.

The displeased look he received for that statement clued him in that Andrew had his suspicions about Neil’s thoughts, but Neil just gave him a flat look in return before he tossed back the shot then set the glass on the table. “So you can predict Riko now?”

There was no answer to that, so all Neil did was tap the glass on the table as he leaned back against Andrew’s legs. “Aren’t we supposed to be talking about Wymack’s offer for the three of you?”

The sharp tug to his hair let him know that Andrew didn’t appreciate the change of topic, but Aaron snatched it up all the same. “I say we take it,” he said, just like Neil knew he would. “This is the best chance any of us have for getting any degrees, and we’d be stupid to turn it down.” He gave Andrew a challenging look as he sat at the end of the couch with his arms folded over his chest. “You lost all those other scholarships, do you think another school is going to step in? Don’t be an idiot and take this one, too.”

Nicky reached for an empty glass and poured himself a shot, then sat in the chair near the couch. “I don’t know, this is so… it’s a shock for me. I never thought I’d get a scholarship when I was in high school, let alone now.” He gave a nervous laugh before he tossed back the vodka, then wiped his mouth. “I mean, I wasn’t bad, but there were better people on the team.” He pointed at Neil and Andrew. “You guys are so much better. But… Erik and I are saving up so I can try to get a degree when I get back in Germany, it’ll help so much with me finding a job and staying there.” There was a thoughtful look in his dark eyes as he held the glass cradled in his hands. “It’s just… five years is a long time.”

“It’s free,” Aaron reminded him. “Use the money to go visit on the holidays or something.”

“Easy for you to say, you don’t have a girlfriend,” Nicky snapped, which caused Aaron to give him the finger. Then Nicky once more regarded Andrew and Neil. “What about Neil? Is he going to attend after his senior year?”

Andrew took to tugging on his left arm band while Neil shook his head. “No, not Palmetto State.”

“What, not good enough for you?” Aaron sneered.

“Not good enough for Ichiro,” Neil explained as he leaned back against Andrew to keep him from going after his twin. “I can’t… if the Foxes were even mid-ranked, I could give them a try, but not a bottom-ranked team. My argument against the Ravens is they hamper my shot at the Court, and you think Ichiro’s going to accept me turning them down for the Foxes?” He ran his hands through his hair and scrubbed at his scalp while he took a couple of deep breaths and wondered why it seemed that so much of his life was under the control of other people, why he never was ever truly free; yes, he had made the deal with Ichiro... but Riko was making him feel as if he was back out there on the run, was faced with waking up each day and doing whatever he could to limit the damage, limit the pain and knowing that the noose was tightening all the while….

“Penn State,” Andrew said as his hand knocked Neil’s aside and his fingers replaced Neil’s to comb through Neil’s hair. “He’ll take Penn State’s offer.”

Nicky chewed his lip upon hearing that. “I don’t know, maybe USC would be safer? It’s farther away.” Then he shook his head as his face blanched; Neil didn’t know what expression was on Andrew’s face just then, but he had a feeling it wasn’t a good one. “Penn State’s good! He’ll be a Panther again! Weren’t your last team the Panthers? I’m sure Eddy will be glad to look out for him and everything,” Nicky babbled as he poured himself another shot, then Neil’s glass as well.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay by then.” Neil accepted the shot, but wasn’t surprised when Andrew took it from him, so he just held out his hand until the empty glass was put back in it. Hopefully by that point, Ichiro could step in to rein back his younger brother, rather than risk Riko doing something that might cause some unwelcome publicity. Hopefully.

“But you aren’t staying here, right? I mean, if… if we’re moving to campus, he’s coming with us?” Nicky took out his phone and held it in his hand as he once more stared at Andrew and Neil.

“Wymack’s looking into something for him – I told the man that we wouldn’t go unless Neil had someplace safe to stay.” Aaron took to fidgeting and the fingers in Neil’s hair tightened, so Neil wondered if Andrew was giving his twin a displeased look just then.

“That’s good.” Nicky stared at his phone with a thoughtful expression for about a minute or two, then once again gave Neil and Andrew a considering look for several seconds before he got up. “I’m going to call Erik, we need… we need to talk about things. When did Wymack say we had to give him an answer?”

“He didn’t, but I’m sure he’d prefer sooner rather than later,” Andrew told him. “You don’t have to say yes.”

“I know.” Nicky managed a shaky grin as he headed toward the back door. “This will… it’ll probably be a while, okay?”

“What’s to decide, it’s a scholarship,” Aaron muttered as he poured himself another shot of vodka. “He’s stupid if he turns it down because of Erik.”

Neither Andrew nor Neil said anything to that, but Andrew leaned forward to pour them both a shot which Neil accepted, before allowing himself to be tugged onto his feet and led to the bedroom. Once there, Andrew closed the door and pulled Neil closer. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.” Neil barely waited for Andrew to finish the question before he answered, before he risked threading his fingers through Andrew’s blond hair and tugging his head in for a kiss. There was the bite of vodka in his mouth as Andrew’s tongue swiped inside, the rush of the alcohol catching up to him as he was pushed onto the bed, but he didn’t really care just then. Too much was happening, too much was changing, and all that mattered was for now, he still had Andrew.

Clothes were pulled off and thrown aside, he got one of his arm bands off before deciding it wasn’t important enough – he had learned long ago to not bother with Andrew’s – and he was sinking back into the mattress with Andrew on top of him, that solid weight pressing him down into the soft duvet and grounding him at the same time. He kept his fingers entangled in wiry, short blond hair as he waited to see how far Andrew was willing to go tonight, willing and eager for however far that would be, desperate for… for anything that proved that there was something between them, something that would last the harsh four years looming ahead. Perhaps Andrew felt the same, because after stealing Neil’s breath away with a ferocious kiss, he pulled away just long enough to fetch the bottle of lube from the one nightstand.

He paused for a moment with the lube held in his right hand to make his intentions clear, and when Neil gave a slight nod, settled back between Neil’s legs. There was another ferocious, passionate kiss, this one leaving Neil more befuddled than those shots of vodka, before Andrew began to nip at Neil’s chin and jaw while there was the ‘click’ of the lube bottle being open.

Neil squirmed a little at the ticklish feel of his neck being sucked upon, fingers once more curled tight in Andrew’s short hair, and huffed a little at the unfairness of the attention being lavished upon his neck when it was more fun doing just that to his friend; he adored the way Andrew shivered and let out faint moans when he was the one doing these things, even if it felt so good to be on the receiving end. He let out a loud gasp when there was the dual sensation of being bit and a slick finger sliding inside of him at the same time, and tugged Andrew’s head up so he could kiss the bastard.

Andrew allowed him that bit of control, and then set about to break him down, to go about preparing him in such a way that Neil was soon alternating between cursing him out and begging him as spikes of bliss jolted through him when Andrew twisted those fingers just *so*. Just when he thought he couldn’t take any more, when he was cursing Andrew out in earnest, Andrew slipped those fingers free and shifted onto the other side of the bed while pulling Neil onto his lap.

A bit startled by the change on position, Neil hesitated for a moment, waited to make sure that Andrew was all right and not pulling away from him before he settled his weight on top of the other teen. “Is this-“

“It’s fine,” Andrew said, almost a bit snappish, as his hands grabbed Neil’s hips. “Unless you-“

“No, it’s- okay, it’s okay.” Neil almost said ‘it’s fine’, which he didn’t think Andrew would appreciate just then, as he straddled his friend’s hips, as he sank downward, teeth biting into his bottom lip as Andrew pushed into him, a faint burn giving way to pleasurable friction with each thrust. Neil shivered as he leaned forward, hands falling against the wooden headboard, and gasped when Andrew’s hand curled around his cock to stroke in time to their steady thrusts. The feel of Andrew’s hand curled around his hip, around his cock, the steady gaze of Andrew’s hazel eyes into his own as the pleasure coiled tighter and tighter inside of Neil with each motion, each slide of their bodies against the other-

He gasped out loud at a particularly hard thrust and his right hand dropped to trail along Andrew’s face as he hunched over even more, which caused a sharp jolt of ecstasy to course through him. Moaning out Andrew’s name, he began to shudder as he felt Andrew pull him down harder, to hold him there so that the sharp pleasure spiked higher and higher, until he felt as if he was nothing but raw nerves and bliss and-

And Neil came with Andrew’s name on his lips, hand splayed over Andrew’s chest, still staring into those hazel eyes darkened with passion, mind numb with wondrous pleasure as he slumped forward with one arm still braced against the wall, and swore he could feel how his friend’s heart raced moments later when Andrew shuddered beneath him. The hand on his hip clenched in an almost painful manner, and when it finally let him go, slid along his back to pull him forward.

Neil rested against Andrew for a few seconds, tired and drained and enjoying a rare moment of peace, all the more precious because he knew it wouldn’t last. It probably wasn’t even an entire minute before Andrew shifted beneath him, signaling that it was time for him to move, so Neil gritted his teeth and did that, wincing a little as they separated and he rolled onto his back.

Andrew combed his fingers through his hair as he got off of the bed. “I’ll go shower first.”

“Okay.” Neil knew how things went well enough by now not to take things personally, that Andrew needed his space – there were times when they could shower together, usually when they were doing things *in* the shower, but times like *these*… yeah, Andrew liked a little space. So he let his friend go and then reached for some tissue to clean himself off a bit while he waited, and hoped that Nicky and Aaron weren’t still downstairs for their sakes, because if one of them decided to tease Andrew… yeah.

That mustn’t have been the case, because Andrew was back in a few minutes, wrapped in a clean towel and expression mostly blank yet peaceful. Neil left him to deal with the bed and went to wash off, mindful to take some clothes with him, and the bed was ready to be slept in by the time he returned, ready for the night.

They each curled up in their respective side of the bed, but didn’t seem to fall asleep right away. “Even though he is an idiot, Nicky might be right about USC,” Andrew said after a couple of minutes.

Neil groaned as he reached out and placed his hand near Andrew’s. “If we go by that logic, what’s to stop me from asking my uncle to find me somewhere to live in England and see if I can’t get into Cambridge or Oxford?” Both of those schools had excellent Exy teams. “I can’t… if I start running now… I’m not going to stop,” he admitted, aware of how easy it was to give in to the fear, to slip into those old habits. “Don’t make me go any further than Penn State.” If it were anyone other than Andrew, he’d add a ‘please’.

Besides, he didn’t think it mattered, if he was in Pennsylvania or California, not if Riko was that determined. But knowing that Andrew was just a few hours away? That did.

Andrew was quiet for about a minute, and then he huffed. “Well, I hear they have this amazing ice cream shop near the campus. Maybe it is worth it, having you go there. That’ll give me a reason to come up and visit.”

Neil groaned as he shoved at his friend. “Go to hell, you asshole.” Yet he was smiling even as he rolled onto his other side. When warmth pressed against his back, he continued to smile and closed his eyes so he could go to sleep.

*******

Once Nicky decided that he would accept the scholarship, Andrew arranged for the four of them to meet with Wymack at Sweetie’s after school at the end of the following week; with the Exy season finished there was no need for them to deal with Jackson or the rest of the team anymore, and he’d had to go down to the court house that Wednesday to take care of his outstanding charges. Dupree had been true to his word and Andrew only was stuck with probation along with weekly therapy sessions with a psychiatrist or psychologist of his choice – as long as they were properly accredited – which had to start sometime in the next two weeks. He’d been given a list of court-recommended ones along with the notice that his probation office would be in contact with him soon.

Andrew was so looking forward to all of that.

Knowing that someone would have a bit of control over his life, no matter how minimal, for the next two years, put him in a foul mood, made him short-tempered and unwilling to deal with anyone and refusing to talk at all, made him just stare back at people with the blank mask he’d used for so long until Nicky took to avoiding him and Neil was just as quiet and Aaron flat out called him an ungrateful bastard who didn’t deserve anything. So by Friday they all piled into the GS, Nicky and Aaron more than willing to sit in the back for once, got to Sweetie’s where Aaron insisted on a table, and sat in silence while they waited for Wymack to show up.

Nicky was the only one who stood up to greet the man, but at least Aaron put his phone away when Wymack sat down. “So, I’m assuming that you didn’t call me out here for fancy ice cream, yes?” Wymack rested his elbows on top of the table, tattooed arms on display.

When no one answered him right away, Nicky nodded. “Ah, yeah. We’re going to accept your offer. You know, the scholarships.” He gave Wymack a nervous smile as he tore his paper napkin to shreds.

“Not so fast,” Andrew insisted, earning a sidelong look from Aaron for finally speaking up. “What about that condition we spoke about, for Neil?”

“I talked to a friend of mine about him, and she agreed to let him live at her house for the school year.” At Andrew’s narrowed glance, Wymack sat back in his chair. “Her name’s Abby Winfield and she’s the team’s nurse, so I trust her to watch out for him. Her house is close to the campus and in a good neighborhood.”

“She doesn’t really have to watch out for me,” Neil insisted as he ran his fingers along the glass of water their server had dropped off. “I’m an emancipated minor – I just need a place to live.”

“She’ll be happy to know she’s not expected to be your babysitter, but I ask that you don’t give her any grief since she’s doing this as a favor to me.” Wymack grunted as he ran his right hand over his hair, making the short strands stick up in a few directions for a moment. “Look, I don’t know what your situation is, and-“

“No, you don’t,” Andrew snapped as he pushed his own glass aside. “You asked for three new players on your team, and you’re getting them. Neil’s a part of this as in that he lives with us and we’re not kicking him to the curb just because we’re accepting your offer, but he’s *our* concern, not yours? Do you understand that?”

Wymack gave him a level look for several seconds. “So what you’re saying is?”

Andrew ignored Aaron stepping on his left foot and Nicky’s anxious expression to give Wymack a flat look back. “I play for you, and that’s where your concern ends, what and how I do on the court. You’re my coach, nothing else.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” Aaron hissed at him, while Nicky remained oddly quiet and Neil acted as if there was nothing else of importance other than his damn glass of water.

As for Wymack, he sat there and stared back at Andrew for several seconds before he nodded. “Fine, I’m your coach, nothing else. So are you signing or what?”

Andrew turned toward Neil, who finally looked up from his glass and gave a slight nod. “Yeah, we’re signing.”

“It’s about damn time,” Wymack grumbled as he reached into the bag he’d brought with him for what turned out to be three contracts. “Don’t usually wait this long to recruit, but didn’t think I’d get a chance at you.”

“Gee, isn’t it lucky that I got arrested,” Andrew sneered as he waited for Aaron to finish signing to use the pen.

“You said it, not me.” Wymack glanced around for a server and held up his empty coffee mug while Nicky gave out a nervous laugh. “Now look, you three need to be on campus by June 9th \- all of the team has to be ready to start practice by then.” He glanced at Neil as a server, the same teenaged girl with bright blue hair who seemed to know Nicky and who had served them their waters, poured Wymack some coffee. “I guess I’ll tell Abby to expect you to show up then, too?”

“Yes.” Neil was going to spill the glass of water, he was playing with it so much. “It’ll give me time to transfer school districts and everything.”

“Well, let me know if you need to move in a little early or anything, I’m sure we arrange something, too.” Wymack eyed Neil for a moment and grunted when there was no response. “Ran into J.B. the other day – J.B. Lee, he’s the coach out at Palmetto High. Mentioned to him that there was a chance that you might be transferring and I think it made his year.”

Neil stilled upon hearing that, his expression going blank the way it did at times when people praised him, especially people who made him uncomfortable like Wymack clearly did, and then he gave a slight shrug. “Uhm, good? We, ah, we barely beat his team.” That came out rather weakly as he ducked his head and went back to toying with his water.

Yeah, no wonder Wymack thought there might be something going on there with the idiot. Andrew did some foot stepping of his own and narrowed his eyes when Neil’s head jerked up and blue eyes stared at him wide and confused before brightening with anger.

“A whole new season for you to look forward to getting slammed around, aren’t you happy?”

Distracted from Wymack, Neil’s eyes narrowed and he straightened up some. “Probably have less concussions without all the balls thrown at my head.”

“I wouldn’t take that bet, not with that mouth of yours.”

“Yeah? Well-“

“What about rooms?” Nicky spoke a bit loud and smiled at Wymack, expression strained and exaggerated. “You said we had to live on campus, right?”

There was a hint of a smirk behind the coffee cup, as if the man knew what Nicky was trying to do. “Yeah, there’s a specific dormitory for athletics, which is where you’ll be. I can put in a request for the three of you to have a room to yourselves.” He waited for any objections, and while Andrew wasn’t that pleased to be sharing close quarters with Nicky, he refused to be stuck with a stranger or parted from Aaron. “That’s what I thought.” Finished with his coffee, he set the mug back on the table. “So, unless there’s anything else? You have my number, just give me a call. I’ll get in touch with you closer to the start of practice to let you know about Abby’s house and everything.” He gathered up his bag and stood up, but didn’t leave the table just then. “Look… whatever’s going on…”

“Just a coach,” Andrew reminded him as he flicked water about on the table.

“Yeah, I can tell it’s going to be a fun five years ahead with you.” Wymack’s mouth twisted as he set a couple of dollars down on the table for his coffee then waved goodbye. “See you in June.”

The table was quiet until he’d been gone about a minute or two, then Nicky groaned. “Oh my god, did you have to act that way to him?”

Andrew flicked water at his cousin. “What do you care? If you’re so unhappy about it, go back to Germany.”

Nicky gave him an odd look for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. “You just don’t get it, do you?” Then he focused on Neil. “You gonna be okay, staying with that friend of his?”

“I should be – it’s just a place to crash, right? I’ll have school and Exy practice, and we have the house on the weekends.”

“We’ll smuggle you in the dorm somehow, hide you in our gear bag since you’re almost small enough to fit.” Nicky laughed when Neil threw his straw at him. “Aw come on, I find it funny that I’m like, a giant compared to you three.”

“You’re a prime example of how bigger isn’t better,” Aaron said as he gave their cousin the finger.

“Oh, Erik never complains about-“

“Shut up, I don’t want to hear about any of that sick stuff.” Aaron shoved Nicky hard enough that he almost fell out of his chair, the moron laughing the entire time.

Meanwhile, Neil took to tugging on the sleeve of his shirt again as a thoughtful expression came over his face. “Uhm… how are you going to deal with just the two of them by yourself?” he asked Andrew. Andrew thought about that himself and stroked his right fingers along his left arm guard. “Shit, that’s what I thought,” Neil muttered as he gave up on his sleeve to tug on his bangs instead, right over the scar through his eyebrow.

“I promise not to call you to ask you to help bury their bodies,” Andrew told him.

“Eh, what?” Nicky stared as he fumbled into his chair. “What are you going to do to us?”

“That’s so reassuring.” Hmm, Neil could be a sarcastic little shit when he wanted to be.

“You only said to wait until I was eighteen to kill Nicky – I’m eighteen now.” He smiled just a little at the look of betrayal on Nicky’s face upon that revelation.

“Neil! How could you? To me, the nearest thing you have to a brother! I’m all set to adopt you and everything!”

Andrew was tempted to pull out his phone and snap a picture of Neil’s face just then, it was so, so priceless, the mix of emotions on it just then – such confusion, surprise and disbelief. After several seconds, all Neil could manage to get out was a very eloquent “huh?”

“Okay, now I’m feeling sick about all those times you tried to get in his pants.” Aaron grimaced in disgust and scooted his chair away from Nicky’s.

“I did no such thing.” At Aaron’s scoff of disbelief and Andrew’s glare, he shrugged. “Okay, maybe just a little, but we’re good now. We’re brothers.”

“We’re so confused,” Neil murmured as he rubbed at his face.

“What, don’t you think so?” For a moment Nicky appeared crestfallen, and then he rallied and reached around Aaron to tousle Neil’s hair – he managed to snatch back his hand before Andrew could stab him with a fork. “I know, it’s new to you. Just let it sink in.”

“I’d run for the hills while you can,” Aaron advised. “We’re stuck with him because he’s blood.”

“Oh hush, you. You guys would be lost without me and you know it.”

Andrew pulled out a few bucks to cover for the mess they’d made of the table and stood up. “Come on, I’ve had enough of this.” They’d done what they’d meant to here, time to go back home, where there was a big yard perfect for burying idiots.

“I’m suddenly not feeling so bad about the prospect of living with a stranger,” Neil murmured as Nicky did something to piss off Aaron enough for Andrew’s brother to yell at him and make him run out to the car laughing.

“Whereas I take back that part about not calling you to ask for help about burying the bodies.” Andrew gritted his teeth together at the prospect of living with his brother and his cousin without Neil there to calm Nicky the fuck down.

“What did you say about no take-backs?” There was a slight smile on Neil’s face just then.

“159%, Josten.”

“Ah well, in that case, I’ll pick up some ice cream to go.” Neil’s smile strengthened as he used those damn long legs of his to step away from Andrew to go up ahead, toward the take-out coolers stocked with ice cream pints.

There was that odd feeling in Andrew’s chest again, at the sight of a smiling Neil buying him ice cream, of stepping outside to see Aaron glowering at a laughing Nicky before turning toward Andrew to complain about their idiot cousin, only for all of them to get in the car to go home together. It frightened him a little – no, it frightened him a lot, because things like that didn’t seem to be meant for him. Because even as this one moment stretched on, even as he pulled up to the house and Nicky stumbled out of the car, going on about making a fire and cooking hot dogs on it to go along with the ice cream before they headed to Eden’s Twilight for the night, even as Aaron hurried after him to join in and Neil waited for Andrew so they could go in together and he have first pick of the ice cream… he knew that it wouldn’t last for much longer. That it was in fact in some way ending all too soon.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know I changed things a little (no Dan in the recruiting scene), but this just made more sense (at least to me). There's no real talk on how Wymack approached Andrew, Aaron and Nicky (at least how I can find) - if he just went to Andrew first and then Andrew insisted on the others being included, but that doesn't make sense to me - I can see Andrew wanting Aaron to get a scholarship but why would Andrew insist on Nicky when Nicky has a life in Germany? Eehh... so, yeah, this is what I'm going with, Wymack making them the offer at the same time.
> 
> And of course Andrew and Wymack's deal is changed a bit (or will be an ongoing matter), since Andrew's not on drugs. Will have to wait and see how that develops as Andrew plays for the team and the season starts.
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are so very greatly appreciated! 
> 
> Hmm, next chapter we finally get the rest of the Foxes!! Just took how friggen long....  
> *******


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More [fanart](http://broship-addict.tumblr.com/post/146722449237/nekojitachans-incredible-fic-updated-rip-neils) ! Meant to post this the other day and was in a rush to get the last chapter out. But yay! Some really adorable artwork of some recent scenes. Go look! Thank you so much, Broship Addict!
> 
> And another update. Hmm, covering a bit of canon scenes, getting into the book and cut scenes now, but with new takes somewhat.  
> *******

*******

In the month and a half that they had before moving to Palmetto State University, in addition to finishing with the school year and in Andrew and Aaron’s cases graduating, Andrew also had to set up his weekly therapy sessions and initially biweekly probation check-ins. The latter went mostly well, at least as well as they could when he was being forced to go visit someone and prove that he wasn’t breaking any laws, but Dan Tyler wasn’t too bad for a government prick and told Andrew that he’d arrange for another probation officer to take over once Andrew moved on campus so it would be easier for him to make the check-ins.

The therapy sessions were another matter; Andrew had gone through enough over the years, had suffered through various psychiatrists and psychologists as he’d worked his way through the foster system and then been forced to attend mandatory sessions at Wayward Burns. As a result, he was steadily going through the list that had been handed to him when he’d received his sentence that day in court. Arnolds was clearly one of those quacks who relied heavily on medications, so Andrew had walked out halfway through that appointment. Aquino tried too hard to come across as his friend, going so far as to talk about personal things in his own life. Wyler thought she could out silent Andrew and lasted the longest with him, before giving up after the third one. Parson thought to engage him by talking about Exy, so Andrew did talk in that session – he recited all of the Exy statistics he had memorized in his head. Ha, no more reporting back to the judge that he was being uncommunicative, right? Sometimes it paid to have an Exy obsessed… friend.

Nicky took some time off of work and went back to Germany for almost a month, to ‘recharge’ himself with Erik to help him deal with the unexpected separation – considering it was supposed to be his return trip home. Andrew would never admit that the house was oddly quiet without the moron around, but Aaron almost made up for him with all the running around for ‘university’ planning, buying stuff for their dorm room and so forth. It was the most animated that Andrew had ever seen his twin, and even Neil was impressed by Aaron’s excitement for the upcoming move.

As for Neil and Andrew, they were determined to enjoy the time left in the house at Columbia that they had, to spend evenings out in the backyard by the fire pit or in their bedroom. Neil laughed for a good couple of minutes when he found out that Andrew had settled on a criminal justice major, until Andrew grew annoyed and pinned him to the bed to kiss him silent.

It was also the longest span that one of Neil’s phones had survived – there were no messages from Riko, no texts at all. Andrew knew that the bastard was aware that he’d signed to the Foxes, there’d been a thread about it on the Raven’s forum, but Riko wasn’t saying anything to Neil about it. At least, he wasn’t saying anything to Neil about it *yet*. Andrew knew that the asshole was just waiting for what he felt was the right moment to inflict the most damage.

Though Andrew had been tempted to destroy Neil’s phone when Neil had handed it to him so Anna could wish him ‘congratulations’ for getting the scholarship, with Kelci chirping along in the background. “Wow, I am just… I’m amazed,” Anna told him. “You, going to college? And on a scholarship? I hate you even more right now, you short asshole,” she told him while laughing.

“Fuck off and stop talking to Neil, he doesn’t need a bitch like you in his life,” Andrew said while he glared at the idiot who didn’t seem to know any better before he hung up and almost threw the phone at the ground. “Seriously, why do you talk to her?”

“Because she’s nice, and Kelci keeps helping me with my papers since you won’t,” Neil told him as he snatched away his phone as if reading Andrew’s mind. “Besides, who else do I talk to?”

Andrew realized that it was true – the only contacts in Neil’s phones besides him, Aaron, and Nicky were Erik (after the whole fight mess), Agent Wolfe, Anna and Kelci. Oh, and Neil’s Uncle Stuart, who sent short texts from time to time, rather odd ones that Neil somehow understood. Not a hell of a lot, but Andrew still found Neil staring at the list now and then with something resembling amazement.

Besides, he’d need those contacts when it came time to move to College Station on his own, since Andrew would then have his hands full with Aaron at Palmetto State; Andrew would have to hope that Stuart Hatford would be able to watch out for Neil somehow, to assist in keeping Riko at bay, and he’d rather Neil talk to a bitch like Anna who knew better than some stranger.

With that thought in mind, Andrew waited until one day at the house when he caught Aaron alone, Neil off in their bedroom working on a paper, and motioned for his twin to follow him outside. Aaron did so, with a slight frown on his face. “What’s this about? It’s not my week to do laundry, I told Neil that.”

Andrew rolled his eyes as he lit up a cigarette. “No, it’s about our deal,” he said as he leaned against the railing of the back porch. “Yours and mine.”

“What about it?” Aaron was frowning now in earnest as he scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s over when we graduate, right?”

“That was if we went our separate ways. Seems to me that since I accepted a scholarship on large part because of you and will be living with you, it’s still in effect.” Andrew blew out smoke and waited for that to sink in.

He could tell exactly when it did as Aaron’s cheeks became flushed. “What the hell, you think just because we’re going to the same university that you get to control my life for five more years?” Aaron gave Andrew the finger and turned to leave, before Andrew reached out to stop him.

“Five more years of making sure you don’t fuck things up,” Andrew reminded him. “Of watching your back. Of making sure you get the chance to do something with your life. I could have turned down Wymack’s offer and gone anywhere, could be packing to move up to Pennsylvania right now with Neil, but I’m not,” he said, his voice low and earnest. “So yes, the deal is still in effect.” He wasn’t letting Neil’s sacrifice be for nothing, wasn’t going to let the hold Tilda still had on Aaron fuck things up any more than it already did.

The look Aaron gave him just then was pure disgust at first. “Don’t make it sound as if you’re staying here because of me. You’re the one who couldn’t get a scholarship otherwise so-“

Andrew flicked the cigarette aside and grabbed Aaron by the front of his shirt and pulled his twin in close. “Don’t presume to know what the hell I want,” he warned. “I don’t give a damn about the scholarship or playing for the Foxes. You have no fucking clue what I’ve already done or what I will do for you, so just keep your mouth shut.” His fingers clenched even more in the fabric for a couple of seconds before he forced himself to let go. “See if you can’t bother to keep some semblance of your word before I do say ‘fuck it’ to Wymack and tell Neil we’re hitting the road.” As if it would be that easy, turning his back on Aaron after all he’d given up for his brother, but Aaron didn’t need to know that.

“You signed the contract,” Aaron muttered as he tugged on the hem of his shirt, but it sounded more like posturing than a real argument.

“Do you think I give a damn about that when I have a pre-existing agreement with someone who *does* keep their word?” Andrew graced his twin with a cold smile.

“I’m beginning to wonder just what all you do care about.” But Aaron’s expression smoothed out into one more of apathy as he regarded Andrew. “You know what, fine. If I’m stuck with you and Nicky and Neil, then at least I don’t have to deal with those fucked-up Foxes, right? Anything is better than that.”

 “Just remember that, you don’t seem to have the best memory when it comes to agreements,” Andrew told him as he went to break the news to Neil that he was stuck doing laundry with Nicky out of town – because Andrew sure as hell wasn’t going to be bothered doing it.

*******

Abigail Winfield lived in a one story ranch in a nice neighborhood about five minutes from campus; Neil, Andrew, Aaron and Nicky drove to her house the day after the twins graduated since Nicky had commented on wanting to brush up on his Exy skills before the others arrived. That gave the four of them about a week and a half to practice.

Abby answered the door as they pulled up to the house, the GS in the driveway and the Nissan at the curb, the cars loaded with most of the belongings that they intended to bring with them to Palmetto. She turned out to be a pretty woman in her late thirties or so, with dark blond hair and blue eyes, only couple inches taller than Neil. “You came earlier than I thought,” she said with a laugh. “Good thing we got the place ready last night.” She held the door open for them so they could bring their bags inside.

Neil tried not to feel uncomfortable inside the house, which reminded him in a way of the Hemmicks’ except without the crosses and Bible quotes. The couches looked comfortable and there were prints on the wall, and various knick-knacks scattered about….

“So, there’s two spare bedrooms,” Abby explained, “and an office with a comfortable couch. Either two or more of you can share or-“

Right away Aaron and Nicky pointed at Neil and Andrew. “Oh, don’t worry, they’ve got that covered,” Nicky said while he stared down Aaron. “Now me, I’m more than willing to share that other bed, so….” He grinned at Aaron.

“Fine, I’ll take the office.” Aaron wrinkled his nose in disgust as he heaved his bag higher up on his left shoulder. “Not sharing a bed with your perverted ass.”

“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that part of me,” Nicky teased with a leer, then yelped when Andrew reached over to smack the back of his head. “Hey, I’m just joking!”

“It wasn’t funny,” Andrew told him with a flat look.

Meanwhile, Abby just kept glancing back and forth between them as if waiting for someone to say it was all one big joke. “So… you boys get along well?”

“Not really,” Aaron said as he glanced around. “The rooms?”

She started at the question and then led them down a hallway. “Right this way.” She pointed out each one in turn, and frowned a little when Neil and Andrew put away their stuff in the same room. “Uhm, the two of you?”

Unsure of where she was going with that and if it was going to be a problem, Neil looked up and nodded, while beside him, Andrew narrowed his eyes.

“Huh, okay.” Abby let out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead. “I guess I hadn’t thought to worry about you bringing anyone back to the house so soon.” A quiet chuckle escaped her. “Considering the circumstances… I’m just going to skip that talk.” She was still rubbing at her forehead and chuckling as she left the room.

“Oh god,” Neil groaned as he fell onto the bed, his face buried in his hands and heated with embarrassment. He could feel it a moment later when Andrew stretched out beside him.

“Isn’t it nice, having her approval?” Oh yes, someone was just a bit annoyed right now, judging from the bite to those words.

Neil dropped his hands and found Andrew looming above him. “I have to live with her,” he reminded his friend.

“Hmm.” Andrew’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, slow enough for Neil to tell him to stop, which of course Neil didn’t do, and Neil spent several minutes in his new bedroom being kissed breathless – at least until Aaron had to put a stop to things.

“Quit being so ‘friendly’ with each other and get your asses in gear, we need to head to the stadium,” he snapped.

Neil felt Andrew’s shoulders tense beneath his hands and sighed when his friend pulled away, a scowl on his handsome face. “That joke stopped being funny months ago,” Andrew snapped as he slipped off of the bed.

Aaron shrugged in the face of his irate twin. “Like I give a shit? Maybe admit to the fact that you’re actually boyfriends and I’ll stop.”

“We’re not,” Andrew insisted as he followed Aaron out into the hallway, and Neil had to hurry to catch up. “That’s not what’s going on with us.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Aaron snarled. “Nicky, what do you call living together and having sex all of the time?”

“We don’t have sex all of the time,” Neil mumbled, the heat returned to his cheeks because they’d just walked into the living room, where Abby was curled up with a book – a book she was now ignoring for gaping at them instead.

“You’re having it a hell of a lot more than Nicky and I are,” Aaron shot back. “Well?”

Nicky cast a beatific smile Neil and Andrew’s way. “That, my dear, innocent cousin, is called a ‘relationship’. One day these emotionally stunted darlings will accept that fact and-“

“And find a place to bury your bodies, so shut the hell up and mind your own fucking business.” Andrew looked about three seconds from going for his knives, which must have sunk in to Nicky because his smile slipped away and he shut his mouth for once.

Nicky and Aaron wisely chose to ride in the Nissan to the stadium, even though they could have all fit in the GS. By the time they reached the Foxhole Court stadium, Andrew had finished a cigarette and calmed down somewhat – though his good mood was once more put into jeopardy when he caught sight of the huge stadium done in white and bright orange paint with the massive orange fox paw prints on the sides. “164%.”

Neil winced as he got out of the parked car and didn’t try to argue; it wasn’t a perfect situation, Andrew playing with a bunch of misfits for the worst team in the Class I division… but Neil still thought this was the best option for him. The best option for Andrew and Aaron, really. It didn’t let Riko win, didn’t let Riko ruin Andrew’s life, and if Andrew did well enough… maybe there was some hope that Andrew could make it to the pros.

As they reached the area where they’d been instructed to go, they found Wymack already waiting for them, smoking a cigarette as he waved to them. “Abby called to tell me that you’d left,” he explained, his expression blank as his gaze lingered on Neil and Andrew. “Let me show you around.” He led them to a narrow door where he had to punch in a code to get them inside of the stadium, and then down a hallway to a door that said ‘FOXES’. That door took a key to open, and they were inside of the locker room for the Palmetto Foxes.

Neil looked around a lounge that was filled with couches and chairs, formed in a semi-circle around a truly large tv, probably so they could watch clips of games and so forth. The walls were covered with photos, some formal shots of the teams, some clipped from newspapers, and some just private pictures of the team. Neil paid scant attention to them, since he was only here to help Nicky practice.

Past the room was another hallway, with doors to what looked to be Wymack’s office and a room for Abby, along with another door with a red cross next to it, probably where she practiced anything medically related. At the end of the hallway was an open room that Neil thought he remembered from some articles where various press conferences had occurred, and Wymack led them there only to go off to a side closet. “It’s the gear closet,” he explained as he opened it, and commenced to dig through it for a few minutes, reaching in and pulling out various bits of gear which he then held up to Neil. A rather agonizing few minutes as Neil did his best not to flinch since he had to stand close enough to the man to be considered for the pieces of equipment, close enough to be within Wymack’s reach; mentally he told himself that chances of Wymack hurting him were unlikely, that Andrew was right behind him and wouldn’t let anything happen… but all his brain knew was that here was a man about his father’s age and height within striking distance.

By the time Wymack was finished, Neil’s nerves were shot and he just wanted to get out on court to play, to do something that would get him away from the man and allow him to lose himself in something that would make him forget everything for a short while. Wymack gave him an odd look as he snatched at the racquet the man was holding out to him, standing as far away as possible and quick to step back even further, but only grunted and motioned to another door. “Lockers are that way. Rest of you can find your gear in your assigned lockers. Neil, you can just store the stuff in an empty one for now.”

Andrew was quick to slip his left hand on to the back of Neil’s neck and steer him away. “We’ll be ready in a few minutes.” He kept the hand on Neil’s neck as they headed in the direction Wymack had pointed out, mindful to carry the small bag Neil had brought along with a spare change of clothes since Neil’s arms were now full of the borrowed gear.

“You and your issues,” he chided, even as his hand gave a slight squeeze.

“I have to amuse you somehow,” Neil said, taking strength from Andrew’s familiar presence and jabs.

“That you do.” Andrew gave one more squeeze before he let go, and they all hurried to get ready.

Nicky made a big deal about being back in gear after so long and how hot the uniform looked, how orange was his color, and Neil had to remind Andrew to wait until they were on the court to take out his temper on the man. They found Wymack waiting for them out there, and Neil lost his breath for a moment, upon stepping onto such a large court with all the lights and the rows of seats.

Wymack seemed to notice that and gave him a slight nod. “Not a big as Penn State or Edgar Allen’s, but it’s not bad, is it?” He motioned to the two buckets of balls by his feet and nodded again. “Okay, so here’s where I leave you four at it. Don’t kill each other, and definitely don’t kill Neil since he’s not covered by the school’s insurance.”

“We’ll just dent him a bit, he’s more fun when he’s concussed,” Andrew called out as he slipped on his helmet and headed over to the nearest goal; Neil made sure to give his friend the finger for that remark because he knew that Andrew wasn’t kidding.

“How long has it been since you played?” he asked Nicky as he grabbed one of the balls and made his way to center court.

“Uhm… a couple of years?” Nicky gave a nervous laugh as he twirled his stick. “Be gentle with me?”

Neil just gave him a pale shade of his father’s grin right before he started running.

It wasn’t that much of a proper game, not with just one striker, two backliners and one goalkeeper, but the main thing was to have Aaron and Nicky keep Neil from breaching their defense and landing a score against Andrew. They were fortunate in that Andrew was one of the best goalkeepers out there, not to mention he’d practiced enough with Neil to be familiar with Neil’s tactics… but the same could be said about Neil knowing Andrew in return. Aaron had played with them as well – and even somewhat against Neil during their extra practice sessions, but now he was left saddled with a clueless Nicky.

To say that it didn’t go well for Aaron and Nicky was an understatement, as Neil ran them into the ground and Andrew shouted insults as they failed to catch his returned shots or hold Neil back. Still, Nicky was showing some improvement by the end of the very long practice session, at least in anticipating Andrew and working with Aaron.

“Oh hell, I think I’m dead.” Once Andrew called an end to the practice session, Nicky sprawled out on the court and gasped for air. “Aaron, they’ve finally done it, they’ve killed me.”

“Good, saves me from having to do it.” Aaron stood hunched over, hands on his knees as he panted for air. “How the hell you can still run after all of that….” He glared over at Neil, who stood there twirling his borrowed racquet between his hands.

“Uhm, lots of cardio?” Neil shrugged as he shifted the racquet to his left hand so he could pull off his helmet. “What do you think?” he called out to Andrew.

“I think I’m officially declaring Nicky disowned.” Andrew left the goal to toe Nicky in the side. “Pathetic.”

“Aw, now that’s just cold,” Nicky groaned as if in pain.

“I don’t know, I’ve seen worse. At least there’s a sense of teamwork going on there.”

Neil had thought he’d seen Wymack watching them throughout the practice session, so wasn’t too surprised to see the man come out on court; still, he felt better when Andrew walked over to stand between the two of them. Wymack stared at them for a moment before he glanced over at Nicky. “I’m closing up in about twenty minutes, so would appreciate it if you stopped sweating all over my court and go get washed off.”

“What? You want me to move now?” Nicky gave an exaggerated moan as he slowly sat up. “Oooh, why didn’t I keep some pain meds after I got beat up? I could so use some right now.”

“You mean tomorrow, don’t you? It’s really going to hurt tomorrow,” Aaron was so kind to tell his cousin as he pulled him onto his feet.

“And to think I thought you were the nice one,” Nicky muttered.

Neil smiled a little as he followed the two toward the locker rooms so he could wash off as well, with Andrew by his side.

*******

Andrew glared when he heard a faint mocking scoff and reached over to tug on a handful of reddish strands of hair.

“Ow, what was that for?” Neil glowered at him as soon as Andrew let go of his friend’s hair, which now was even more tousled than normal.

“I can tell when you’re laughing at me. Stop it.” He narrowed his eyes at Neil while he finished pulling down the black cap over his hair; for his part, Neil continued to lounge on the bed in the room Abby had designated as ‘his’ for the next year, arms folded beneath his chin and blue eyes nearly hidden by the long strands of his bangs.

“Well, you look like you’re dressed to go wipe out the team, not to meet them.” Neil’s mouth twisted in a grimace as he reached out to tug on a belt loop of Andrew’s black jeans. “How hot is it out there today? And you’re wearing long sleeves and a cap?”

Andrew made sure that the sleeves of his black shirt covered his arm guards before he reached over and gave Neil a hard flick in the middle of his forehead; he smiled ever so slightly at the complaint his action provoked. “I don’t want to hear fashion critique from the guy who would wear the same seven or so outfits if it weren’t for Nicky and me – and lousy outfits at that. You still have the same clothes from when we first met.”

“They still fit,” Neil grumbled as he rubbed his nose.

“Because you buy everything at least two sizes too big, and won’t get rid of them until they’re rags.” Andrew took in the worn, white long-sleeved t-shirt – oh, sure, it was fine for *Neil* to wear one today – that the idiot was wearing, and the shorts so loose that they were falling down his hips…. “Are those Nicky’s?”

“Yeah, he was just going to get rid of them so- ow! What the hell?” Neil glared as he sat up on the bed while rubbing his forehead. “What’s your problem?”

Before Andrew could tell the idiot that they were going shopping later and that Neil would just have to accept the fact that he was going to spend some money, there was a rapid knock on their bedroom door right before it opened.

“Enough with the ‘friendly’ stuff, okay,” Aaron deadpanned as he stepped in. “We need to get going since we’re already late.”

“Shut the hell up already with that lame joke,” Andrew told his twin, only for him to catch sight of Nicky. “What the hell?”

Behind Andrew, Neil groaned. “I take it back, you’re dressed just fine. Nicky, what are you doing?”

Something akin to satisfaction flashed across Aaron’s face while Nicky stepped further into the room. “What, this? I’m just making certain to get off on the right foot today.” He smiled as he waved his right arm, which was covered with woven bracelets for a couple of inches, to motion at the front of his black t-shirt which was emblazoned with the declaration of ‘GET THIS STRAIGHT – I’M NOT’ in rainbow colored letters.

“Subtle, isn’t it?” Aaron remarked in that same deadpan voice from before.

Andrew stared at his cousin for several seconds before he turned to Neil. “168%.”

Neil blinked in surprise before he frowned and folded his legs in front of him to sit cross-legged on the bed. “What did I do now?”

“You didn’t let me kill him when it would have been a hell of a lot easier to get rid of the body-“

“Hey!”

“- and you’re going to burn those shorts by the time we get back.” He didn’t wait for Neil to respond before he grabbed the front of Nicky’s loud shirt and dragged the moron out of their room.

“What the hell are you thinking?” he asked as they made their way to the car.

Nicky shrugged off his hold and, when Andrew pointed to the driver’s side, got behind the wheel. “I remember how it was back when I played, how some of the guys could be homophobic assholes. Well, I’m out now, and I’m not just going to sit there and do nothing while they make their jokes and shit. I want them to know right from the start that I’m gay and that they have to deal with me.”

“And do you expect me to kick their asses for you all of the time?” Not that Andrew had a problem with it, other than he couldn’t risk messing up his probation, but he wanted to know if Nicky was expecting to start shit and have Andrew finish it for him.

“No!” Nicky’s lower jaw jutted out as he stared at the road ahead of him. “I’m not trying to get my ass beat up like back at the club again, those guys jumped me out of the blue. I can take care of any of the assholes on this team.”

Somehow Andrew doubted that, as did Aaron judging from the look they shared in the rearview mirror, but it was Nicky’s choice. “Whatever.”

“Besides, if they can put up with me, they shouldn’t have a problem with you, right? I mean, wait until they find out that two of their new teammates are gay!”

Andrew shook his head as he lit a cigarette. “I don’t care about shit like that.” His sexuality was just a part of him, it wasn’t something that he hid, but it wasn’t something that he felt people needed to know – just like he didn’t believe that people needed to know a lot of things about him.

Nicky slanted him an odd look at that statement, but decided to leave it be as they drove to the stadium. When they got there, something was different than it had been for the past week and a half – there were several more cars parked than usual, including of all things, a pink Porsche. Andrew felt the urge to take out his knife and drag it along the expensive, custom paint job, but with Aaron and Nicky urging him to follow them inside the stadium since they were already late, he just let his fingers twitch instead and hurried along.

They used the code that Wymack had given them and made their way to the Foxes’ locker room, and along the way, Andrew felt the buzz of his phone announce an incoming text. Wondering if it was from Neil – he didn’t have that many contacts in his phone, either – or perhaps something from his new parole officer, Jenny Conrad, he waved to his twin and his cousin. “One moment.”

“We’re already late,” Aaron gritted out.

“Then go in without me, this won’t take long,” he said as he pulled out the phone.

Aaron looked at Nicky, who shrugged, and they opened the door to go inside while Andrew thumbed through to his texts. As soon as he saw that it had the phone number blocked, he felt the familiar burn of anger build up in him. He knew it, knew that Riko had been waiting for the ‘right’ moment and apparently, this was it.

By now, there were a couple of messages in his inbox, all from Riko. Andrew forced out a slow breath as he thumbed through them, the urge to punch something growing with each one.

‘fitting, that a mutt has found its place with lowly Foxes’

‘enjoy your place at the bottom, Doe’

‘you just handed him over to me, you do realize that?’

Attached to the last was an image of a Ravens’ jersey, with the number ‘4’ and Neil’s last name on it. Andrew nearly threw his phone against the far wall upon seeing it, but he forced himself to keep breathing, to push back the anger; Riko had chosen this moment for a reason, so he wouldn’t give in to the bastard’s cheap trick. Instead, he sent off two texts, one to Neil telling him to not do anything stupid, and one to Riko before he turned off his phone.

‘Funny, he’s still here with me. Haven’t you learned yet you can’t always get what you want – like your daddy’s attention?’

Feeling a little better after that, Andrew opened the door and, surprise surprise, found Nicky stirring up shit. The Foxes, such as they were, were gathered around him and Aaron, voices raised as Nicky and a rather apathetic Aaron stared them down, standing off to the one side of the room with an empty chair in front of them. Andrew stood on the outskirts while Dan Wilds, the team captain, gave some guy who reeked of pot grief for being a homophobe, but then started forward when Nicky began leering at the tall guy at her side – Matt Boyd, one of the team’s backliners.

“Easy, sister. Look but don't touch—I get it. You don't mind if I look, right? Good, good taste." Nicky held up his hands while at his side, Aaron chided him in German for being a perverted asshole yet again.

Andrew skirted the crowd to join in and called out in German. “How many times do we have to tell you this shit? Don’t make me make Neil call Erik and rat you out.” Someone, a girl with blonde hair which ended in multi-colored ends, jumped as he walked past her.

Nicky shook his head upon hearing that. “No! I’m just… I’m just playing along! There’s no need to have Neil do that,” he said in the same language. Beside him, Aaron took to grinning.

“Then calm the fuck down and stop trying to molest half the team already, or whatever the hell it is you’re trying to doing. I think they get that you’re gay by now,” Andrew snapped, temper still frayed from the texts.

Nicky looked as if he wanted to say something, but there was the sound of another door opening and then Abby and Wymack joined them, so that put an end to their fun little discussion. Andrew looked around to see the other Foxes breaking apart a little, and caught the blonde girl who had jumped earlier - Renee Walker, goalkeeper – staring at him as if she was trying to figure him out. “Oh, how indecisive.”

“I’m sorry?” The comment only seemed to add to her confusion.

“So I’ve heard,” he told her with a grin. When she dared to hold out a hand to him in greeting, he batted it aside before going over to sit in the chair in front of Aaron and Nicky. She stared after him for a second or two before going over to one of the couches and sitting with Dan Wilds and Allison Reynolds.

Wymack and Abby came into the lounge, Abby settling off to the side while Wymack stood in front of the entertainment center and dumped a bunch of paperwork onto it. “Okay, now that we’re all here-“

“Finally,” sneered another guy, Dwayne Arnolds, from what Andrew remembered of the line-up, one of the dealers.

Wymack didn’t seem to appreciate the interruption, since he made a fist in Dwayne’s direction. “-so let's get the boring shit out of the way. Names and ranks around the room." While he spoke, Abby handed out the papers.

Oh, joy, what fun this was. Andrew toyed with some loose threads on his shirt and debated turning his phone back on to check on Neil, but didn’t want to risk another text from Riko when he was trapped in a room full of assholes, so instead he just zoned out while all the other Foxes babbled on and on about who they were and what they’d played – he’d already read up on them and had an Exy addict at home to boot. So boring. Nicky and Aaron weren’t too impressed, either, since all they gave were their names and their positions, so when it finally got to him, all Andrew said was ‘the other Minyard’ in a flat voice.

That didn’t seem to win him any friends, as if he cared, and right away there was a muttered complaint from one of the couches. “We don't need three goalkeepers.” A few people looked displeased that he’d spoken up, especially Reynolds.

Ah yes, that would be Reggie Duncan, senior goalkeeper in his final year. Judging from the statistics Andrew had read, he’d be worried if he was the guy. Hmm, not good. Not good at all.

We've talked about this," Wymack said as he tried to wave aside the complaint and get things back on track.

"We don't need three goalkeepers," Duncan insisted as he stared at Andrew with open hostility. Andrew just gave him a slight smile back while stroking his right fingers along his left arm guard.

"Oh, such a long face," Andrew said as he pretended to wiped away a tear. "No worries, I’m just here for morale." And for Aaron.

"We are fucked," complained the guy from earlier who had insulted Nicky – Juan Reyes, a striker. Andrew would have to watch out for him to make sure he didn’t cause any more problems.

"That's new," said the one striker, Seth Gordon, voice heavy with sarcasm. He stared at the three of them with open loathing, so yeah, no vows of friendship expected there, either. Andrew was beginning to see why the Foxes were so ‘fucked’, as Juan had elegantly put it.

"Coach said you signed off on him," Nicky said. "Unanimous, right?" Wymack had explained to them over the last few days that because of Andrew’s ‘violent’ history – if only they knew the full truth – the entire team had to give their approval before he could be recruited.

Gordon didn’t seem to appreciate Nicky speaking up just then. "Yeah well, you didn’t tell us about the fag when you mentioned the psycho.” His gaze over at the three of them became even more potent. There’s no way I’m changing in front of him.”

If only he knew the truth, Andrew thought with a slight smirk – not that he or Nicky had the slightest interest in pathetic scum like Seth Gordon.

Still, before he could issue a responding taunt, Wymack beat him to it. “Get the hell in my office, Gordon, you can spend the rest of my meeting there as of *now*!” He jabbed his forefinger in that direction as he glared at the asshole, who stared back in confusion. “All of you have been here long enough to know that I won’t tolerate slurs like that. Not from any of you.” There was true anger in his voice as he stared down Gordon. “I’m not paid enough as it is to put up with your anger issues but I deal with them willingly, I refuse to deal with your prejudices on top of it.”

Gordon appeared ready to argue, but seemed to think better of it after a moment so instead lurched to his feet and stomped his way to Wymack’s office, where he slammed the door behind him. Wymack took to glaring at each and every one of the Foxes as if to make sure the point sunk in.

Meanwhile, as if to prove that he was indeed a moron, Nicky raised his right hand. “Uhm, if it helps any, more of you are too ugly for me to be attracted to you.” Andrew reached back without looking to punch him in the stomach.

“Not helping,” Wymack snapped.

“I was only telling the truth,” Nicky whined in German. “Other than that Matt guy, who let’s face it, is so straight that it’s sad, I wouldn’t touch the rest of these guys if you paid me. There goes my sexy Exy shower room fantasy. Why can’t we get Neil to sign up for the team again?”

That hit close enough to home and would piss Riko off enough that Andrew laughed, just a little. “If you could manage it, I won’t kill you for that thought, I’ll just maim you, just a little.”

Nicky didn’t seem to appreciate his kindness. “Hey, it’s not like I’d, you know, do anything if he joined. He’s my adopted baby brother now.”

“You’re just digging that hole deeper and deeper each time you speak,” Andrew warned; it wasn’t a good idea to go there, not after the Riko texts. “Focus on the present. What are we going to do with these assholes?”

“Hmm, yeah, I didn’t think they’d take the whole ‘gay bait’ like they did. I don’t think I want to shower with them, either. You care if we take turns?”

“I care about precious little,” Andrew told him, which was true, especially when it came to this team. He glanced over at Aaron, who shrugged to show that he didn’t care, either.

Nicky cleared his throat before speaking up. “Hey, Coach? It’s not a problem!” He paused to wait until he had everyone’s attention. “You took a chance on signing us, so we’ll help you out with this one. We don’t have a problem with taking turns using the shower room, so that way everyone will be happy.”

Something akin to relief washed over Arnolds’ face. “Yes, that works.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Wymack argued.

Andrew was getting tired of this, when he had more important things to do. “Oh Coach, it’s so boring watching someone try to be all righteous and indignant on our behalf, especially when we just don’t care. Be smart and let this one go,” he told the man. “Consider it a lesson of things to come.”

Wymack gave him a considering look for several seconds, as if weighing Andrew’s words, before he grunted. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Yeah, right, in Andrew’s experience that rarely happened, so he considered the matter effectively resolved; the upperclassmen seemed relieved that they wouldn’t have to shower with a ‘fag’ and Nicky to have proven a point, everyone was happy. Wymack noticed that the tension in the room was lowered and then went on with the rest of the stupid meeting, talking about how everyone had to maintain an adequate academic level if they were to remain on the team as well as the summer training schedule. Ah, so much for sleeping in. Oh, and the mandatory visit with the team shrink, Betsy Dobson. Considering how well his last visit had gone – well, he didn’t think Orson wanted him back as repeat business….

Andrew noticed during it all that the one blonde girl, Walker, was studying him through the boring spiel; she didn’t seem like much on the surface, but he had long learned to never judge a person by their outward appearance. She was much too calm, as if she was desperate to maintain that smooth façade, that he knew there must be something beneath it. So he held her gaze, willing to see who would be the one to look away first, and noticed how she held it for a good minute before she finally looked downward.

Interesting. There was finally someone of note in this pack of losers. Oh, the captain would have to be pulled aside, she was the type who would know everything about those who ‘reported’ to her, about everyone else on the team because she appeared desperate to make this whole clusterfuck work – good luck with that. And Andrew had noticed the way that Aaron was staring at Matt Boyd, at the way that tall striker seemed to huddle in on himself, to gravitate to the three women on the team rather than the guys. He’d watch him and see if anything needed to be done there.

But first, they had to move into the dorms, which meant going back to Abby’s house to collect their things, to collect Neil so he could see if Riko had sent some more poisonous texts and deal with the damage done to *his* own group, and then he could deal with this new one he’d be forced to interact with thanks to Aaron.

*******

Neil sat on the front steps of Abby’s house as he waited for Andrew and the others to return, his phone clenched in his right hand and his fingers tugging on his bangs as he fought to control his emotions, as he fought with a mixture of anger and… and it was almost a sense of claustrophobia. It was a sense of constriction, a sense of the metaphoric walls closing in, a need for him to get outside and just… just *run*. It took everything he had in him to sit there and wait, to not get up and start running down the road – part of him wanted to turn toward the Foxhole Court, and part of him wanted to go the other way and never stop.

This was his life now, he was supposed to still have *some* choices. He was going to play the one thing that made him happy, the one thing he was good at, and he didn’t give a damn about the money or the fame or anything else but just being out on the court and proving himself against the other players. He didn’t care if he was playing for the Moriyamas or this team or that – as long as it *wasn’t* the Ravens, though if he could make it to Court one day…. He chose to stay with Andrew. Only those things mattered to him.

So of course why did it seem that the only things he wanted, someone was determined to strip away from him? Why did Riko care so much about a nobody like him? Because he dared to talk back? To defy? Surely someone had stood up to Riko before now. It just didn’t make sense to Neil, and he was so, so tired of his life being fucked up and not making any sense.

He let out a slow, shuddering breath when he heard the low rumble of the GS and watched as it pulled into the driveway, as Andrew got out of the passenger side and came up to the steps. His friend didn’t say anything, just held out his hand for the phone. Neil handed it over without saying a word while Nicky and Aaron came over as well to stand at Andrew’s back.

He watched as Andrew read the texts, the messages where Riko had sent Neil the image of his waiting Ravens gear, of the contract that Tetsuji had already drawn up for him, and the final message that Riko would grant Neil some forgiveness for his many ‘transgressions’ if he left South Carolina right now to finish his last year of high school at Edgar Allen since there was no longer anything to tie him there. Neil didn’t know if it was that last part or Neil’s responding text telling Riko that he’d have expected an asshole like him to be used to being turned down by now so get the point and leave him the hell alone, but Andrew’s fingers tightened around the phone and Neil knew it was only a matter of time.

He let out another slow breath as the phone went smashing into the concrete, while Aaron nodded and Nicky cursed in German. “Yeah, saw that coming,” Aaron said as he watched pieces of plastic scatter across the driveway.

Meanwhile, Neil reached out to pull on the hem of Andrew’s black shirt. “I know,” he admitted in a hoarse voice. “I know, don’t feed into his shit, but….” He shook his head; Andrew hadn’t been around and he was so sick of it all, so tired of feeling trapped and just having to take what Riko dished out. And for Riko to send that today, when Andrew was moving into the dorms? Yeah, the asshole had definitely timed it on purpose.

Andrew reached out to slide tobacco-scented fingers into his hair and pulled Neil onto his feet. “He just wasted all that money on shit you’ll never use.” There was a hint of viciousness to his voice as he tugged Neil down the steps, toward the driveway. “Don’t let him get into your head.”

That was easier said than done, but Neil nodded and allowed himself to be led toward the GS, while Andrew pointed toward the Nissan and glared at Nicky and Aaron; the other two got the ‘subtle’ hint and went to the other car, which was already loaded with the stuff they were taking to the dorm. “So, how did the first meeting with the team go?”

Andrew snorted as he started the GS. “No wonder this team is so fucked up,” was all he said as he pulled out onto the street.

“Well, there had to be a reason that Wymack recruited you.” Neil smiled when he got a baleful look in return. “Did Nicky’s shirt go over well?”

“That’s one way to say it. Another way is ‘catastrophe’.” Andrew shook his head as he handed Neil his pack of cigarettes. “I’d say we have at least three homophobic pricks on our team.”

“Lovely.” Neil closed his eyes for a moment before he shook two cigarettes loose and accepted Andrew’s silver lighter to light them, then handed one over as he set the pack and the lighter down on the center console. “That makes for a fun environment.”

“Hmm, doesn’t it? Looks like we’re back to waiting to change and take showers.” He slanted an amused look Neil’s way as he blew out smoke.

“Nice to see that my legacy lives on.” Neil gave a bitter smile as he thought about how he would manage that on his own this coming year, without Andrew to help out, his left hand pressing through the thin cotton of his shirt against the scars hidden beneath it; at least he should be able to have Uncle Stuart help him arrange for a doctor to sign off on his team physical this year.

Andrew hummed in agreement as they came up to campus, and it didn’t take them long to find the Fox Tower, which housed the student athletes. There were a couple of dozen cars in the parking lot, the rest of the Foxes and whatever other teams who had to show up early for training as well; Neil stared at a pink Porsche and a very large truck as they drove past it. Andrew parked his GS a little farther away, and Nicky pulled up in the Nissan.

They each grabbed a couple of bags and headed toward the Tower; upon finding out that the room was on the third floor, Neil headed straight to the stairwell while Nicky complained that he was too delicate for that and was taking the elevator. Andrew followed, used to this habit of Neil’s by now. “At least this is one of your issues that keeps you healthy.”

“And that you’re not on the tenth floor or anything,” Neil responded with a slight smile.

“Then we would be having an indepth discussion about it, yes indeed.”

They came out on the third floor to find it filled with strange people and doors wide open; Neil paused as he took it all in, the noise, the chaos. “What room again?”

“326.” There was a sour look on Andrew’s face just then, as if he wasn’t too pleased with the situation in front of him, either.

An immaculately dressed blonde girl, whom Neil recognized after a couple of seconds as Allison Reynolds, stopped pulling a rather large suitcase behind her and noticed them leaving the stairwell. “Oh, it’s *you*,” she said to Andrew. “He’s new, though.” She gave Neil an appraising look. “Who is he supposed to be?”

“Nobody,” Andrew told her in a cold enough voice that most people would have taken as an immediate warning; however, Allison just smiled and went back to staring at Neil.

“You related to him, too? Part of the crazy clan?” Her right hand, nails manicured and a shiny pink, flickered in the air around her head.

Neil stared past her and ignored the question, just wanting to get to Andrew’s room so he could drop off the stuff. The room should be a few doors down, according the numbers he could see, and it looked as if Nicky and Aaron had finally caught up to them.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” He flinched as he caught a glimpse of pink reaching for him, and then Allison let out a screech as Andrew caught hold of her hand and twisted her arm behind her back and shoved her away, face first against the wall.

“Here’s your first warning,” Andrew told her as the hallway went quiet for a moment. “Don’t touch me or mine.”

Some guy dropped the stuff he was carrying to come charging at Andrew, swearing the entire time. “Get your fucking hands off her!” In return, Aaron dropped the bags he was carrying to grab the guy’s arm and swing him out of the way before he could reach Andrew, in a move similar to what his brother had done, head first into a wall.

“Andrew,” Neil said in a low voice even as he stepped closer to guard his friend’s back. “Not the best place for this.” Now there were a couple more guys who looked ready to fight.

“People need to learn,” Andrew said back in a calm voice.

“Let Allison go, you damn midget, or-“

“What the hell is going on out here?” A girl a few years older than Neil, a little taller than him with dark brown hair cut close to her scalp, came charging out of the nearby room with another girl, her hair blonde with various pastel colors along the tips. Neil recognized the girl doing the yelling as Danielle Wilds, the team’s captain, which might be why most of the people seemed to pay attention. Her brown eyes went wide when she noticed Andrew’s grip on Allison. “Minyard? What are you doing? Let her go, dammit!”

“Get him the fuck off me,” Allison gritted out.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed for a moment and he seemed to lean onto Allison a little more, which caused her to sputter, before he stepped away, his hands held in the air. When Danielle made to step toward him, Neil was at his back in an instant and could hear Nicky and Aaron rush forward to join them, muttered curses and thumps following in their wake. “We were just having a discussion about her leaving my things alone.”

Allison coughed as she pushed away from the wall. “I was talking to the damn kid who’s with him and he attacked me! The little-“ The blonde girl, Renee Walker, Neil thought she was, one of the team’s goalkeepers, was quick to pull Allison back as she regarded the four of them. Something in her even, assessing gaze made Neil nervous and wary about her, despite the small cross she wore around her neck and the simple skirt and top outfit – that gaze reminded him of Andrew, of some of his father’s people.

“I think there’s been enough excitement today,” the girl said in a quiet voice as she glanced back and forth between Allison, Danielle and Andrew. “Let’s just leave this be.”

Allison glared as she threw her hands up in the air. “Just keep the little monster away from me and we’ll be fine.” She muttered beneath her breath as she resumed pulling the luggage into the room that Danielle and Renee had come out from.

Meanwhile, Danielle – Dan, Neil thought she went by – gave Andrew and the rest of them a cold look. “I know you’re new to the team, but you’re off to a really bad start. Try to get along with us a little and stop rocking the boat, okay? It’ll make things better for all of us.”

Andrew just gave her a blank look in return, until she muttered in disgust something beneath her breath and turned around. Meanwhile, Renee gave them all a kind smile before she followed after her friend, which left them in the hallway with what seemed to be the rest of the team. Several of the guys glared at them with open dislike, especially the one Aaron had knocked into the wall, but one of the tallest guys gave them a slight wave and a little smile as they made their way toward the room.

“Well, nice to see that the Minyard charm is working like always,” Nicky said with a heavy dose of sarcasm once they were safely behind the door of the dorm room he’d be sharing with Andrew and Aaron for the next several months; Neil walked around it and had to admit that it wasn’t too bad, with a living area including with three desks, a small kitchenette, private bath and bedroom complete with three beds, one of them a bunk bed.

“We’re not here to make friends,” Andrew reminded them. “You want that marketing degree, Aaron to be a big fancy doctor, and we’re not going to let a bunch of losers pull us down.”

Neil winced at the bluntness of it all, but he had to agree that there was some truth to the words. “You do have to play with them,” he tried to remind Andrew as he set the bags down in the bedroom.

“Play with them, yes. Associate with them off of the court? Hell no.” Even Aaron nodded along with Andrew at that.

Nicky shot Neil a look upon hearing that, but Neil didn’t know what his friend thought he could do about the situation if both twins were dead-set against having anything to do with their teammates. So instead, he shook his head and sighed. “At least try not to antagonize them into outright fights, all right? That can’t do you any good and might get you kicked off of the team.”

“No promises,” Andrew said, which of course was such an *Andrew* thing. Neil sighed and jerked his hands through his hair, so tired with the day already, with Andrew’s attitude and Riko and… and….

“You know what, I just figured out what this place needs! Come on, Aaron, we’re going shopping.”

“I don’t want to go shopping, I want to finish bringing up stuff,” Aaron told Nicky in a sullen tone of voice.

“Nope, sorry, you don’t have a choice.” Nicky actually dragged Aaron out of the dorm room. “We’ll be back in… oh, maybe an hour? I’d say an hour. See you soon!” Neil looked over at Nicky’s manic grin and Aaron’s displeased expression before the door slammed shut behind them.

“That was… subtle,” he said after a few seconds.

“Nicky doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” Andrew sneered as he reached out to grab hold of Neil’s left arm and pulled him in close. “So, yes or no?”

They were in an empty dorm room, bags all around them, and Neil would have to leave in a little bit, would have to leave and get another damn phone then go back to a stranger’s house to stay all by himself. So of course he reached out to knock off that ridiculous black cap so he could thread his fingers through Andrew’s hair as he said ‘yes’, determined to enjoy that hour Nicky had bought them as thoroughly as possible.

*******  

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying not to cover old ground too much, and were there ever last names for the upperclassmen Foxes who graduated? I didn't see them anywhere (but there's so much info on Nora's tumblr sometimes I get lost in it).
> 
> Probably be another day or two for the next chapter, this week is gonna be busy. But yeah, you'll get to see Andrew and the crew take out Dan and probably Matt, considering how long I make it.
> 
> As always, the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!
> 
> ********


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, do I need to mention that there's bad drug use in this chapter? Don't do this at home, or anywhere else for that matter.
> 
> And sheesh, do these boys drink way too much. But here you have it, the Dan and Matt scenes with the 'monsters'. Fair warning.  
> *******

*******

The first week of practice went… well, it went. There had been definite battle lines drawn in the team, with Andrew, Nicky and Aaron on one side and the others, with shifting cliques between them. The girls were their own small group, with Matt swinging between them and Seth, Juan and Dwayne, and Damien and Reggie clustered off together. There was also something going on between Allison and Seth, where they showed up all over each other one day and then almost hostility between then the next.

‘Losers’ didn’t begin to describe the team – ‘dysfunctional as fuck’ did a better job, but even that was an understatement. Andrew was rather annoyed with Aaron and Neil at the moment.

He was also somewhat amused to discover that Allison had saddled him and his with an amusing nomenclature – they had been dubbed ‘the monsters’. Rather fitting, he thought, and she should hope for her sake that she never found out just how true that was on some of their parts, but she had learned to stay out of his reach after that first day and to keep her damn hands to herself. She still sent curious glances Neil’s way when he came over when afternoon practices were done, but she kept her mouth shut now.

On Wednesday, Andrew had taken a ‘break’ from training to go visit Betsy Dobson; he figured he’d give her a try since visiting her twice a year was mandatory for Foxes and he still needed a psychiatrist for the court-ordered weekly sessions. She turned out to be a middle-aged woman with light brown hair and brown eyes, a few extra pounds that she carried mostly well and generous smile lines on her plain face. When he entered her office, he noticed the numerous knickknacks on the shelves and how they were *too* organized, how too neat the office was with its pillows and plants and books. “Physician, heal thyself,” Andrew sneered as he sat down in the middle of the couch.

“Hmm?” Betsy looked at him as she went over to her desk to take out a couple of mugs. “Oh, the office, so you noticed?” She smiled, her eyes bright behind the glasses. “Yes, I’ll admit that I struggle a bit still with that compulsion, but….” She shrugged as if to show that it wasn’t a concern. “So, some hot chocolate?” She held up a container of the mix.

“It’s summer outside,” Andrew argued, as if he wasn’t wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt.

“Is that a no? I find having something to drink is relaxing, and I must admit that I’m partial to something sweet.” She looked over at Andrew as she held up the container.

“Fine,” he muttered, and wondered if she knew about his own predilection toward sweets.

“Ah, wonderful.” Her smile just then seemed genuine as she spooned the mix into the mugs and then added hot water, and soon handed him his mug. “Now, as you know my name is Betsy Dobson, but please, feel free to call me whatever you’d like. It’s important that we establish a good relationship between us if this is going to work.”

“Sure, whatever, Bee.” Andrew went with the overly familiar name to see if it would rattle her, yet all she did was hum a little and sip her hot chocolate with evident satisfaction.

He didn’t know what he expected of the woman, but her sitting there sharing hot chocolate with him and being calm in the face of his churlishness wasn’t it. She didn’t press, she didn’t poke, she didn’t give him grief when he was silent for half an hour. At the end of it, he agreed to come back the following week – he told himself that he was running out of psychiatrists and that she hadn’t annoyed him too much, and it was convenient, her being right here on campus. He also knew that Judge Nixon was running out of patience with him, so he had to show some progress soon or risk losing the deal that Dupree had worked out for him. So, ‘Bee’ Dobson it would be, every Wednesday.

By Friday he was more than willing to head off to Columbia with Neil, Aaron and Nicky, but there was something he had to do – he had to find out just how these ‘Foxes’ were going to impact him and his own. The Moriyamas were powerful as fuck and Riko had timed those texts a little too well on Monday, right when Andrew had left Neil alone to join the Foxes. They had always suspected that someone was watching Neil to make sure he didn’t pull a rabbit and run, and Riko was definitely paying attention to what Neil was doing to know how well the Caps had played and what Neil was studying. Now Andrew was wondering if he had people was even closer than that, and he wanted to know if those people could possibly be a Fox.

So he had Neil waiting in the parking lot with the GS while he, Nicky and Aaron went down the hall to the room shared by the ‘girls’. He wasn’t surprised when Dan opened it, expression suspicious. “What do you three want?” She eyed them, all dressed in black, and stood in the doorway as if to block them from the room. “Going to a funeral or something?”

“So clever.” Andrew tapped his fingers on top of the pocket that held his cigarettes. “We’re going out for the night, to have some fun. We wanted to invite you along.” He arched an eyebrow. “Up for dinner and drinks?”

Dan appeared shocked at the invite, and behind her, he could see Renee and Allison listening in. Dan seemed to think it over for a couple of seconds before she nodded. “All right, give me a minute to get ready.” Then she closed the door in his face. Andrew stepped back as he waited; he could hear a raised voice, muffled by the door, and assumed that Allison was expressing her doubts about Dan’s plans for the evening; he texted Neil to let him know that they’d be a few minutes.

Dan took longer than ‘a minute’ but not much, and came out dressed in tight blue jeans, high heeled sandals she had no problem walking in and a short sleeved, bright blue silky blouse that fluttered as she moved. She also had a hint of eyeshadow and lip gloss on, not too much but enough to enhance her features, and a small purse. “So, where are we going?”

“Columbia,” Andrew said as he headed for the stairwell; if Dan had trouble with the steps in those heels, she didn’t say anything.

“That’s right, you guys are from there.”

“More or less,” Nicky answered, and waved at Neil as they entered the parking lot. Neil straightened up when he saw them and went over to the driver’s side of the car at a slight nod from Andrew; like them, he was dressed in all black, the sleeves of his tight shirt long to cover the scars and black arm guards.

Dan quirked an eyebrow when she saw him. “Is he going to be able to get in wherever we’re going? Isn’t he still in high school?”

“That’s not a problem where we’re going,” Nicky said, and was enough of a gentleman to hold the door open for Dan so she could slide into the back of the car.

“This should be interesting.” She settled between Aaron and Nicky, while Andrew got in the passenger seat and immediately lit two cigarettes, one of which he handed over to Neil.

Nicky handled the conversation while on the drive to Sweetie’s, keeping it light and inane by asking Dan about how long she’d been dating Matt and things on campus, stuff like that. Andrew could tell that she was curious about the four of them, especially him and Neil, from the few questions she asked in return – Nicky was more than willing to talk about himself, about his relationship with Erik and his time spent in Germany, but was quick to deflect whenever it came down to the rest of them. The one thing he did say was that Neil was his adopted baby brother, which made Neil curse under his breath in German and Andrew turn around to glare at the moron.

“What? He is! I’m going to make Erik file the paperwork with me one of these days.” Nicky leaned forward to hug the back of Neil’s seat. “Don’t you want that too, Neil? Ooh, wait, maybe we can adopt you as our son? How about that!”

“How soon until we can start drinking?” Neil asked, his voice rough and face paler than normal.

Andrew grabbed Nicky’s right arm and shoved it off of the seat even while his cousin laughed. “I will kill you, see if I don’t,” he warned.

“Yes, please,” Aaron said as he continued to play a game on his phone. “He spends too much time hogging up the bathroom in the mornings.”

“Aw, you guys are no fun!” Nicky took to sulking in his corner of the car. “Neil, you see what I’m stuck with now? We really do need to smuggle you into the dorm full-time. That or I’ll just stay with you at Abby’s.”

Andrew noticed how Neil flinched at the mention of the nurse and resolved to ask his friend how that situation was going – the woman had been fine when they were all there.

“Oh, yeah, Abby.” Dan leaned forward between the two front seats, much to Andrew’s displeasure. “So there’s this bet going on that there’s something between Coach and Abby.” She stared intently at Neil. “Anything you want to say about that?”

Dan wasn’t familiar enough to notice it, but Andrew knew his idiot well enough by now to catch the slight flattening of Neil’s lips and the way his fingers clenched a little around the steering wheel; he’d say that the rumor was true, and that Neil’s discomfort at Abby’s house probably had to do with that fact. He knew that Wymack made Neil uncomfortable, just as any adult male around that age did. Andrew could make a smart-ass comment about ‘daddy issues’, but Neil’s body bore some very good examples of just why he had those issues.

Speaking of ‘daddy issues’, Andrew had noticed that Dan hung on every word that Wymack said, so he turned in his seat to give her a mocking look. “Why, hoping that it’s not true so you can dump Boyd and move in on Coach yourself?”

As expected, she recoiled in disgust. “What? That’s- that’s sick!” She sat back and glared at him, and the last few minutes of the drive was quiet.

Neil pulled into Sweetie’s and, given it was a Friday night, the place was busy. They were still in time for dinner, though, so Neil managed to find a parking spot without having to drive around too long, and there were only two tables ahead of them; while they were in line, Andrew went up to the bar to grab a handful of crackers.

“So, you guys come to this place often?” Dan asked as she glanced around.

“I used to work here,” Nicky explained as he waved to a server walking past. “They’re known for the ice cream, but the food isn’t bad.”

“Well, guess I shouldn’t have expected fine dining.” Dan had a slight smile on her face as they were led toward a back booth, though she did frown when Andrew shoved the cracker packets in a pocket of the host’s apron. “Okay….”

“Neil’s partial to the club sandwiches here,” Nicky offered as if nothing had happened. “And you have to try the ice cream.” He smiled at their server, a woman in her twenties whom Andrew had seen before. “Hey, Nette.”

“Heya, trouble, nice to see you again.” She dropped off the menus and stayed around long enough to get everyone’s drinks before leaving.

Andrew only wanted ice cream, which Nicky was about to complain about until Neil gave him a look. Neil got his usual sandwich and fries, Aaron and Nicky some burgers, and Dan settled on a chicken sandwich with soup. Nicky regaled Dan with some stories of his misadventures as a server while they waited for their food.

The server came back with a large tray of food and dropped off their dishes, along with a stack of napkins; Andrew was quick to flip through them to snatch up the packets of cracker dust which he then shoved into the front left pocket of his jeans; Dan noticed that as she was stirring her soup and paused. “So, I think I’m beginning to figure out why you guys like this place if that’s what I think it is.”

“Cracker dust,” Aaron told her.

“Ah, yeah, so it is.”

Andrew arched an eyebrow as he picked up his spoon. “You’ve done it before?”

“Once, a year or so ago.” She shrugged and had a mouthful of her soup. “Thought you said dinner and drinks.”

“No one said there wouldn’t be party favors as well,” Andrew told her as he had some ice cream.

“If you say so.”

Everyone focused on eating then, so they could get to the club; Dan gave Andrew an intent look when he took to eating Neil’s fries as well his ice cream, since Neil never did finish them.

Once the meal was finished, Andrew left enough money for the meal and the cracker dust on the table as everyone got up to leave, Dan still paying too much attention to Andrew and Neil. “Do you have something to say?”

“Just that you know there’s a bet going on about the two of you, right? Ever since you said that Neil is one of your ‘things’,” she pointed out.

On the way to the car, Neil stopped to give her a scathing look. “What the hell is up with your team? Don’t you have anything better to do than make stupid bets like, I don’t know, win a damn game?” Behind him, Aaron started snickering.

Face flushed in anger at the insult, Dan took a warning step forward, but Andrew was quick to press against Neil’s back and waggled his right forefinger in Dan’s direction. “Ah, ah, didn’t you learn anything from Reynolds’ mistake?”

She came to a stop and held up her hands. “Fine, but you might want to tell your ‘thing’ to watch what he says.” She gave Neil a cool look as she turned toward the car.

“Hmm, but it’s part of his charm.” Andrew rested against Neil for a moment before he pushed him toward the car as well. “Come on, time to start drinking.”

Eden’s Twilight was busy as well, but the benefit of being former staff meant that they got to skip the line to get in; Dan just shook her head at that point. Andrew sent Nicky and Aaron off to find a table, but Dan followed him and Neil to the bar as if determined to not let him out of her sight.

“Another of your regular haunts?” she asked, voice pitched to be heard over the music.

“We used to work here, all four of us,” he explained as he found space at the bar where Roland was working; since it was crowded, he pulled Neil in close and noticed the slight smile of satisfaction that flickered on Dan’s face as he rested his chin on Neil’s shoulder.

“Hey there, was wondering if I’d see you guys since Nicky told me you’d be starting practice and all. How’s it going?” Roland asked as he came to a stop in front of Neil and Andrew, a wide grin on his handsome face.

“It goes,” Andrew told him as he slipped over some money. “The usual, and,” he looked over his shoulder at Dan, “any preference?”

Her smile grew wider. “If you’re buying, then whiskey, the good stuff.”

“I might have an iota more respect for you now,” he told her as he nodded to Roland, holding the bartender’s eyes for a few seconds until Roland nodded back.

“All right, the regular and some whiskey, the good stuff.” Roland nodded and went to put together the drinks.

Meanwhile, Dan stood off to the side and regarded Andrew and Neil. “Okay, all talk of betting aside, so there’s you two.” When Andrew gave her a blank look, she rolled her eyes. “No, seriously, I came along tonight because I’m hoping to get to know you better, to build some bridges. I want this team to get along, to work, and it’s not when you and the other two refuse to even speak with anyone else, let alone give us any ideas about yourselves other than Nicky’s gay and you’re the protective type.”

Even as Andrew slid his arm around Neil’s hips and felt Neil rest some weight against him, he bared his teeth in an obvious warning at the Foxes’ captain. “This isn’t about ‘building bridges’ or any of that shit, and as I told Reynolds, leave Neil out of it.”

Dan made a sound of exasperation. “Why do you have to be such an asshole?”

Neil huffed a little at that, which made Andrew tighten his arm until Neil squirmed, the little shit. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Why bother joining a team if you’re not going to be part of it?”

“As if what you have right now is truly a team,” Andrew pointed out while he turned back to the bar to see how Roland was coming along with the shots.

He could practically feel Dan seething behind him, and Neil twisted enough to murmur in his ear in French. “Great diplomatic skills there.”

“Look who’s talking,” Andrew shot back as he once more gave Neil’s ribs a warning squeeze.

“Come on now, no tormenting the staff, that’s no fun.” Roland frowned as he set a tray full of drinks down in front of them. “Rather handsy tonight, aren’t you?”

“Wait, what?” Dan frowned as she once more looked over Andrew and Neil. “These two?”

Roland chuckled as Andrew gave him the finger before collecting the tray. “Oh yeah, she’s definitely new.”

Neil took the lead back to the table, where Nicky appeared to be talking a bored Aaron’s ear off; Andrew’s twin perked up upon sight of the alcohol. As soon as the tray was set down, Andrew rearranged the shot glasses to everyone’s preference and then pulled out the cracker dust packets. “So, you want to get to know each other a bit better?” He gave Dan a slight smile. “Now’s your chance.”

She watched while Aaron and Nicky snatched up several of the packets, which still left a few on the table. When all Neil did was reach for one of the green shots, she frowned. “He’s not doing any?”

“No, Neil is old fashioned,” Andrew told her. “It’s optional, not mandatory.”

Dan chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she picked up two packets. “Well then, in that case.” She ripped open two packets and tossed them back, before picking up one of the double-shots of whiskey. “Wow, you don’t stint when you treat a girl, do you?” She nodded in approval as she set the empty glass down on the table.

“We did invite you out, after all.” Meanwhile, Nicky and Aaron made short work out of their drinks and, as usual, were in a hurry to get out on the dance floor.

Dan picked up another shot glass and glanced around. “I’ve heard of this place before, but never came out here. It’s nice – Allison would probably like it.”

Andrew finished with his packets of dust and washed them down with a shot of whiskey, while Neil stood at his side, content with just the one shot for now. “And what about Boyd? I’d think you’d want to bring your boyfriend.”

“What, you won’t talk about your boyfriend but you’ll ask about mine?” Dan leaned against the table as she set down the empty glass. “I looked into you, you know,” she told Andrew. “Wanted to know who I was bringing into my team. I know you turned down the Ravens… and how your boyfriend over there is all set to join them next year. That’ll make things interesting, won’t it?”

“I’m not- dammit.” Neil muttered as he rubbed at his face before reaching for his second shot.

Meanwhile, Andrew just smiled as he picked up another glass of whiskey. “Don’t believe everything you read,” he told her, just like he’d told Wymack, and counted down until the little something ‘extra’ he’d told Roland to put in her drink when he’d texted the man earlier that night would kick in. It wasn’t much, just enough to help his ‘dear’ captain to loosen up a little.

Dan wavered on her heels a little as she looked around. “Uhm… wait, is there any water?”

“We’ll get some the next time around.” Andrew motioned to Neil, who glanced about and after a minute or two found a chair and pulled it over for Dan to sit on.

“Nice guy,” Dan told him, a slight slur to her voice which showed that the drugs were starting to kick in. “You’re too nice to join those Ravens assholes.”

“I’m not joining them,” Neil told her with a scowl on his face.

“Oh.” A smile spread across Dan’s face as she leaned back in the chair. “Great, you can be a Fox, then, right! Something must be wrong with you if you’re dating an asshole like *him*,” she pointed across the table at Andrew, “you’re cute enough that you can do much better than that!”

A slight smile twitched across Neil’s lips despite the Ravens comment and the fact that he didn’t really agree with Andrew’s methods tonight. “Yeah, I think it’s time.”

Andrew waited until Neil returned to his side to grab a handful of Neil’s hair; he gave it a slow, hard pull and then kept hold of it while he picked up a glass, drank it with slow deliberation but didn’t swallow, and then pulled Neil for a kiss; Neil could have kept his lips closed, but he parted them only after a moment’s hesitation and accepted the shot of whiskey. “170%,” Andrew murmured as he let go and pulled away.

Neil rolled his eyes and shook his head while licking at his lips, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he stood back a little from the table as if standing guard, mindful of the people around them while Andrew took over interrogating Dan Wilds.

He asked a couple of test questions to check her responses, stuff about the team in general and what she thought their chances were for the upcoming season – she was a hopeful one, he gave her that, but she knew that Duncan was their weak point and she worried about Damien Mazzio’s academic record as he barely had avoided being kicked off the team for bad grades last year. Andrew pushed another shot glass toward her and when she drank it, moved in for the kill.

Finding out that she’d danced as a stripper during high school to make ends meet was a revelation, though he took some slight amusement in finding out her stage name. It didn’t matter to him, at least she’d shown some initiative and balls in lying about her age and figuring out a way to bring in more money than working at some fast food joint would have managed, but he was certain that in a male-dominated sport like Exy she’d catch hell for it if the truth came out. The rest of her story wasn’t that unusual, at least in his experience; single mother who had made poor life choices, and Dan determined to not repeat them, to do something better with herself.

He was also a little surprised to find out that she’d hated Renee Walker at first, considering how friendly they appeared now, but Dan was driven enough to take rivalry seriously. It was obvious that the girls had banded together to deal with the chauvinism of the sport, which from the sounds of the stories Dan told of her first couple of years on the team, the Foxes wasn’t exempt from.

Which made sense, as she went through the backgrounds of many of them, of the broken homes, the drug use, the anger issues and so forth. Andrew made special note of Matt Boyd’s story, since it did indeed look as if the backliner would be a problem since he still wasn’t over his addiction problems if he was hiding out in Dan’s room. He also found it interesting that Renee Walker had been adopted late in life, and Dan was oddly quiet about the girl’s past.

By the time Aaron and Nicky had come back from the dance floor, he’d gotten enough information out of Dan and so could go back to the bar for another round of drinks, leaving them to watch her for the time being. Neil trailed after him, and pressed near him while they waited on Roland. “Did you get what you needed?”

“More or less.” He tugged Neil in even closer by the belt loops of his jeans. “I do whatever I feel needs to be done,” he told his friend, noting the slight frown on Neil’s lips. “I don’t care if you’re unhappy with the methods.” There were one or two Foxes he’d make sure to keep away from Neil, just in case – the ones most likely to be bought out by Riko.

Neil reached up to card his fingers in Andrew’s hair for a moment. “Just… just don’t get into trouble, all right? I’d hate to think of what I’d owe Uncle Stuart if I had to ask him to break you out of jail.”

Before Andrew could respond to that, there was a loud groan from Roland. “Seriously, you two, you’re killing me tonight.”

Andrew gave him the finger as he turned around to pick up the drinks. “As if you can’t pick up some guy.”

“Hmm, but you know what they say about the ones who get away.” He laughed when Neil glared at him and waved them off. “Have fun.”

They headed back to the table where Nicky and Aaron had enough drinks that they’d be feeling the pain the next day, then got some water into Dan along with a couple more undoctored drinks, until Andrew was certain that she’d barely remember what had gone on this night.

Around closing time, it fell on him and Neil, who had stuck with water after those couple of shots, to round up everyone and get them to the car so Neil could drive them back to campus, where they propped Dan up enough to get her through the door of her dorm room, and dropped off Nicky and Aaron as well before Andrew went back with Neil to Abby’s house. As Neil pulled up to the house, Andrew spied a familiar car parked next to Abby’s. “So, guess the rumors are true about Wymack and her, huh?”

Neil’s shoulders hunched forward as he parked the car. “He’s been over two nights so far this week. I walked into the kitchen one morning and he was there.”

“Your life, so hard.” Andrew gave a slight smile to the glare he received for that comment. “Just imagine the look on his face when he sees me there tomorrow.”

“Hmm.” Neil seemed to consider that as he killed the engine. “That has possibilities.” There was a slight smile on his face as they went inside.

*******

Neil had to give it to Andrew, it was indeed amusing to see the expression on Wymack’s face on Saturday morning when the man was standing in the kitchen, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater slurping his coffee, when a surly Andrew shuffled in and stole the toast that was currently in the toaster. Neil bit into his bottom lip and poured them both some coffee, dumping in the teaspoons of sugar and then milk which Andrew preferred, while Andrew munched on the plain toast while staring at Wymack with a too-blank look on his face. After about a minute, the older man closed his mouth and shook his head.

“You’re not lacking for balls, I’ll give you that.” He huffed a little as he went to put more bread into the toaster. “Abby fine with you spending the night?”

“I believe she said that she was skipping the ‘bringing people home’ talk. Considering that I spent a week and a half here in Neil’s room and she seems a relatively intelligent woman, I think she knows we’re not just having an innocent sleepover in there,” Andrew told him as he finished off the toast. During that time, Neil wanted to smack him over the head with his coffee mug or something. “However, I fail to see how this is part of our deal.”

Wymack shot Neil a look that was close to pitying before he went to refill his own mug. “It’s common courtesy.”

“So is privacy, which I need if I’m going to have any sort of sex life.”

Neil dumped the rest of his coffee down the sink. “And on that note, I’m going for a run.” He gave Andrew a cold look for his lack of a filter and hoped that his friend was back at the dorm by the time he returned.

Andrew caught up to him as he was pulling on his sneakers, an exasperated expression on his face. “It’s annoying, this habit of yours where you run around like a target,” he said in French.

Despite the anger he felt toward his friend just then, Neil sighed and leaned in for a quick kiss; the rough scratch of Andrew’s stubble made him smile despite himself. “I highly doubt that Riko’s going to have his men throw a bag over me and haul me away in a van while I’m running around the neighborhood in broad daylight.”

“If you’ve just jinxed yourself, I will never let you live it down, Josten,” Andrew told him as he stepped back, but his expression had smoothed out by then. “Give me a couple of hours to wake up the morons and then we’ll go out shopping for that new laptop you need.” A slight sneer twisted his full lips as he pinched at Neil’s worn t-shirt. “And some new clothes, too.”

Great, that sounded to be so promising. Neil sighed as he turned to leave and get his run in before the day became too hot and humid. Wymack was gone by the time he returned, and Abby busy in the kitchen so he just grabbed some clean clothes and jumped in the shower. When he was done, he had changed into some jeans and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt and was checking his phone for the messages that had come through while he’d been running and cleaning up when Abby called out his name.

“Any plans for the day?”

Still unsure how to act around the woman, Neil shrugged a little and paused in flipping through the screen. “I’m going shopping with Andrew and the others, getting stuff for school.”

Abby smiled at him. “That sound like fun. I’m having David and an old friend, Betsy Dobson, over tonight. You’re more than welcome to join us, but I imagine it’s more fun to hang out with your boyfriend and friends.”

He tried not to cringe at the ‘boyfriend’ word. “Uhm… yeah.” It was nice that Abby was so understanding – weird, but nice, and better than if she had issues with everything… but it was still weird. And Neil didn’t like the idea of hanging out with a psychiatrist, especially one whom Andrew had to see. “So I’ll probably be with them most of the day.” He got to the text screen, expecting to see something from Andrew about if Nicky and Aaron were up yet, maybe a request to pick up something on his way over there, maybe something from Anna as well… and went still when he saw what had to be a text from Riko. Dammit, why couldn’t the asshole just leave him alone?

“Neil?”

Debating on whether or not he should open it then or wait until he met up with Andrew, Neil knew he couldn’t stand knowing that it was there that long and tapped on it, and sucked in his breath.

‘good to see you in black, you’ll fit in well when you arrive here’

There was an attachment along with the text, and when Neil opened it, there was a picture of him, dressed in the clothes that he had worn last night; someone had taken a picture of him at Eden’s Twilight. He’d felt uncomfortable last night, but he’d put it down to what Andrew had been doing with Dan Wilds, not that someone had been watching him, dammit.

“Neil, is everything all right? You’ve gone pale all of a sudden.”

Neil forced a slight grin on his face as he nodded to Abby. “I’m fine,” he told her as he typed on his phone. ‘your inability to accept reality is a growing problem – might want to get that checked out’. “I’m going to do some laundry before I leave.”

“Go on, I’m going to be busy up here for a while.” Abby gazed at him with open concern as he nodded once then left the kitchen. He didn’t even make it to his bedroom before the phone chimed to let him know that he had an incoming text.

‘I look forward to that smart mouth of yours when you’re tied down and I’m carving my name into your flesh. more insults then or screams? soon’

Neil had to force a swallow past a throat gone tight. ‘what did I say about keeping your perverted fantasies to yourself? get yourself a blow-up doll or something and do us all a favor’

Fuck, Andrew was going to kill him for this, but he refused to let Riko know how much he was rattled right now, how much that picture made his hands shake and his breathing uneven. So he gathered up the dirty sheets and the clothes from the laundry basket, went down the lower level where the washer and dryer were housed and threw the sheets into the washer, along with the phone; he figured it was a goner anyway and he didn’t want to know what else Riko sent, didn’t want *Andrew* to know. His friend would figure out that something had happened when he tried to text soon and couldn’t get through.

Not even three weeks here and Neil was well on his way to getting to know the staff at this city’s phone stores, too, he could already tell. He cursed Riko as he tugged at his hair, bent over the washing machine as the phone inside of it made a banging noise.

*******

That Friday, Andrew had picked Neil right after practice, much as he had been doing all week long since Riko had proven that he had upped the stalking game – that and the idiot had fed the monster a bit too much, requiring an unprecedented three new phones during the week. Neil fairly vibrated with nervous energy, twitching any time there was a sound similar to a phone chirping, until Andrew went over to slip a hand along the back of his neck and pull him down for a harsh kiss until Neil stilled. Aaron wisely said nothing; they had all sat outside last night while Neil had tried to outrun his demons on one of the campus’ numerous tracks, going around it again and again and again until he had just about passed out from exhaustion.

“What are you up to tonight?” Neil skimmed his hands down the front of Andrew’s black shirt and chewed on his bottom lip. “I know you’re planning something.”

“And I told you not to worry about it,” he reminded Neil while he cast a sideways glance at his brother; Aaron appeared calm so far, unbothered by what they were planning on doing. Good, because Andrew had set everything up because of him, this little night out with Matt Boyd. He knew that seeing the backliner skulk around while hiding from Damien and Reggie, the heaviest drug users on the team, was beginning to get beneath Aaron’s skin, was reminding his twin of how things had been a year ago. No more. There was no fucking way Andrew was going to let anyone drag his brother back down like that, not when Aaron was doing whatever he could to move forward, when he’d even signed with a team of losers like the Foxes just so he could get his hands on a scholarship.

“Yeah, but….” Neil just shook his head at that. “Okay.”

“We should get going, Nicky must have talked him into it by now,” Aaron said as he went toward the door.

Andrew and Neil followed, all of them dressed for a night out, and made their way to the girls’ room where Matt had taken to crashing. They got the usual dirty looks from Gordon and Arnolds, whom they passed in the hall, and came across Nicky talking to Matt in the doorway.

“We?” Matt said, just as they came up to Nicky’s back.

Andrew reached out to tap his cousin on the back. “Oh, Nicky," he said in a mocking tone of voice. "That didn't take long at all, did it? Guess he forgot to pack his brakes—could've used them on that fall!"

Matt bristled at that and glared at him. “What didn’t take long?”

It was Aaron who answered, in just as mocking of a tone. “You hiding out here, with your girlfriend. We figured that you’d hold out at least two weeks, but guess not.” He sneered at Matt and then went back to looking past him into the room.

A bright, splotchy blush spread across Matt’s face. “But… I’m not-“

“We’re leaving now,” Andrew sang out as he pushed at Neil’s shoulder to make him turn around.

His brother and his cousin hung back, it seemed they still needed to convince Matt to come out to play, while he and Neil went down the stairs to the car. By the time he got two cigarettes lit and Neil was inhaling smoke as if it was pure oxygen, the three of them came out of the building, Matt standing out both by his height and his spiked hair, and his more casual appearance in blue jeans and a t-shirt. “About time,” Andrew complained as he once more motioned for Neil to do the driving, at least to Sweetie’s.

Nicky leaned forward to put on some techno station and ducked back before Andrew could smack him, but since Neil didn’t seem to mind the music, Andrew let it be. Matt took to fidgeting in his seat and glancing around the car at everyone. “So, uhm, you guys do this a lot? Go out I mean? Dan seemed to have a good time, from the little she can remember.”

“It gives us something to do on the weekend,” Nicky assured him. “We used to work at the club, so there’s no problem for us to get in.”

“Wow, all of you? Even the kid?”

“The kid is Neil.” There was a bit of heat in Nicky’s voice for once. “And yes, even he worked there.”

“Huh.” Matt shifted forward, as if to get a closer look at Neil. “Huh, wouldn’t think someone who was headed to the Ra-“

“Ah, so tell us about you and Dan, our fair captain,” Nicky cut across him, just as Andrew twisted in his seat to punch the asshole before he finished saying the ‘R’ word, while beside him, Neil’s hands clenched around the steering wheel.

Nicky kept Matt distracted for the rest of the drive, while if Neil took the roads a bit faster than normal, Andrew wasn’t one to complain – his idiot had a mobster for an uncle and a federal agent looking out for him, speeding tickets shouldn’t be an issue. When they did get to Sweetie’s, Andrew told the three in the back that they’d drop them off while they went to find a parking spot; Neil gave him a look at that but didn’t argue, just pulled up to the front of the restaurant and let them out, then spent a minute or two looking for a decent spot. Once they were out of the car, Andrew pulled him in close. “You’re drinking tonight, do you understand me? You don’t stop until I tell you to stop.” Neil was wound too tight because of Riko’s shit, and when the heat came down on them for tonight, Andrew didn’t want it falling on his friend.

Neil’s lips pressed together for a moment, but then he nodded. “All right. But no crackers.”

“No crackers,” Andrew agreed as he took the keys.

That settled, they went into the restaurant together and found that the three had already been seated at a large booth; Matt and Nicky were at one side, so Neil slid in next to Aaron and Andrew got the end. He looked over at his twin, who nodded to let him know they’d already put in an order for the cracker dust.

Food and drinks were ordered, similar to last week except Matt ordered a double cheeseburger and fries, and laughed at Andrew’s dinner of ice cream. “Doesn’t that make you sick or something? All that sugar?”

“No,” he told the guy as he sipped his soda.

“You should see all the chocolate he can eat! I don’t know why he’s not a walking cavity by now, especially after this past Valentine’s Day – how many boxes did you get him, Neil?”

Neil glared from beneath his bangs at Nicky. “It doesn’t matter, he eats the stuff.”

Matt’s jaw dropped as he stared at them from across the table. “Wait, are you telling me… the two of you?”

“They’re ‘friends’,” Aaron insisted with a heavy dose of sarcasm as he twisted his straw around one of his fingers, seemingly confident with Neil between him and Andrew.

Hmm, either Dan didn’t remember that part of the evening or she was keeping quiet about it for some reason. Fortunately for Aaron and Matt, the server chose that moment to arrive with their food and crackers, which distracted Matt from the topic.

“Are those what I think those are?” he asked with a tight voice when Andrew grabbed the packets from the stack of napkins.

“It’s not candy,” Andrew remarked as he tucked them into his pocket; Matt stared after them with an obvious hunger, until Nicky asked him to pass the ketchup – twice.

Nicky tried to engage Matt in some more conversation after that, but Matt only gave a couple of monosyllabic answers, his thoughts obviously focused on the cracker dust. Andrew shared a significant look with his twin while he ate his ice cream and munched on Neil’s fries, until Neil just sighed and pushed the plate toward Andrew.

Done with their dinner, they went back out to the car and drove to Eden’s Twilight, where they got a couple of odd looks for having Matt tag along with them; he was attractive enough, but he did stand out from them with his more casual appearance. Once inside of the club, Andrew told the others to grab a table and made sure to latch on to Neil’s arm, mindful of the people around them tonight because of the picture Neil had told him about. “Stay close.” That one time Riko hadn’t wanted Neil hurt, but Andrew wasn’t taking any chances on the asshole changing his mind. As it were, Aaron and Nicky were under strict orders to not go anywhere without the other tonight.

“Not a problem.” Neil was Andrew’s shadow as they went off to Roland’s bar, and the bartender gave them a nod as soon as they approached. “Was wondering when you’d show up.”

“The usual, double for him,” he nodded to Neil,” and throw on some vodka shots as well.” When he handed over the money, Roland palmed him a small bag of something.

“Someone doing some serious drinking tonight?” Roland arched his eyebrows as he glanced over at a quiet Neil.

“You can say that.” Andrew slipped the bag into the back pocket of his jeans. “What about that other thing I asked you for?”

Roland shook his head while he poured out the vodka shots. “I asked around, but no one remembers any Japanese or Asian guys here last week.” Behind Andrew, Neil’s body tensed up.

Dammit, Riko had probably hired someone else to watch over Neil – the guys who had beaten up Nicky had been local, after all. “Okay.”

Neil leaned in a little more. “Don’t go getting yourself into trouble, what if Ichiro is involved in some way?”

“Then I’m willing to bet your uncle would have given you a head’s up,” Andrew said as he tilted his head so he could murmur in Neil’s right ear. “No, Riko is overstepping.” If Andrew could get his hands on one of the asshole’s minions, he’d pry enough damaging information out of them and force Riko to behave.

Neil sighed as he rested his head against Andrew’s shoulder for a moment, then pulled back a little to give Andrew some space. It was around then that Roland returned with an extremely full tray of drinks. “There you go, you better have fun with all of these.”

Andrew gave him a slight salute with two of his fingers then picked up the tray with some care, and glared at anyone who got in his way as they went back to the table. Even Aaron seemed impressed with the drinks when they got there, and sat impatiently as Andrew portioned them out. Nicky gave a laugh when he saw all the ones being set down in front of Neil. “Wow, someone’s going to have a headache tomorrow.”

“Don’t... just don’t,” Neil groaned as he picked up one of the lime shots and began to drink. While he did that, Andrew fetched the cracker dust packets and oh so casually dropped them on top of the table. For once Aaron and Nicky didn’t do their mad grab for the packets, they waited while Andrew picked up a couple for himself and Matt paused in setting down his empty tumbler to stare at them.

“Uhm….”

“They’re for whoever wants them,” Andrew said as he tore open the ones in his hand. “Neil prefers not to, but the rest of us like it.” At that, Aaron reached over to grab some, then Nicky, leaving a few packets on the table.

Matt let out an uneven breath with his hands clenched into fists, before he reached out a trembling hand to pick up all but one of the remaining packets. He closed his eyes tightly as he ripped them open and then tilted them into his mouth.

“Oh god,” he moaned after he swallowed; Andrew looked away from him to stare at Aaron, to see how this was affecting his twin but there was nothing but disgust on Aaron’s face just then. Aaron picked up a shot and downed it, as if to wash away a bad taste.

Satisfied that his brother was all right, Andrew turned toward Neil, who was shaking his head. “I said to drink,” he ordered as he tapped the row of glasses.

“Okay,” Neil snapped as he picked up another one. Grimacing a little, he tossed it back, and as soon as it was gone, Andrew took it away and gave him another one, and repeated that until Neil had downed six shots that way and was gasping.

“Oh, wow, you’re serious about the drinking thing,” Nicky remarked, his tone teasing but a frown on his face. Andrew gave him a warning look then glanced over at Matt – the moron got the hint and shook his head.

“It’s therapeutic,” Andrew remarked as he held out one final shot; he’d watch Neil after this, see how the alcohol hit him and give him a break for a little while, but he didn’t want his friend to be coherent by the end of the night. Considering how most of the time Neil only drank a little, it shouldn’t take that much more.

Neil gave a short, breathy moan before he finished off the last shot, his cheeks a little flushed as he downed it. “Is that it?”

“For now.” Andrew pulled him closer, conscious of how Neil was starting to go all loose-limbed on him now, and looked over at Matt.

The backliner’s face was flushed as well, and he had downed another shot. “Oh, oh wow. I forgot… this feels incredible.” A goofy grin spread across his face. “Are we gonna dance? We need to dance.”

Aaron turned toward Andrew, who shrugged once; let the crackers and the alcohol sink in a little before he broke out the speedballs, then see if Matt sunk a bit lower. “Come on, Nicky, let’s get out there,” Aaron said, and Matt scrambled to follow, his long limbs a bit uncoordinated.

“What about those two?”

“Just forget about them, they never dance,” Nicky explained as they made their way to the crowded dance floor.

“Hmm, yeah, we never dance, do we?”

Andrew was going to go out on a limb and say that the alcohol was kicking in. “Do you want to dance?” There was no way in hell he was going out there, but maybe Aaron would put up with Neil or something.

Neil blinked those incredible blue eyes of his and seemed to think about it. “Ah, *no*.” Though he did sway a little, but Andrew suspected it was more from the alcohol than anything to do with the loud music playing.

“Then there you go.”

“Okay.” Neil closed his eyes and hummed a little to the music. “Don’t like being drunk – re-reminds me of bad things.” He shivered a little and stepped closer to Andrew, his arms coming up to wrap around Andrew’s waist. “Keep expecting to… to be stitched up an’ that.”

Was Andrew imagining things, or was that a hint of a British accent creeping in there? Oh, he had to get Neil trashed at home one night, where it was quieter.

“That’s not going to happen tonight. You’ll be all right, I’m here.”

“Hmm, why I agreed.” Neil shivered again and opened his eyes. “Only you.”

“I would hope you don’t let random strangers talk you into getting trashed like this,” Andrew teased as he picked up a shot of vodka. “Now here, have one more.” When Aaron brought Matt back to the table, he didn’t want Neil to be aware of much, so he held the glass up to his idiot’s lips.

Neil grimaced a little, but he drank the shot, so Andrew chased it with a quick kiss, while Neil was still aware of things. It wasn’t much longer than that when the alcohol kicked in with a vengeance, and Andrew had his arms full – Neil wasn’t a loud or active drunk, he just got sleepy.

Meanwhile, Matt was a hyper mess when he returned to the table, eager for more drinks. Andrew ordered Aaron to watch over Neil, who was slumped in a chair and murmuring in a mix of languages whenever anyone spoke to him, while he went off to the bar.

While he waited for Roland to mix up the drinks, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number he’d got from Wymack’s office earlier in the week. It was a little hard to hear in the loud club, but Randy Boyd’s voice came through. “Who the hell is this?”

“I’m a teammate of your son, Matt. I think you have a problem on your hands,” he told her.

“Wait, what? Matt? What’s wrong? Where the hell are you?” Randy was practically yelling. “Is this Seth? Dwayne?”

“No, my name is Andrew and I’m currently in a club with Matt. It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but his sobriety… let’s just say that it’s fading fast.” There was cursing on the other end. “I can drag him out of here or we can just let him bottom out.”

Randy cursed some more for several seconds and then fell quiet. “You’re his teammate, right? I’ve heard him mention you. Why are you doing this? Why call me?”

“Because I’m tired of watching him pretend he’s recovered,” Andrew admitted. “So, what do you say? Take him back to Palmetto and drag this out, or end it tonight?” If she cared at all about her son as much as Dan had said she did, she’d make the right call. Not that Andrew had much experience with mothers making the right call.

“Dammit, he told me he was doing fine, but I thought he sounded off the last couple of times we talked.” There was the sound of something being slammed in the background and Randy breathing heavy for a couple of seconds. “Let him do whatever he does – you have my permission. If he’s not recovered, I want to know now, before he breaks down during the semester.”

“I think it’s a safe bet that he’s not going to last through the night,” Andrew warned.

“Then I’ll check for the first flight I can book tomorrow. Just keep him together until I get here.”

Having done what he’d set out to do, Andrew hung up the phone and picked up the tray of drinks Roland had waiting for him. When he came back, the package of speedballs was on the tray as well, and Matt had tossed back a shot of vodka before he noticed it.

If his expression had been hungry when he’d spied the cracker dust, it was downright ravenous when he caught sight of the bag containing the broken apart shot needle and the packets of speedball. His hands twitched with an obvious desire to snatch it up and he glanced around the table, at Nicky chatting in a drunken manner to Aaron, who was studiously not looking at the table as he sipped his latest drink, then at Andrew who was coaxing some water into a semi-coherent Neil. Andrew tilted Neil’s head back and held up a cup of water to his mouth, some of the liquid sliding down Neil’s chin, when he noticed Matt grab at the baggie before leaving the table.

As he held Neil slumped against him, he nodded at Nicky. “Give him about ten minutes, then the two of you go check him in the bathroom.” That should be long enough for Matt to figure out how to render the stuff and shoot it up.

Nicky sighed as he rested his elbows against the table. “So much effort,” he whined while he peered over at Neil. “Hey, is he going to be okay? He looks really out of it.” He reached over to tug at Neil’s shirt.

Neil murmured something that might have been French or English, it was difficult to tell because it was so slurred. “I think we’ve hit his limit.”

Aaron scoffed out ‘lightweight’, while Nicky laughed. “He’s such a cute designated driver.” The two of them had another drink or two until it was time to go fetch Matt.

It took them an awful long time, during which Andrew managed to get a little more water into Neil, almost as much as he got on the drunk idiot – the girls at the next table were staring their way with an intensity that made him want to throw some empty glasses at them but he had his damn hands full at the moment. If he saw a camera come out there was going to be blood, oh yes.

By the time Nicky and Aaron hauled Matt back to the table, it was clear that Matt wasn’t handling his lack of sobriety very well – he was twitching and sweaty. “Great, someone couldn’t just catch a nice buzz, could he?” Had the idiot done them all?

“Uhm, think we should, you know, take him home?” Nicky looked to be a bit sick at the moment, while Aaron was staring at Matt with open horror; Andrew was willing to bet his twin wouldn’t be in any hurry to take anything harder than cracker dust any time soon.

“Yeah, you handle him, I’ve got Neil.”

An hour before the club closed for the night, the place was packed so it was a nightmare getting through the door, especially with Neil a deadweight and Matt starting to fight Nicky and Aaron. A couple of bouncers they knew – Karl and Ted – came through to help them with Matt, and they finally got back in the car. If it wasn’t for the fact that Nicky was rather drunk just then, Andrew would sit in the back instead to make sure that Matt didn’t get out of control, but he got behind the wheel since he was the least affected out of everyone.

It was a nerve-wracking drive back to Abby’s house with Matt thrashing about, while Aaron and Nicky did their best to keep him under control and Neil slept through it all. Andrew broke more than a few laws along the way, and eventually pulled in to Abby’s driveway.

With Neil hugged against his side, he used his friend’s keys to open the front door and was almost to Neil’s room when the noise that Matt was making must have woke up Abby. She shuffled out of her bedroom, hands busy tying a ratty red robe closed and eyes squinting. “Neil? Why are you- is something wrong?”

Andrew gave her a wide grin. “I’m afraid Neil’s not available at the moment, but since you’re up, someone could use your help.”

Her eyes went wide as she noticed Neil’s unconscious form. “Oh my god, is he all right?” She stepped forward as if to grab onto Neil, but Andrew held out his left arm to block her.

“Oh he’s fine, I just made him drink a bit too much tonight, but he’ll bounce back in the morning, he’s tough that way. No, you should go into the living room, Boyd had a wee little relapse, I’m afraid.” He kept smiling as he dragged Neil into the bedroom so he could put his idiot to bed.

It wasn’t much fun, undressing an unconscious person, but he got Neil’s shoes, jeans and shirt off, then tucked Neil beneath the sheets. There was some yelling out in the living room, so Andrew didn’t linger in the bedroom once Neil was done for the night, he just left his friend sleeping off the alcohol and closed the bedroom door behind him to go check on his brother and Nicky.

Matt was sprawled out on the couch, shivering and sweating as Abby did her best to hold on to his hands. “-did you to him? Can’t believe you would take him someplace that had drugs!”

Nicky looked a bit guilty just then, while Aaron gave her a blank look. Andrew clicked his tongue and motioned toward the front door. “He’s an adult, we’re not going to baby him like everyone else does – that just contributed to the problem.” When Abby looked over her shoulder to glare at him, he rolled his eyes. “Everyone pretended that he was better when he wasn’t, and so the first time temptation came around, he bit. Now look where that got him. You ignored it, now you deal with him.”

He turned to leave, even though Abby called out to him. “You’re going? You do this to him and you’re just going to abandon him?”

“Like I said, I didn’t create this mess, I just pointed out that you had a mess. Have a good night.” Andrew held upon the door so Nicky and Aaron could leave before him. He gave Abby a slight wave and then followed them, shutting the door behind him.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's my take on what went down at the club with the boys and Dan and Matt. Next up, the fallout and Renee!
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the comments and the kudos!  
> *******


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, this has to be one of the longest chapters. Bah. Seriously, I didn't want this fic to have the really long chapters. Nice resolution there. Oh well, so you have a long chapter - I've got only a couple of pages of the next one written so yeah, it's going to take a little while to get that ready for posting.
> 
> Still, it's Andrew and Renee (and Neil, but not in *that* way) so enjoy!!!  
> *******

*******

It seemed that Andrew had just gotten fallen asleep when there was a pounding on the door to the dorm room; he was awake in an instant, hands going to the arm guards as he sat up in bed, mind racing to take in his surroundings as Nicky made a groaning sound and Aaron stirred in the top bunk bed. Andrew got up and went to the door while still wearing just his boxer briefs and a t-shirt since he had a feeling that he knew what the noise was about, and turned on the light in the living area before he opened the door.

Surprise, surprise, there was an angry coach standing on the other side. “What the hell were you thinking?” Wymack ground out as he stepped into the room.

“Why hello to you, too,” Andrew told him as he gave the man a slight smile. “What are you doing up so late? Or is it early?”

“Don’t,” Wymack warned; he looked ready to punch Andrew and jabbed a finger in Andrew’s direction. Andrew’s smile slipped away as his right hand hovered around the left arm guard, a motion which Wymack caught. The man’s eyes widened and he went still for a moment before taking a step back. Ah, it looked as if their coach had been in one or two nasty fights, how interesting.

“Don’t start on me, I’m about two seconds away from throwing you, your brother and your cousin off of the team,” Wymack snarled. “What the hell were your thinking?” he repeated while Aaron and Nicky stumbled out of the bedroom, also lacking proper clothes.

Andrew was going to go out on a limb and say that Wymack was here about Matt Boyd. “We didn’t force those drugs down his throat,” Andrew said as he allowed his arms to drop down to his sides. “You should be thanking us, we did you a favor – he would have snapped at some point, we made sure it happened before the season started.”

Wymack’s hands clenched into fists upon hearing that and his expression turned murderous. “You might want to think about what you say right now, before I really do tear up your contract.”

Andrew refused to back down over something so ridiculous. “You know as well as I do that Boyd was just hiding from the problem, not facing it head on. Last night? Last night was him facing the elephant in the room.” He sneered as he looked Wymack right in his bloodshot eyes. “You want to be the guy with a team of broken little rejects, with the lost causes and the ex-junkies? Well then, you’re going to run into little problems like this. Deal with them.”

Wymack worked his jaw for a moment before the words came out. “Right now I’m wondering why the fuck I’m bothering to put up with you lot when it’s clear you don’t give a shit about the rest of your team, not when you can pull a stunt like last night. Boyd is worth a hundred of nasty little bastards like you.”

Andrew affected a hurt look. “Ah Coach, you’re breaking my heart, here.”

“I’m wondering if you have one,” the man shot back. “If you do, you won’t be happy about your brother losing his scholarship or Neil being kicked out when he just registered for classes, I’m willing to bet.”

That wiped the expression from Andrew’s face. “Don’t go there,” he warned as his fingers itched to pull a knife free, as they itched to form fists so he could pummel that smug look from Wymack’s face. “Neil wasn’t in on last night, and I don’t think a man who has to gather a bunch of rejects around him wants to push when it comes to family.”

For a moment he thought he might have gone too far with Wymack, but then the man forced out a harsh breath and shook his head. “Grab some of your shit, I’m not having you around the rest of the Foxes doing God knows what more damage.”

Andrew glanced back at Aaron and Nicky, both of whom stood watching with wary expressions on their faces, before he looked at Wymack. “Where are we going, then?”

“You have two choices, you can either stay at a hotel or the damn stadium – you’re crashing anywhere but here while I figure out what to do with you three,” he snapped. “I don’t see you moving.”

Andrew shrugged as he turned around. “Fine.” He’d allow the man the power trip for now – he’d known that there would be some fallout for what they’d done, and being segregated from the other Foxes wasn’t a bad thing, nor sleeping on couches for however long. He’d slept on worse in some of the foster homes where he’d lived.

Nicky looked a little sick as he threw together a travel bag, but that might be due to the hangover, while Aaron was quiet as he grabbed some clothes. Andrew didn’t waste time in putting together his bag and pulling on some jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, having learned over the years to grab what he needed and go, and was the first one back in the living area where he found Wymack on the phone.

“-yeah, let me know when you land. I’m sure we can find space for you at Abby’s place, that’s where he is right now.” Wymack shot Andrew an odd look. “I understand. Sure. Don’t want you to miss your flight. See you soon.” He hung up the phone and continued to stare at Andrew. “That was Randy Boyd, Matt’s mother. Funny thing is, I was going to call her once I got to the stadium and looked up her number.”

“Imagine that,” Andrew said as he hitched up the bag higher onto his left shoulder.

“She already knows about Matt and is on the way to the airport – said you told her.” Wymack shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans while his eyes narrowed. “Something’s going on here.”

Andrew pressed his right hand against his chest. “Why Coach, it sounds as if you don’t trust me. Where is the faith?” They stared at each other until Aaron and Nicky came out of the bedroom, wearing what looked to be the first clothes they’d grabbed and holding on to their bags.

Wymack was the first one to look away. “Come on, you’re still not staying here,” he insisted, but some of the bite was gone from his voice now.

“Whatever you say, Coach,” Andrew sang out as he waved the others to follow, just to get one final dig in.

*******

Neil woke to pain and the sound of yelling; he sat up on the bed in a rush, which didn’t do his aching head or upset stomach any favors, and it took him a moment to calm down, to figure out where he was; the spare bedroom in Abby Winfield’s house, the room painted in pale yellow with the flower prints on the wall, the quilt on the bed, the fake antiqued furniture. His hands stopped scrambling for something to grab and throw, for a weapon of some sort when he realized that he was alone, that Andrew wasn’t there, that his mother was gone and he was safe – he *should* be safe, and it was after ten in the morning. Bits of memory came floating back to him, of going out with Andrew and the others last night, of Andrew being up to something, Andrew telling him to drink, someone yelling in the back of the car as Andrew had to carry him into the house and put him to bed-

Matt. It had been Matt Boyd yelling in the back of the car, Neil was rather certain of that, just like he thought he recognized Matt’s ragged voice outside of his door.

Wavering on his feet as he got out of bed, Neil swallowed a couple of times to keep his stomach from rebelling and looked around for some clothes to wear, to cover the scars before he left the room and found out what was going on. He grabbed the shorts from yesterday and a loose, long-sleeved t-shirt, still pulling it down as he opened the door and stepped outside.

The noises were louder, and he heard several voices, some he didn’t recognize and all female. Turning around the corner, he was shocked to see a sweaty, sickly looking Matt sprawled on the floor with some nasty scratches all over his face and arms being held down by Dan Wilds and Renee Walker while an older woman with pale brown hair attempted to give Matt some water.

“What-?” Neil stared at the scene in some shock while Abby came out of the kitchen with what looked to be some damp towels in her hands.

“Neil, come give me a hand,” she told him.

“What?” he repeated, still trying to make sense out of what was going on.

“Now,” Abby snapped as she handed him the towels.

Used to obeying his mother, Neil stumbled forward and knelt beside Abby with the towels clutched in his hands. Dan noticed him and glared, still busy holding down one of Matt’s arms.

“What is *he* doing here? He was with them last night when they did this to Matt, wasn’t he? He’s always with them!”

On the other side of Matt, Renee shook her head and murmured Dan’s name.

“I don’t think so,” Abby said as she took one of the towels from Neil and used it to wipe down Matt’s sweaty face. “He was out of it too when they came back.”

“I…” Neil thought he was going to be sick for a moment; was this what Andrew had done last night? “They were just out drinking, it’s only drinking and crackers,” he tried to explain for his friends, for Andrew.

“This isn’t crackers,” spat Dan, the expression on her face furious. “They gave him speedballs! They got him hooked again, those bastards.” Beneath her, Matt mumbled something, his words incomprehensible.

“Dan, look at him, he didn’t know,” Renee said, her unnerving eyes intent on Neil.

“How could he have not known? Did you just stand there and let your friends to this to Matt? Huh?” Dan let go of Matt’s arm to grab the front of Neil’s shirt, and as hungover as he felt at the moment, hungover and stunned, he didn’t pull back in time; she twisted the worn material in her strong grip and pulled on it, pulled it away from his chest enough that the neck yanked down an inch or two, enough to reveal the upper part of his chest. “What the hell? Neil… what the hell?” The anger was now gone from her voice.

Her shock was enough that he could knock her hand free and jump away, the towels forgotten as he raced for the kitchen, ran from the room and the shocked gazes of Abby and Dan, who had seen a glimpse of his scars. His hands shook as he struggled to take even breaths, to pull the collar of his shirt up and figure out what to do next, if he should go back to his room or just out the front door or-

“Neil.”

His head jerked up upon hearing Abby call out his name and he backed away until he bumped into the counter. “Don’t,” he warned her. “Just… don’t.” He didn’t want her pity, and he most definitely didn’t want any questions. “Don’t ask,” he said as he jerked his hands through his hair.

He stood there tugging on his bangs and forcing himself to breathe while Abby watched him for about a minute, and then she went over to one of the cabinets and pulled down two empty mugs, which she filled with coffee. After a slight pause she approached, not too close, and set one down near him. “All right, I won’t, not if you don’t want me too, but I’m here if you ever want to talk about… well, if you want to talk. And Betsy – she’s out there helping us with Matt, she’s a psychiatrist. Maybe…”

“*No*,” Neil said, as final as he could make it. He wasn’t interested in talking to Betsy or any other shrink.

Abby sighed yet nodded as she stirred some sugar into her coffee. “All right, it’s your choice.” She paused again to take a sip. “Did you know about last night?”

He shook his head as he lifted the mug she’d set down for him. “No. Not that they’d do… that they’d do that.” He nodded toward the living room. “But there has to be a reason for it, Andrew wouldn’t….” He tried to put his thoughts in order when his brain felt so muddled. “Andrew just wouldn’t,” was all he could say.

Abby regarded him over the rim of her mug for a few seconds. “I hope you’re right, because Matt is going through a lot right now, and it’s not going to be easy, the next few weeks. And he’s not the only one hurting.” She sighed as she set the mug back down on the counter. “Maybe it’ll be best if you just stay in your room for now.”

“Okay.” He didn’t think he’d have a problem with that, especially if it meant avoiding Dan, Renee and Betsy. “If you need me to go… well, I can find someplace else to stay for a while.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary right now, but thanks.” Abby appeared so tired just then, her face bruised and hair in disarray, but she managed a wan smile for him.

He forced himself to finish the coffee and then grab a glass of water to take back to the room to help him with the hangover, careful to avoid looking at anyone in the living room along the way, and intended to stay in the room as much as possible for the day. Once there, he got out his phone so he could talk to Andrew and find out what was going on with his friend.

*******

Andrew was getting rather tired of hanging out at the stadium; there was the fact that Neil could sneak in to spend time with him, Aaron and Nicky, but of course the Exy junky would then want to practice. There was also the fact that if they wanted to be alone, they would have to break into the medical room to get away from the other two, though it was amusing to see who could pick the lock faster.

There was some excitement at the start of the week when Dan had the audacity to start a fight with Andrew, even though there was no way she could win; some of the other Foxes decided to join in to take on Aaron and Nicky so a proper brawl broke out, until Renee had to step in and put an end to things before Andrew could take down their dauntless captain. Oh, that was no fun, and to add insult to injury, Renee came up to Andrew at the end of the practice session when Wymack was sick of them all and made them run as a punishment to ask him to *apologize*, of all things. Andrew had to admit that the girl had a spine, if not much common sense. Still, she was shaping up to be the most interesting of the Foxes so far, and so he made plans for another Friday night out.

This time, Neil wanted to know exactly what was going on. “There’s not going to be a repeat of last week, right? You’re going to get kicked off the team if you do something extreme like that again.”

They were standing in the parking lot next to the GS while they waited for Nicky to bring Renee down to them. “You sound as if you don’t trust me,” Andrew said as he flicked ash toward Neil. “Relax, we’re just going to talk tonight.”

Neil scrubbed at his face. “Why am I not reassured?”

“Maybe because you’ve known him how long now?” Aaron murmured off to the side. Andrew shot his twin a displeased look, and got a slight, pleased smile in return.

However, Aaron was spared because Nicky chose then to return with Renee, who wore a black jacket over what looked to be some sort of strappy top and a pair of black pants. “Oh, hello,” Andrew called out. “So good to see you, we’re thrilled that you decided to join us. See, Nicky, she decided to come after all.” He leaned forward a little as if sharing a secret with the girl. “He was certain that you wouldn’t accept our offer. Shows you what he knows.” From what Andrew could tell, Renee wasn’t the type to easily be scared off.

She gave him a cool look and a slight smile. “Thank you for inviting me.” As if they were going out to a nice dinner.

Tired already of her good girl façade, Andrew waved to the others as he pushed away from the car. “We’re leaving.” He nodded to Neil, who would be driving – Neil had made it clear that he wouldn’t be doing much drinking that night… or anytime soon. Someone was no fun, but Andrew would get him alone with a bottle of vodka at the house in Columbia one night sometime soon. Oh yes, he would find out all about that British accent.

Once in the car, Nicky cajoled Neil to turn on the radio, then turned to look at Renee. “Uhm, I don’t think there’s any gospel stations, sorry.”

She gave him a serene smile as she tucked back her multi-colored hair. “That’s all right, it’s not really my taste. I much prefer orchestral pieces, stuff like music soundtracks or something with lots of instruments in it, music that makes you feel.”

“Okay.” Nicky looked as if he didn’t understand what she’d just said, but he leaned forward and scanned through the stations until he found one that played trance, then turned it up loud enough to make talking unlikely; despite him claiming to like Renee, he didn’t seem to want to talk to her. That or he didn’t want Andrew to say something offensive.

It was a quiet ride to Sweetie’s and they got there too late for dinner, since they’d waited for the dorms to clear out enough so Nicky could fetch Renee without running into anyone. As they walked to the restaurant after parking the car, Nicky finally did make some small-talk, probably going through withdrawals from being quiet for so long, rambling on about how hot summers were in South Carolina. Renee nodded and mentioned that she was from North Dakota.

That seemed to shock Nicky, who asked her why she’d picked a school so far away from home.

“Palmetto State was the only school to make me an offer, so there really was no choice. However, even if I had more options, I would have chosen the Foxes since I believe in what Coach Wymack is trying to do here.”

Could she be laying it on any thicker if she tried? Andrew made an exaggerated choking sound as they entered the restaurant. “How quickly they buy into the publicity stunt,” he mocked, right before he swung by the salad bar to grab a handful of crackers. Neil gave him a loaded look at that but chose not to say anything – at least not in front of Renee.

“Coach Wymack is a good man,” she insisted. “He’s not above publicity stunts, but this isn’t one of them. He’d never put the program over the individual Foxes.”

Andrew rolled his eyes at that. “Yes, I’m feeling the love he has for us after spending a week crashing in the stadium.”

“Just because he cares for us doesn’t mean he lets us get away with everything,” she said, a slight tone of reproach in her voice as they approached the table. She paused, as if waiting to see how they would divide up sitting at the large booth, and just gave him a curious look when he pushed Neil in first then sat beside him, while Nicky indicated for her to sit with him and Aaron.

It was clear that Neil was still uncomfortable with Renee, refusing to look at her in favor of fussing with the menu he’d memorized by heart by now even though they were just getting ice cream tonight. Nicky ordered the usual for them when one of his server friends stopped by, telling Renee that it was tradition, and then Neil took to fretting with the cuffs of his black shirt until Andrew reached beneath the table to give the idiot’s right thigh a warning squeeze.

Renee arched a bleached eyebrow when their ice cream arrived, along with the cracker dust packets. Andrew gave her a level look as he fanned them across the table for a moment before he swiped them up and put them away. “Don’t tell me that you’re surprised, not after the last two weeks.”

“Not really. Do I get a choice in that?” she asked as she spooned up some of the dessert.

“Of course, so did the other two,” Andrew told her as he scooped up some of his own; beside him, Neil had gone still and kept glancing back and forth between the two of them; unlike Aaron and Nicky, he had an idea of what lay beneath Renee’s calm interior and Andrew knew he wouldn’t relax as long as Renee was in his presence.

Renee appeared to consider Andrew’s words and gave a slight nod before she resumed eating; Andrew did the same, though Neil only toyed with his ice cream until Andrew clicked his tongue in disgust and took the dish away from his idiot to finish it off. While they ate, Nicky once again regaled their guest with stories of his past misdeeds as a horrible server until it was time to leave.

It took some effort for Neil to find a parking spot at Eden’s Twilight since they got there so late, but they once again got to cut the line and go in the side door; Renee appeared impressed by that, and insisted on following Andrew and Neil up to the bar where she ordered a soda in a can. “Not that I don’t trust you,” she told Roland as she examined the can and the glass he gave her, “but I don’t like taking any chances.”

Roland had the audacity to be offended, considering that he’d helped them to roofie Dan Wilds the other week, then shrugged. “Probably a good idea.” He smiled at Andrew then got back to mixing up their drinks.

“You’re awfully distrusting for a good Christian girl,” Andrew mocked as he wrapped his arms around Neil, who was pressed tight against his chest in an obvious attempt to put as much distance between him and Renee as possible.

“Just because I believe doesn’t mean I have to be stupid about things,” she told him with that slight, serene smile of hers. “And I’m not going to do anything to you,” she told Neil. “I don’t blame you for Matt.”

Neil just shook his head and pressed even more against Andrew while finding something of fascination across the room. “He’s not the trusting type, either,” Andrew said as he rested his chin on Neil’s right shoulder. “You two have something in common.” Neil shuddered at that.

The jab hit home with Renee, too, as something dark flittered across her face for a moment. “Is it just the two of us?”

Andrew gave her a mocking smile. “What, I thought all the Foxes are fucked up, you telling me that we’re not? Don’t disappoint me now.”

Renee gave him a cool look in return. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

He just continued to smile, especially since Roland came with the drinks at that point, and went back to the table. Renee watched him as he sorted them for everyone, and stuck with her soda while Nicky and Aaron were quick to snatch up some of the cracker packets that Andrew dropped onto the table and toss back their shots. She tilted her head to the side when Neil abstained, as always, and sighed when Andrew pushed a shot toward him. “Just a couple,” he told his friend, not about to put up with Neil on edge all night because of Renee.

When he turned back, he found Nicky smiling at Renee. “You’re pretty open-minded about all of this, being a good Christian and all.”

“As are you,” she shot back. “Faith is my cure, but I know it’s not the same for everyone. If this is what’s best for you, then I’m not going to judge. I’m just here to try to understand and support you.”

“Even though I’m gay?” There was a bite to Nicky’s words just then as he leaned onto the table. “What about them, too?” He nodded at Neil and Andrew, which got him a warning look from Andrew.

“Faith is supposed to be about love – that’s what religion is supposed to be about,” Renee told him in that annoyingly calm tone of hers. “Acceptance, peace and cherishing one another despite and because of our differences. I don’t understand how anyone would hate something as beautiful as love, and fear certainly isn’t an excuse.”

Andrew made a gagging sound at that bit of idealistic nonsense while Neil toyed with his empty glass as if uncomfortable, Aaron picked up and tossed another drink in a sign of evident boredom and Nicky smiled.

“Cute,” Nicky said while looking at Andrew. “She’s cute, can we keep her?” Andrew gave him a clear look of disgust, which of course did nothing to deflate Nicky’s amusement. “I figure we all already know the answer, but I at least was raised to be a gentleman. Want a cracker?”

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Renee told him with a slight incline of her head. Like Nicky said, what a surprise.

At that, Andrew, Nicky and Aaron didn’t wait any longer to tear open the cracker packets and wash them down with some shots, while Neil just shook his head at their antics. Nicky and Aaron were quick to go through the rest of their drinks so they could get out on the dance floor, once again reminded to keep an eye out for each other; Andrew noticed how Renee’s eyes narrowed at that but she didn’t press for any information. Considering how she’d been deflecting Nicky all night the few times he’d pressed for any background information on her, other than where she was from, she had no leg to stand on, really.

So that left the three of them, sweet ‘innocent’ Renee whom Andrew was willing to bet wasn’t that innocent, a nervous Neil and a bored Andrew. He drummed his fingers on the table as he glanced around, then slid another shot toward Neil.

“I don’t want to get drunk tonight,” Neil snapped.

“And I don’t want to put up with you when you’re like this. Loosen up, we’re here to have fun.”

Neil sighed as he ran his hands through his hair and then picked up the shot and tossed it back. As soon as he set it down on the table, Andrew reached over to give the back of his neck a squeeze, just for a few seconds, until he felt some of the tension leave Neil’s body.

Renee had been watching them the entire time, a sad smile on her face. “I’m sorry that I affect you so much,” she told Neil. “I don’t mean you any harm.”

He gave her a wary look from beneath his bangs and shook his head. “It’s not you, it’s….” He gave up on the lie and just shrugged.

Andrew gave her a mocking smile. “Does it bother you, knowing that someone sees through your good Christian façade so easily?”

She didn’t look away from his gaze, but he saw a hint of that darkness again, and he knew he had been right to bring her tonight. “I’ll answer that if you tell me why you brought Matt here last week and gave him the speedballs.”

“Oh, the good girl is getting demanding all of a sudden, how interesting.” Andrew slipped an arm around Neil’s waist while he picked up his last remaining drink. “Should I tell her?”

Neil scrubbed at his face and shrugged. “Why not, I hear it’s good to do something utterly unlike yourself now and then, throws people off and all.”

Andrew gave Neil’s left hip a tight squeeze while he grinned at Renee, more a baring of the teeth. “And there are those who say he’s just a pretty face.”

“I wouldn’t take that to be your type,” Renee commented as she set her soda aside.

“Hmm, I won’t complain if it’s part of the package. Now where were we? Me explaining myself for once, as Neil so artfully alluded? Which is going to cost him, of course.” He turned the sharp grin on his friend when Neil sighed.  “Later. But back to the question at hand. Why give Boyd the drugs?” He debated for a moment if he should tell her, but in the end, he hated to lie and she proved to be rather forthcoming when she stopped being so evasive. “It’s simple, he was troublesome for me.”

Judging from the look of disappointment on Renee’s face, it wasn’t that simple. “I’d say you caused yourself more trouble in the long run.”

“Oh no, you see, he was troublesome because I spent a good deal of time and effort getting someone clean, and I refuse to allow a weak person like Boyd to drag that person down again.” His smile gave way to a flat expression as he took to spinning an empty glass around on the table. “So it was time to knock Boyd down and get it over with, rather than put up with him all year long, to allow that person to watch that.”

Renee tapped her fingers against the empty soda can for a few seconds then nodded. “So you believe that Matt can recover, that’s why you did it.”

“Don’t go putting words in my mouth,” he warned her. “If he fails, he’s gone. If he doesn’t, then the problem is solved. I don’t care either way.”

“All right,” she said, but there was an annoying smile on her lips all the same, one he wanted to smack off. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he insisted. “Now your turn.”

She sighed and added the empty can to the tray filled with the empty shot glasses and tumblers. “I’ve worked hard on my faith and to… improve myself these last few years, and yes, it does… I guess the word is ‘stings’ a bit to know that there are people who can still see through me so easily, to see through to the part that I’m trying to… I guess bury.” She tilted her head to the side as she regarded him and Neil. “But then again, I don’t think that you two are normal, so that helps a little.”

“What? What about us makes you think we’re anything but normal?” Andrew gave her a bland smile and at first thought it was Renee’s words that made Neil tense against him, until he noticed how Neil’s hand fumbled between them to pull out his phone, face pale beneath the colored lights of the club.

“No,” he hissed as he grabbed onto Neil’s hand. “Give it to me.”

Neil let out a slow breath and handed it over. “Maybe it’s Anna.”

“If she’s drunk texting you, then I have something to say to her.” Andrew checked the phone and forced himself to just power it off when he saw the familiar hidden phone number. “Unfortunately, she gets to live.” He shoved the phone into his pocket then picked up the tray. “I’ll be back with some more. Stay here,” he ordered Neil, and then glanced over at Renee, who gave him a slight nod; if it was any of the other Foxes he wouldn’t even consider leaving Neil with them, but there was something about her that made him doubt that Riko could buy her – and it wasn’t the Christian goody-goody act.

Once he got to the bar, he handed the tray to Roland, who took it and began on the second round of drinks. While the bartender did that, Andrew lifted himself up enough so that he could look behind the bar and find an ice pick. “Hey! What are you doing?” Roland stopped pouring whiskey shots to give him a puzzled look. “Why do you need that?”

“Just borrowing it for a minute.” Andrew set Neil’s phone on the bar and then stabbed the pick downward with all his strength, sending pieces of the phone flying everywhere, much to Roland’s and several patrons’ displeasure.

“What the fuck? Andrew, stop it!” Roland made to grab at him, but Andrew held the ice pick up in a warning gesture before bringing it down again and again. “Okay, okay, I get it! But seriously, what the hell? Got a problem with phones or something?”

“Just that one.” The phone destroyed, Andrew handed the ice pick back to Roland and brushed at his bangs. “The drinks?”

“Sorry, got interrupted by some idiot destroying shit on my bar,” Roland muttered as he used a rag to wipe up the destroyed phone. “Ah hell, it’s in the ice and everything.”

“Ask me if I care.”

Roland gave him a disgruntled look while he called for one of the bar backs to melt the ice bin and restock it once it was cleaned out, then went down a little farther to finish up the drinks. Meanwhile everyone else at the bar gave Andrew a rather wide berth, which was fine with him.

Roland all but dumped the tray onto the bar before him, causing the drinks to sway and almost spill, so Andrew gave him a dirty look as he took out the remaining cracker packets to add them to a few of the drinks before he picked it up to return to the table, where he found Neil looking anywhere but at Renee while she stood there with her fingers around her cross and humming faintly.

“Are we having fun?” He set the tray down and bumped his hip into Neil. “Funny thing happened back there, seems to have been an accident with your phone.”

Neil just sighed and shook his head. “You know what? I don’t care anymore. I don’t.” He didn’t argue when Andrew handed over a shot glass; Andrew had debated giving him one of the doctored ones, but figured it wouldn’t be good to push Neil too far tonight. He tossed back a couple himself, needing something to settle the simmering anger that Riko’s interference had lit inside of him, that still lingered despite destroying the phone, and then slid one of the glasses Renee’s way to see if she’d take it.

She stared at it for several seconds as if giving it serious contemplation before she picked it up and began to sip from it.

“Tell me there’s a reason you came here tonight, other than to preach a bunch of shit.”

“You don’t believe that I’m honest about my faith?” She sounded more amused than offended.

“I think you believe in it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a bunch of shit,” he told her.

Beside him, Neil groaned and murmured in French about diplomatic skills again.

Renee winced at the jab, then reached for one of the shot glasses. “May I?”

“Sure, but those ones are loaded.” That made Neil pull away a little, a look of concern in his blue eyes, until Andrew shook his head.

She arched a thin eyebrow at the revelation. “Crackers?”

Andrew held up the shot glass he’d just tossed back and nodded.

He watched as she frowned as if debating something before she picked a glass at random, and once it was gone, she held the glass in her hands as she stared him right in the eye.

“My name is Natalie Shields and I was born in Detroit.”

Huh, that wasn’t North Dakota, was it?

From there she went on to describe her life, about the lowlifes who had been her parents, about joining the gang and running drugs, about getting hooked on the drugs, about being arrested and turning evidence against the gang and all in order to cut a deal to commute her sentence, how she’d found faith while in prison and been ‘rescued’ by her foster mother. He had to say that he was impressed despite himself – not about the whole faith thing, but that his instincts had been right, that there was a fighter beneath the cross and the skirts. That Wymack’s Foxes weren’t all useless rejects. Beside him, Neil had tensed up again, eyes intent on Renee while she talked, mind probably whirling as he acknowledged another predator, another person from his father’s world.

When she finished, Andrew nodded and reached for some more drinks, one for him and one for Neil, certain to grab a cracker-free one for his friend. Again, Neil didn’t argue as he accepted it, he just drained the glass and then wiped his mouth while still staring at Renee as if he didn’t trust her enough to look away.

As for Andrew, he downed his and once the glass was back on the table, he reached for one of the knives in his arm guards; that finally made Neil look at him, to give him a puzzled frown and shift a little away as the blade was set down on the table.

All Renee did was set down the soda she’d taken to drinking once she’d finished talking and pick up the knife instead, to run her fingers over it with a grace and carefulness that bespoke of familiarity. She tested the edge with her fingertips and then nodded with what seemed to be approval.

“Are you any good?” he asked.

"It's not really my place to judge." Oh what a shame, back the evasiveness once again.

"Without your humility, Christian," Andrew said with some annoyance. "Such things bore me. I want to know if you’re good, if you’re any use to me." Riko was proving to be a problem that couldn’t be ignored for much longer.

She held the knife in her hands as she eyed him up and down, her expression still calm. “I’ve never lost.” There was no sense of bragging to those words, just a plain statement. “What about you?”

“It’s not my first choice,” he admitted. He always started a fight with his fists or his feet, since that was what he knew how to use best.

She nodded as if it made sense to her, gaze still locked on him as if trying to pin him down in some manner.

“You’re too short to have a useful reach, so they’d be best for back-up when you can’t finish a fight quickly enough against a larger opponent. I appreciate you not drawing them on Dan this past Monday.”

Andrew scoffed at that and picked up another drink. “I didn’t need a knife to best her.” Then he narrowed his eyes to consider the girl sitting across from him. “Would I need it against you?” She didn’t have his strength, but there was something to her that warned him that she wasn’t someone to take lightly – that and she put Neil on edge, and his friend had good instincts, for all the riling up he did with Riko.

She didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes, but I can’t promise you it would do you any good.”

Someone was confident, weren’t they? Oh this might just worth his while. He gave her a slow smile and leaned over the table. “Show me.” He wanted to know just how good she was, to see what he could pick up from her.

Beside him, Neil stirred. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said in French, which Andrew ignored; the idiot didn’t want him to fight, yet Neil couldn’t stop rising to Riko’s bait? Right.

Renee shook her head. “I’m afraid I’ve given up fighting.”

That earned another scoff from Andrew. “Another reason to hate religion, it makes you so boring. Stop being such a mindless little do-gooder and show me what you’ve got.”

“May I ask why?” She stared at him while he just gave her a flat look in return, and her eyes flickered to Neil for a moment. “Religion seems awfully complicated, doesn’t it, and constricting at times.” She folded her hands in front of her on the table as if thinking about what she was about to say. “What is most important to me is faith itself—the ability to believe in good, redemption, and an afterlife. I like believing that we're not alone in this."

Andrew thought it was a lot simpler than that. “You fear death.”

She nodded in agreement. “Yes, I've been close to it enough times to fear what's on the other side. Faith is helping me come to terms with it, but it's a slow process. What about you?" She cocked her head to the side while she waited for his answer, while Neil took to tugging on his bangs, clearly upset with the direction the discussion had taken.

“What a waste of time and energy,” Andrew said, both as an answer and a general statement for the topic. He didn’t fear death – there had been many times when he’d longed for it, over the years. And he was tired of Renee dancing around what he wanted from her.

“What’s a waste? Fear, or fearing death?”

“Death is unavoidable,” he informed her as he picked up the blade and slipped it back into the guard. Judging from how still Neil had gone and the blank look on his own face, Andrew would have to say that Neil agreed with him; Renee looked at them both and shook her head, her lips pressed together as she seemed to think about something.

She had another sip of soda before she spoke again. “How many knives do you carry?” Obviously the death topic really did bother her.

“I’ll wager more than you,” Andrew told her as he reached up to thread his fingers through Neil’s hair to dispel that blank look; he got a slight smile in return as his friend sidled closer. “Fight me, I’m tired of the excuses. Show me what you can do.”

Renee’s expression softened as she watched the two of them. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Why are you doing this?” Neil asked in French. “Why won’t you accept her ‘no’? Is it really a good idea to take her on?”

So Neil believed Renee when she said that she was the better of the two of them, interesting. Then again, Neil had grown up around people who used knives as their primary weapons, had grown up around Lola, whose knives Andrew wore, so maybe that was part of his problem with Renee – maybe he recognized an echo of Lola in the girl. “I have a use for her,” was all Andrew told Neil in the same language, which made Neil stop with the questions.

One person dealt with, Andrew turned back to Renee and gave her a too-wide smile as he played what he was certain would be an angle she couldn’t turn down. “You can if it means I won’t draw them against your teammate, correct?” As he spoke, he picked up two of the remaining drinks and set them down in front of them, but didn’t drink yet.

She stared at him for several second with that hint of darkness slipping through again, before she sighed. “Not tonight, I won’t fight you when you’ve been drinking and dusting.”

“Sunday then,” he offered, as if he hasn’t twisted her arm to make her agree.

“Sunday,” she agreed as she once more glanced at Neil. "There are study rooms in the basement at Fox Tower. It's carpeted, but there aren't cameras or windows for witnesses. Thin carpet," she explained as he considered the location. "A rough layer over concrete. Not quite like fighting outside, but comparable, I would think."

In other words, similar to street fighting. “That’ll do.” He nodded before he knocked back the drink, then dug out his cigarettes before lighting one and pulling Neil away from the table.

It took a bit of effort to find a quiet space in the club, but there was a benefit to having worked there and that was knowing the building and being ignored by its employees. He tugged Neil with him into a nook near the kitchen so they could speak without too much effort or anyone overhearing them. “You’re supposed to be supportive, you know. Where do you get off on backing her over me?”

Neil gave him an amused look as he trailed his fingers down the inside of Andrew’s left arm. “I thought you preferred honesty.” When Andrew huffed at that and flicked ash in his direction, he shook his head. “There’s something about her….” His smile slipped. “About her eyes, the way she holds herself… be careful if you insist on doing this.”

“You’re the one who takes risks,” Andrew reminded his idiot.

“I’m not just going to sit in my room all day while you get to play Exy,” Neil shot back with a bit of heat, before his fingers tightened on Andrew’s shirt. “What did the message say?”

“I didn’t read it – I’m not giving him the satisfaction.” Andrew dropped the cigarette to the floor as he reached for Neil’s tousled hair. “You ever stop to think that half the fun for him is to see how you rise to his bait?”

“Then he’s even more messed up than we thought, if he gets off on me insulting him.” Neil’s eyes became heavy-lidded as he allowed Andrew to pull his head in closer.

“He’s messed up, period, which you seem to forget.” Andrew’s fingers tightened in Neil’s hair; the idiot didn’t seem to get that part, didn’t seem to realize how far someone twisted like Riko could take things if properly motivated – and Riko? Andrew had a feeling he was becoming really, really motivated.

“So you think the answer is playing with knives?”

“It’s better than running around in circles and sending back snarky texts,” Andrew told him before he closed the distance between them for a kiss; he’d find out just what ‘Renee’ had to show him on Sunday, and if she was as good as she claimed to be… well, Andrew was willing to learn a few new tricks that would keep Riko at bay from him and his.

Then he focused on what was in front of him at the moment, what was tangible… and a part of him hoped that Riko had sent someone to the club that night so the asshole could find out just how much Neil still was his.

*******

Nicky moaned as he stared down at his slice of pizza, his head clutched between his hands. “I don’t know how you do it, are you some sort of freak?” He looked up enough to give Andrew a weak glare. “I mean, you had to have at least matched us drink for drink, and you’re not hungover at all.”

Andrew just gave him a blank look before he picked up his own slice of pizza – vegetable with pepperoni, the sadist – and took a large bite of it, as if to torment Nicky. Nicky and Neil both, as Neil was still picking off the damn vegetables. It would be easier to just remove the cheese and toppings, but Neil wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.

Aaron seemed to be fairing a little bit better than his cousin and gave Neil an amused glance as he sipped his soda. “How much longer are we going to be stuck in the stadium? I’m getting tired of sleeping on the couch.”

Andrew nudged Neil in the side. “How is Boyd doing?”

Neil sighed as he paused in picking off vegetables. “Seemed okay the last I saw, but I don’t really talk to him.” Matt had tried to initiate small talk a time or two, but it made Neil feel uncomfortable so he just nodded and fled back to his room as quickly as possible; he kept offering to give up his bedroom to Abby and Randy Boyd, but they insisted that he stay where he was, that Matt was fine on the living room couch.

“Do you talk to anyone?” Nicky asked as he picked up his pizza and eyed it as if it would attack him at any minute. “I wonder about you some days, if I raised you right and all.”

Neil gave up on his own pizza so he could wipe his hands then run his hands through his hair. “Very funny.”

“No, seriously, there’s more to life than Exy, you know.” Nicky paused to take a bite and chewed for a minute, and appeared relieved when he managed to keep the pizza down. “Are you going to do anything at school this year other than go to classes and play?”

“No,” both Neil and Andrew said at the same time.

Nicky sighed and gave his pizza a mournful look. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” He paused for another bite. “So young, so hot, so…,” he paused again to give Neil an assessing look, “I’m not sure of the word I want to go for here.”

“So fucked up?” Aaron was ‘helpful’ to supply – he glared when Andrew flicked an olive slice from Neil’s plate at his face. “Hey, I’m just saying what we’re all thinking here. I mean, he’s with you and all.” That earned him a bit of green pepper.

“Uhm, okay, he has a point, but let’s stop before we get kicked out.” Nicky yelped when it was his turn to get ‘flicked’. “Oh my god, you’re such a child.”

Andrew didn’t seem to care about that argument. “You want to walk back to campus?” He had another bit of vegetable ready to be flicked across the table; Neil supposed it was better than a knife so just sent Nicky a look to shut up.

Nicky sent him a look back that clearly said ‘I give up, you’re on your own’ and shook his head. Neil was fine with that, he didn’t understand the whole point Nicky was trying to make in the first place and went back to ridding his damn pizza of vegetables. “I hate you,” he muttered to Andrew, who seemed to silently gloat upon hearing it.

“They’re good for you,” he was told in a too-sweet tone of voice.

“Says the person who eats ice cream for dinner on a regular basis.”

“Calcium is good for your bones.”

Neil gave up trying to argue; he just focused on trying to get a couple of slices in before the twins decimated the two pies they’d ordered, hampered by having to pick off almost all of the toppings.

They were almost finished when the door to the restaurant opened to admit several people, and Neil felt some of his good mood vanish when he noticed that they were Foxes; there was Seth Gordon with his arm around Allison Reynolds, followed by Dwayne Arnolds and Juan Reyes. In other words, all people who had very good reason to dislike Andrew, Aaron and Nicky – only Dan Wilds was missing at the moment.

Allison Reynolds’ eyes narrowed as she caught sight of them, and she leaned in closer to Seth Gordon to whisper something in his ear. His expression hardened as he looked over at their table. “Ah man, I would think that *his* type would go for something more flaming, like that cocktail place down the street.” Behind him, Arnolds and Reyes took to snickering.

Neil watched as Andrew dropped the crust of his last piece of pizza and wiped his fingers clean, probably so he could go for his knives if he felt the need. “Not here,” Neil urged as he pushed his plate of half-finished pizza aside. “Pl- not here.” He didn’t want to risk another fight breaking out between the two groups, not when Andrew was on probation.

He got a sideways glance at that, but before Andrew could do anything, Nicky made a loud scoffing sound as he pulled money out of his wallet to pay for their dinner. “Nothing is sadder than a bunch of little boys and their pathetic posturing, all in an effort to cover up for their pitiful amount of masculinity. Come on, guys, the lack of real men here is depressing me, time to leave.”

His face flushed with anger, Gordon went to step forward as if to confront Nicky, but Reynolds held him back. “No, I’m not about to watch you do something that’ll have Coach sign us up for that marathon he’s been threatening us with if there’s another fight.” She waved her left hand in front of his face before she motioned toward a table in the back. “Not in this heat. So let’s just go sit down.”

Gordon allowed her to pull him along even as he continued to glare at Nicky. “You’re lucky she’s here,” he threatened, as if *Nicky* was getting off easy. “We still owe you assholes for Matt.”

“Oh yes, I’m so counting my blessings,” Nicky said, voice thick with sarcasm, as Aaron shoved him toward the door; Neil had his hands full herding Andrew along before his friend did something like throw a chair at the homophobic prick.

They managed to get out onto the street without a fight breaking out, so Neil breathed in relief even if it was hot as hell and humid. “And you say that Andrew’s childish?” he snapped at Nicky.

“Hey, it’s like, a knee-jerk reaction when I see those guys. Gotta hate the haters, ya know.”

“You’re sorta sinking to their level, ‘you know’.” Neil took one look at the stubborn expression on Nicky’s face and knew it was a losing battle. “Just don’t start any fights that’ll get you into any trouble.” Wolfe was going to kill him if he asked her to bail anyone else out that year.

“Got it, no witnesses,” Nicky chirped as he spun around. “Aw, you’re so cute when you show this caring side.”

Neil gritted his teeth and wondered if Andrew would lend him a knife for a minute or two, his hands tearing through his hair as he pondered if insanity was a genetic thing in the Minyard/Hemmick bloodline or if it was a learned trait. Probably genetic, since Andrew had been raised in California…. “Ow!” He glared at his friend for hitting him on the back of the head. “What was that for?”

“I told you, I can tell when you’re making fun of me,” Andrew said as he lit up a cigarette.

Neil was thinking some rather dark thoughts about his friend when Aaron made a groaning noise. “So what, didn’t you say something about us having to run an errand after dinner?” The question was directed toward Andrew.

“Yeah, have to get him another phone.” Andrew motioned with the hand holding the cigarette in Neil’s direction.

“What, again? Sheesh, someone should just buy stock in the company by now, or see about working there to get a discount,” Nicky teased.

“I bet you first dibs on the bathroom in the morning that they know his name by now when we get there,” Aaron told Nicky. “First dibs for the entire week.”

“Oh you’re on,” Nicky said as he held out his hand to Aaron. “It hasn’t been that many times yet, has it?” Aaron just gave him a smug look in return.

This was doing *nothing* for his temper just then, Neil thought as he took to glaring at the two, especially when he had a feeling that Aaron would win the bet. Proving how smart he could be, Andrew just passed over the rest of his cigarette without saying a word, his fingers brushing against Neil’s. Neil focused on the scent of tobacco and Andrew’s warmth as he let the sounds of Nicky and Aaron’s voices fade away, let those things ground him until the anger and anxiety melted away.

That and he was making Andrew pay for the new phone, dammit.

*******

On Sunday, Andrew waited down in the last of the study rooms in the basement of the Fox Tower for Renee to show up; he cleared the room by folding the tables and stacking them against the wall, as well as the chairs. Neil still wasn’t too happy with the idea, but he just told Andrew to be careful since it was clear to him that this was something Andrew was going to do regardless – it wasn’t Andrew he had issues with, but Renee. Well, Neil hadn’t had any issues with him until Andrew had commented on how ‘trusting knife-wielding women’ could be added to the long list of issues Neil suffered from, but Andrew figured that his friend should have calmed down by the time the practice session was over.

Renee came dressed casual for once, in pants, a hooded sweatshirt and old sneakers. Andrew pushed away from the wall when he saw her and called out. “Oh, she came! A woman of her word, what a novelty."

Renee seemed to consider that for a moment. "Honesty, or honest women?"

Yes," Andrew said, just to confuse her while thinking of Neil, and smiled a little when she shook her head and smiled in response. She then unzipped the sweatshirt to strip down to a strappy tank-top, probably for the freedom of movement; he was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt himself, which left his armbands bare. When she turned around to set the sweatshirt on the stacks of chairs, he hummed a little and stepped closer.

“Now that’s unexpected, let’s take a closer look.” He waited to see if she would object, and hooked his finger through one of the straps when she didn’t, mindful touch her skin as little as possible.

There were faint scars along the tops of her shoulder blades that he could see now that he was close enough, but what he’d noticced from across the room were jagged lines of a rough tattoo which formed into wings, almost reptilian in design. Whoever had done it hadn’t been that talented, and it looked as if the design had stretched and faded over the years. "Prison ink?" he hazarded a guess.

"Close," Renee said. "One of the Hounds did it for me. It seemed a good idea at the time."

Andrew let go of her and stepped away now that he’d gotten his answer, unwilling to remain so close any longer, and she turned to face him with an intent expression on her face. "I feel obligated to warn you that I don't fight fair.” Aw, she sounded so serious – was there any other way to fight? “I would rather respect you by giving this my best shot than slow us both down by being a gentile opponent. You don’t have any reservations about fighting a woman, I suspect?"

Nicky was right, she was adorable; Andrew was torn between patting her on the head and throwing up. "Oh, no. Not at all." He bared his teeth at her. “You’ll find that out soon enough.”

"What a relief," Renee said with a tiny smile. “It’ll be more interesting then.”

As if that was a signal, the fight began; Andrew thought that he moved first, but Renee was fast, very fast, so maybe they moved at the same time. All he knew was that Neil had been right to warn him about the girl, because she was indeed good even if she wasn’t as fast as him. That didn’t matter, not when she had the longer reach and was just as vicious. They traded blows back and forth as they both fought to win, neither one of them holding back, neither one of them willing to concede, and damn if she couldn’t dish it out as good as she got.

It wasn’t until he realized that she was pushing him back against the wall where he’d be cornered, that he finally went for one of his knives. Unfortunately, he was so caught up in beating her that he’d forgotten the layout of the room and that the chairs were nearby; she grabbed one of them and smashed it into his side, hooked the legs around his right arm and used that to disarm him before he could slice her open. Next there was an elbow to his chin to slam his head back against the wall, followed by a twist of the chair that threatened to dislocate his shoulder. He didn’t stop to think, just moved with the chair to prevent the damage so he could keep on fighting, could keep from being incapacitated, and the next thing he knew, he was down on the floor with Renee straddling him, a knee to his throat and his right wrist pinned down, a knife to his groan.

“That’s enough,” Renee told him in that annoying, quiet voice of hers. “Stop.”

He stilled at that and gazed up at her without any emotion while she looked down at him, then gave him a slight nod before moving off of him. His skin crawled at the sensation of her touching him, of her being on top of him, but he forced the emotions aside and sat up. For a moment he stared at the knife still clutched in his hand and thought of how little good it had done him.

He was standing up when she spoke again. “You know, your fundamentals are sound, but you might want to draw that sooner if you want to win.” Wasn’t she the helpful one?

That wrung a weak laugh from him. "Against someone other than you, perhaps." Neil had indeed been right, Andrew thought as he held up the knife for her to see before he tossed it aside. "Not sure it would have helped against you.” He would have to think on it some, if it came down to a serious fight between them.

Renee looked over at the abandoned knife and then back at him, at the sharp smile he was giving her. “Why do you have them? They’re not your best style of fighting.” It was obvious that she was curious, yet the question was asked in a soft voice, leaving it up to him to answer.

Andrew debated telling her the truth, and decided why not when she was still so forthcoming. "He liked knives, and I like beating people at their own game." Then he thought about Neil, about why he kept those particular knives. “And they were there for me to pick up, to put to a better use.”

Renee seemed to suck in her breath upon hearing that. “They… the one you showed me, it’s really good quality. Much better than my own. You don’t come across ones like those every day.” Her eyes were bright as she stared at him.

He held his right forefinger against his lips. “Shh. Ask me no more questions and I won’t tell you any lies.”

She went still again and seemed to consider something for several seconds before she gave a slight nod. “If they’re so good then you should use them properly, which means you need more practice. Spar with me again? Not today, of course, but later on. Even if it's just once a week, it'd be better than fighting shadows."

Now they were getting somewhere, but Andrew didn’t accept charity like that. “Give me a reason for your change of heart, Christian Girl.”

 Renee seemed to understand what he was asking as she rubbed at her left arm, which was already bruising. "Do you know why I learned to fight with knives?"

Andrew shrugged, not really concerned about the why, only that she would do what she was offering.

His indifference didn’t seem to put her off, though. "On initiation night to the Bloodhounds, I was raped by its eight officers. Tradition," she said in a casual tone, as if the topic was some every day thing instead of a nightmare. "After that, most of them left me alone, but one took a special interest in me.” Now there was a hint of emotion, just a little, if one knew what to look for, like Andrew did. “He was older than me, and bigger than me, and stronger than me, so I had to find a way to fight him. He also liked knives, so I decided to use them against him. I wanted to beat him at his own game, too."

Ah, so she had been touched by his bit of truth, hadn’t she? That and she might have made the connection to Neil, if she was as clever as he thought. Andrew stepped closer to her, near enough that his knuckles brushed against her chest when he motioned in her direction. “So it all becomes clear now, though there’s a flaw in your story. Friday you said you spent six years with the Hounds. But you were in North Dakota for two and a half years, yes? Either you are very old, or you were very young. Which is it?"

"I am twenty-two," she told him. "I'll be twenty-three in September."

Andrew counted up the years in his head and nodded. "Twenty-one your freshman year. Nineteen when you started your junior year at West Jackson, eighteen when you moved to North Dakota. Two years in the foster system. So you became a Hound at ten years old, Natalie Renee Shields Walker." She seemed impressed that he had remembered everything; what fun it was, to be ‘gifted’ with such an ability.

"Yes," Renee said quietly.

However, how old she was wasn’t the important thing. "Spoil the end of this story for me," Andrew said. "Did you kill him?"

She once again paused as if to consider what should or shouldn’t be said. "Eventually. I knew that sooner or later, it would be him or me and I had to wait until I was certain I could take him.” Considering how she had worn Andrew down until he’d done something stupid enough to let her herd him into the wall, he believed that she would have the patience to do such a thing. “I’m still waiting to feel sorry for it, to repent, but I can’t. That’s why I still have the knives, to remember what I used to be. I may be out of practice, but I remember enough.” She let out a slow breath as she toyed with her necklace. “So do you still want to spar with me?”

Of course he did, since she had just bested him and could teach him how to use Lola’s knives. “You’re the strangest Christian I’ve ever met,” was what he said instead as he went to go pick up the knife he’d tossed aside. “Might not be the wisest thing I’ve done, but I’m sure I’ve made worse decisions.”

Renee shrugged. "You've told me that knife is your last line of defense and that you wouldn't draw it against someone who wasn't strong enough to deserve it. I'm trusting you so that means you won't take what I teach you and hurt my friends. If I am right, then spar with me again."

"You trust too easily,” Andrew told her as he gave her a disgusted look. “I would think that you, more than anyone, would know better.”

“Truly?” She gave him a sweet smile as she went to fetch her sweatshirt. “I think you have a reason for wanting to learn from me, and it has nothing to do with my friends.” She didn’t seem to be offended by his loud scoff, though she did wince as she pulled on the sweatshirt. “I think I’m going to bruise.”

“I weep for your discomfort. Also, I think you’re already bruising.” He pretended to wipe away an imaginary tear.

Her smile widened as if amused by his antics. “Now that we’re done here, will you come with me and talk to Dan and Matt? You really need to get along with them better.”

“I need to do no such thing, and have nothing to say to them.” It had been more than enough to spend an evening with either of them, and he saw no reason to inflict their presences on his person outside of practice.

This time, Renee sighed, some of her eternal calmness slipping a little as they left the room. “Would you at least stop by and see how he’s doing?”

Andrew gave her a flat look for her refusal to drop the matter. “What’s the point? I fail to see how my being there will improve his recovery.”

There was the smallest hint of a frown on her face for a moment, before it smoothed out. “I told you that I was addicted when I was in my last years with the Bloodhounds, that it was the drugs that made me slip up and get arrested. I understand the struggle Matt’s going through now and am best qualified to help him, but Abby and Betsy worry about me being there. They know they need me, but they also are afraid that it’ll trigger a relapse on my part. So why don’t we go together?” She tried the serene smile again. “I can help Matt and you can help me, much like I’m helping you.” Her smile widened as she motioned back at the room they’d just left. “Surely you won’t let me face such terrible temptation alone.”

Andrew glared at her as he worked out a kink in his right shoulder. “Neil was right about you, you’re a fucking menace.” He didn’t say anything else, he just stalked past her to the stairwell and up the stairs so he could go outside, furious at her for trying to manipulate him like that but aware that she was helping him out and so deserved to be helped out in return in order to maintain balance – and had to admit that as much as it pissed him off, she fucking knew how to go about it.

She caught up to him as he was clicking on the remote unlock for the GS, an anxious expression on her face that evened out when she realized that he hadn’t left without her. “I’m going to pick up Neil, not for Matt or anything,” he said as he let her get in the passenger side of the car.

Renee smiled as she slipped into the car, a true smile, not that serene ‘I am nothing that can knife you in the kidney’ shit she tried to peddle most of the time. “Thank you.” Maybe she realized how much she had just pushed right then, because she wisely didn’t bring up anything about Matt or him changing his mind. “I’m sorry about your face.”

He refused to touch his split lip, now that she’d mentioned it, and his left cheekbone and jaw ached enough that he knew there would be bruises soon enough. “I’m not sorry about yours,” he told her, feeling a bit smug about the fact that even though she’d won, she’d end up looking like the loser. As he started the car, he turned the volume of the radio up loud enough to ensure that there wouldn’t be any more lovely conversation until they got to Abby’s house.

Joy oh joy, he noticed that Wymack and Dan were at the house, along with Matt’s mother judging from the rental car. Andrew parked on the street, and upon going up the steps found the front door was unlocked, which pissed him off since anyone could enter. Renee called out as they walked in and went into the living room.

As they entered the room, Randy gave him a slight nod as way of a casual greeting, and of course Dan appeared pissed off that he was there. Wymack looked as if he expected Andrew to cause trouble, while ‘Bee’ just sat there watching. When Matt froze upon seeing him, Andrew gave a slight wave. “I see you’re still a mess,” Andrew told the fuck-up as way of ‘hello’.

Renee was quick to jump in before anyone could say anything. “Hey. We thought we’d stop by and check on you.” She gave Andrew a slight frown when she glanced at him; too bad, he had told her that he was here for Neil. That’s what she got for extortion.

"And did 'we' drag each other here kicking and screaming?" Wymack asked while gesturing up at his own face while looking back and forth between them.

Dan wasn’t so subtle. "Did he hit you?"

"I hit him first," Renee said cheerfully.

"Did not," Andrew countered, then thought back to the start of the fight. "Maybe."

By that point, there was the sound of approaching footsteps and Andrew turned around to see Abby and Neil come up the steps; they had what looked to be baskets of fresh laundry in their hands. “Andrew, you’re done already?” Neil set down a basket of what looked to be sheets and frowned. “Do you need anything for your lip?” His right hand hovered near Andrew’s face but didn’t touch.

Behind Andrew, Renee was talking to Matt, her voice soft but soothing, so Andrew ignored her to step closer to Neil. “Nothing that some ice cream won’t fix, your treat.”

That wrung an aggrieved sigh out of Neil while he shook his head. “Yeah, why not. Let me just put these away and I’ll be ready to go.” He picked up the basket while not too far away, Abby smiled.

When Andrew turned back around, he found Betsy still watching him, except she was smiling now as well, her gaze still intent. Feeling a bit off-center about that, Andrew tugged at his left arm guard and glared at Matt, who was shaking his head from whatever Renee had told him.

"Hurry it up, Boyd,” Andrew said. "Your teammates are so loud when you're not there."

"Andrew," Abby said sharply, her pleased smile from before now gone.

However, by that point Neil was back with his wallet and phone in his left hand, so Andrew just waved off the dirty looks he was getting from Dan, Abby and Wymack as he grabbed onto the front of his friend’s shirt. “Get your own ride back,” he told Renee, certain that Dan would take her back to the Fox Tower, and pulled Neil toward the front door.

“Did you just piss off everyone again?” Neil asked as they made their way to the GS.

“What do you think?”

Neil did the sighing thing again as he dug in his heels. “Am I going to be able to return there tonight?”

Andrew thought about the upcoming week of practice and dealing with shitty teammates, about being stuck in the stadium and how soon enough classes would start before he pulled Neil in close. “Yes or no?”

Neil didn’t even ask what the ‘yes or no’ was for, he just gave Andrew a slight smile and let out a slow breath. “Yes.”

It was such a kick in the gut, each time – no, *every* time – Neil said that. “I bet that I beat your time tonight,” Andrew murmured, his lips scant millimeter’s from his friend’s. “Under four seconds for that lock.”

“Such big talk for a little man,” Neil said, his eyes locked on Andrews lips.

“You’ll be paying for more than ice cream tonight,” Andrew let him know as he pulled away, a slight smirk on his lips at the flash of disappointment on his idiot’s face as he went to open the door to the GS.

Perhaps he could live with the disappointment of having lost to Renee as long as he won at what really mattered.

******* 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of the 'yeah I know, Nora did a great job of covering it in the unpublished story but here's the new POV stuff' chapters, tweaked to include the 'hey, but it's with NEIL in the plotline' stuff (well, mostly - the upcoming stuff will skim over things, barring a scene or two). I just didn't think I could mess with the Renee and Andrew relationship too much, because it was so iconic. You get his viewpoint and a few changes, and there will be stuff moving forward. I hope it didn't disappoint too much.
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are so greatly appreciated (they are!).  
> *******


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I think *this* is the longest chapter now. *whimpers* (let's see how many more times I say that, yeah?) I almost ended it at the last Neil scene, but thought it might be a bit cruel. There's... a lot of drama in this chapter. It is what it is. But that's because there will be time jumping after this one, moving things along the semester (because you know what happens at the end of the semester, methinks).  
> *******

*******

Once Matt came back to the weekday practice sessions at the end of June, all seemed to be forgiven for Andrew, Aaron and Nicky – well, not completely, but enough for them to be able to return to their dorm room. Andrew had the suspicion that his idiot teammates associated the bruises from his fight with Renee to Matt’s return and so thought that Matt and him had gotten into it before going into the lounge or something at the start of that Monday morning’s practice. Andrew didn’t bother to correct them since it wasn’t worth the energy, and since it got the losers off of his, Aaron’s and Nicky’s backs and him into a real bed again.

Oddly enough, Matt didn’t seem to hold a grudge against him or the others about the night at the club, which was also fine with Andrew, especially since Matt was still staying at Abby’s house, now in the spare bedroom since his mother had returned to New York. He was friendly to Neil, which seemed to freak Neil out a bit, who didn’t know what to do with this bored guy who kept asking him if he wanted to watch a movie or go get something to eat when Neil was at the house without Andrew. His presence meant that Neil found a lot of excuses to come hang out at the dorm, especially since Dan spent as much time as she could with her boyfriend. Andrew wasn’t going to complain about that, neither was Nicky, though Aaron could be a sarcastic shit at times.

At least now that the major issues with the Foxes (other than the fact that they were still a bunch of fucked up losers who couldn’t come together to play Exy) were settled for the time being, the four of them were able to create some sort of schedule until classes started – practice during the weekdays and evenings spent with Neil, the exception being when Andrew went off on Wednesdays for his sessions with ‘Bee’ and every other Thursday with his parole officer, Conrad, and weekends in Columbia. They just made sure to be back by late Sunday morning so he could practice down in the basement with Renee; while it was frustrating, how often she beat him, at least he did pick up a lot of pointers from her during each session.

Andrew knew that the other Foxes didn’t understand the odd relationship between him and Renee, especially since Dan and Matt seemed to be keeping quiet about him and Neil; he didn’t know if it was because it touched upon Matt’s stay at Abby’s house or what, and didn’t really care. When Andrew had overheard Reynolds press Renee one day during practice about what was going on between him and her and how Neil factored into things, Renee just gave the other girl one of her annoyingly sweet smiles and said that they were all friends; too bad Neil wasn’t there for that, because his reaction would have been priceless. While Neil didn’t object to Andrew spending time with Renee, he still didn’t feel comfortable in her presence.

Still, even with some sort of ‘normalcy’ going on, if one wanted to call it that, there were still bad spells, and the current week seemed to be headed that way for Andrew. It started with on Sunday, when he had come so close to beating Renee for the first time, until she managed to twist the knife from his hand with a move he hadn’t seen before and that left his fingers tingling in a rather unpleasant way. He was also left with the hollow satisfaction of a follow-up punch to her right cheek, but of course that gave her the opening to press the knife to his abdomen and the fight ended there.

While they parted and took the time to gather their breath and cool down, Renee seemed to decide that it was a wonderful idea to make idle talk. “You’re getting better, you know. You’re really driven.”

Andrew thought about Riko’s last text to Neil, about how the latest ‘crop’ of Ravens were a disappointment and how he looked forward to next year when Neil would ‘liven’ things up, and went to go fetch his dropped knife. “Because you’re mildly decent at this stuff.”

That earned him one of Renee’s serene smiles. “Thank you, I am trying my best.” She took a sip from the bottle of water she’d brought along. “Why don’t you have Neil join us one of these days?” she asked, as if she had somehow read his thoughts; he almost raised his left hand to touch his face to see if his expression had given anything away. “He’s part of the reason you’re doing this, right?”

He leveled the blade in his hand at her when he turned around. “What did I say about asking questions?”

Renee shrugged and tossed him the other bottle of water that she’d brought. “I just thought that it might make him feel more at ease with me. It can’t be easy, him seeing you after these sessions all bruised and everything. And it’s clear that something has him on the edge.”

“It’s a certain Christian Girl with a dubious core,” Andrew reminded her.

That made the serene smile slip, oh no. “I mean other than me,” Renee told him with a hint of reproach. “It’s clear that he’s not like the others, not if you know what to look for. He’s too… *aware*.” She sighed and took another sip. “I was with Dan when she watched the videos of you two playing with your old team, you know. He’s very good on the court, if still a little unpolished. Very fast and agile. The Hounds would love him as a runner.” There was that hint of darkness again as she looked right at Andrew. “They would be able to make something out of him.”

‘They’. Oh, someone was bound and determined to leave her past behind, even as she came down here and played each week. Denial, what a wonderful thing. Yet for all her attempts to move past it, she still brought it up; he had a feeling that she enjoyed being able to talk about it with someone who understood and wouldn’t judge.

 Still, Andrew gave her a sharp smile as he tapped his knife against the lid of the bottle. “Neil’s best offense is his defense, is running. Oh, and he seems to believe it’s his mouth, the idiot.”

“Hmm, he is fast,” Renee agreed. “And that spirit… the Hounds like that. Makes a person interesting as they break you in.” The slightest of shivers ran through her thin frame as she spoke.

Andrew’s face went blank as he mentally agreed; oh yes, a bit of fire only spurred them on, made them all the more eager to break you in, to break you down. Riko knew that, and it made him want Neil all the more, while the damn idiot just kept flaring up and showing the sadistic asshole all that wonderful passion Neil had inside. Andrew knew better, it was why he’d pushed it all down deep inside, why he’d refused to reveal anything for so long until a certain idiot had showed up in one night and dared to be concerned about Andrew, had dared to keep his word.

Unwilling to carry on with the topic, Andrew tucked the bottle of water into the crook of his arm so he could put away the knife, then cracked the seal of the bottle. “I think for now we’ll keep these fun little outings to ourselves, or are you trying to say that I’m boring you?”

Renee smiled as she tucked back a pale strand of hair. “Oh no, definitely not that.” She winced as she flexed her shoulders. “Was just trying to make things a bit easier for you.”

“Why would I go that route this late in life?”

All she did was hum a little, and they drank their water in silence before they went their separate ways.

As if the discussion with Renee was the precursor to a theme, Bee also brought up Neil during their discussion that Wednesday, when Andrew had shown up in a foul mood because of Duncan’s antics during practice that morning – the asshole kept insisting that Andrew was unnecessary to the team, that they didn’t need a third goalkeeper and that it was a waste of time for Andrew to even practice. Considering the pathetic display he was seeing out on court, Andrew knew just where the real waste of skill and energy was, but Wymack refused to bench the coke-addled loser for some reason, so there he was, getting up early in the morning each day and spending useless hours out on court when he could be doing something much better. At least he got a good workout in at the gym.

“So, you seem to spend a lot of time with Neil, are things going well?” Bee looked at him over the rim of her mug of hot chocolate.

Andrew paused in the process of sipping his own drink, and decided to set it down on the coffee table instead. “I believe I’m declaring Neil an off-topic, as of now.” He’d noticed it that one day, when Renee had dragged him off to Abby’s house, the way that Bee had stared at him and Neil.

Bee made an odd little humming sound, which was a bit amusing, considering her nickname. “Off topic in what way, your relationship with him or Neil in general?”

“There is no relationship between us,” he insisted.

“There is a relationship between everyone you have contact with,” Bee said in that calm manner of hers. “We have a relationship in that we interact with each other, we know each other, even if it’s mostly that of a patient and a therapist. So what you’re saying is that you choose to define your relationship with Neil as something other than the normally recognized romantic one?” She tilted her head to the side as she regarded him.

He gritted his teeth together as he gave her a flat look back and motioned between them. “This? We’re not doing this, not when it comes to Neil.”

Bee nodded once. “All right, I recognize the need for boundaries and accept that. I just want to add that he seems like a nice young man, a little quiet from what Abby tells me but very nice. You looked happy with him, and I want you to know if and when you feel comfortable talking about him with me, that you can.”

“This is *not* not talking about him,” Andrew pointed out as he snatched up his mug of hot chocolate. “Which you said we wouldn’t do.”

That made Bee laugh as she nodded again. “All right, end of that topic. Now, why don’t you tell me how things are going with practice lately? If I’m not mistaken, you seemed a little irate today when you arrived?”

She had asked for it, so Andrew decided to vent about Wymack’s stupid loyalty and Duncan, while she just sat there and murmured a little here and there; he knew she was mentally keeping track of everything and would bring it up at some point, but he was learning that Bee was good about letting him vent, about being willing to just talk about things and not making it all about him. There was some sort of purpose to these sessions, he had no doubt, but unlike the other psychiatrists he’d suffered, she wasn’t trying to pry everything out of him or fix him in under ten visits or less. She was… bearable.

To top it all off, there was Dan’s reaction when Neil came over to the Tower that Friday, when they were done with practice and getting ready to head out to Columbia. He went up the stairs with Andrew and when they came out of the stairwell, Dan was in the hallway laughing with Renee and Reynolds. As soon as she saw them, her expression hardened and she stared at Andrew in a challenging manner. “You guys are going out?”

Before Andrew could say anything, Reynolds snorted in derision. “Right, as if the monsters are going to stay in when they can be out causing mayhem.”

Andrew gave her a blank look while Neil stared down the hall, clearly intent to get to the room before something happened. “Why, you want to come along again?” he asked Dan while ignoring Reynolds; behind the two, Renee gave a slight frown.

“Hell no, I can’t imagine the damage you’d do this time.” Dan continued to give him the odd look then shifted her gaze over to Neil. “Maybe Neil should stay home.”

That got Neil’s attention. “What?” He stared back in confusion at Andrew. “Excuse me?”

Had someone taken up their boyfriend’s drug habit or what? Andrew shot a glance Renee’s way, but all she did was give him a shrug before she tugged on Dan’s arm. “Dan, let’s just get ready for dinner, all right?”

Dan ignored her to continue to stare at Andrew as if waiting for his reaction, when all he did was walk past her to give Neil a gentle push to continue down the hallway; he had enough of her control issues on the court, there was no reason dealing with her off of it.

“Seriously, you don’t have to let him boss you around or anything.”

“What the hell is she talking about?” Neil asked in German. “Did you hit her in the head or something today?”

“No, but I’m beginning to regret not having the chance.” He waited until they got to the door and he pulled out the key to unlock it to turn back and look at Dan. “Is there something you want to say to me?” he asked in English

She narrowed her eyes for a moment. “Just that I’m watching now.”

Oh yes, no bench sitting for him next week, because there was a convenient target or two to aim at now. “Wonderful, I feel so loved. Have a nice weekend.” He gave the girls a slight wave before opening the door and allowing Neil inside first.

“What did you do now?” Neil asked once they were inside, a slight quirk to his lips.

“Ha, ha.” Andrew motioned for him to sit down while he went to change, he would have to ask Renee what the hell that was about when he got back on Sunday, since Dan didn’t talked to him about anything outside of Exy ever since Matt’s little relapse.

Aaron and Nicky were already dressed, so it didn’t take long until they were on their way out the door – this time there were just some muttered comments from Duncan and Mazzio about how if they were scoring any good stuff, to bring it back. Aaron gave them the finger as they headed for the stairwell, and they ignored the insults sent their way as a result.

 Neil handled the driving for the night, and after stopping for ice cream and crackers at Sweeties’, they hit Eden’s Twilight as usual. Neil and Andrew held court at one of the tables and watched Aaron and Nicky make fools of themselves out on the dance floor – more Nicky than Aaron – and Andrew had a pleasant buzz of alcohol and cracker dust in his blood by the time they went home. It put to rest a trying week, but not as much as Saturday did, when Nicky insisted on a cook-out to help them celebrate the coming end to their summer, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers and even some fireworks, an evening spent outside by the fire pit while Aaron chided Nicky about not burning the food and Nicky ran around with sparklers while drunk and Neil once again tried to figure out why everyone seemed to like s’mores when they were so messy and sticky and sweet.

Once the worst of the fireworks were set off and he was certain that Aaron and Nicky weren’t in danger of blowing off their hands or another body part, Andrew grabbed Neil by the left wrist and picked up a bottle of vodka, then headed inside to their bedroom where it was quiet. “Okay, time for some shots,” he said as he motioned for Neil to sit on the bed.

That earned him a wary look. “It didn’t turn out so good, the last time you had me get drunk.”

“No drugs tonight, I swear,” Andrew told him as he sat down next to him. “And you don’t have to drink until you pass out.” He just wanted Neil drunk enough to see if that British accent popped out again; there had only been two times in the past when Neil had really become drunk before, the night with Matt and the one New Year’s Eve back in Wisconsin, where it had been noisy and he hadn’t felt like talking much after they’d shared secrets – even then he’d stopped when the alcohol had really kicked in. Neil wasn’t one to drink for the hell of it, and usually stopped when he felt himself losing control. Stopped or fell asleep.

So now Neil eyed the bottle with some trepidation, but knew that Andrew usually didn’t insist that he drink to the point of passing out unless there was some reason for it. “Are you going to ask questions?”

“Hmm, maybe one or two,” Andrew admitted as he undid the lid on top and handed it over. Despite them being together for… was it two years now? Andrew would be nineteen this November, he’d been almost seventeen when Neil had barreled into his life. Funny how the time had flown past, and there were still aspects of each other that they had to uncover. “Go on, drink.”

Neil sighed as he did just that, as he accepted the bottle and raised it to his lips to swallow what was at least a shot or two. When he handed it back, he surged forward until he was almost in Andrew’s lap, his lips just a breath away. “Yes or no?”

Andrew never pushed or gave in when either of them was intoxicated, so he figured that was why Neil was asking now. “Yes,” he said as he set the bottle aside on the night stand, and spent a leisurely few minutes kissing Neil back, enjoying the feel of Neil in his lap, their mouths on each other and hands sliding down each other’s bodies. “That’s not the point of tonight,” he rasped as he pushed Neil off with a firm amount of self-control.

“You… you are so damn annoying at times,” Neil snapped as he grabbed back the bottle of vodka. “What the hell is the point to this?” He glared at Andrew as he drank some more, frustration radiating him plain enough for a blind person to pick up.

This from the guy who didn’t ‘swing’; it was both amusing and gratifying at times, seeing that flush of desire and frustration, of knowing that Neil indeed wanted only him when Andrew knew there were people all too willing to snatch Neil away if given the chance; he knew he was fucked up, that he wasn’t great at this… this… *whatever* it was, between them. He was far from certain that he could give Neil whatever he wanted – what he was *supposed* to give – when it came to what most people expected in relationships, which was why he refused to consider them in one. He wasn’t used to getting what he wanted, and for Neil to still be there, to still want him day in and day out….

Andrew pushed aside those disturbing thoughts as he grabbed the bottle from Neil. “Because I am curious, and I want to know something.”

Neil’s brows drew together upon hearing that. “Know what?”

Andrew had a few swallows before he handed over the bottle and smiled. “Drink some more, and maybe we’ll find out.”

That got him another long-suffering sigh, but Neil did as he’d been bid, and soon enough the vodka started to disappear and Neil got into that sleepy drunk mode. Andrew had to pick conversation topics, began to ask him about what his Uncle Stuart was up to (seemed to be traveling a lot, from the few texts he sent), and Agent Wolfe (she made Neil promise to send him a game schedule once he made it onto the Palmetto High Exy team – Neil was rather confused on why she just didn’t leave it at the monthly check-ins) and how Anna was doing. While Neil prattled on about how Kelci had moved in with Anna and Anna was doing great in school but had apparently dumped a tray on drinks on a customer who had gotten too handsy one night, the British accent began to creep in.

Andrew smiled upon hearing it and made Neil drink a little more, just to encourage it. Neil rolled his eyes as he lifted the bottle to his lips, and once he was done, Andrew screwed back on the lid before tugging Neil down to lay beside him on the bed.

“Wah-what was I saying?” It reminded Andrew of Stuart’s accent, not too ‘posh’ but distinct and easy to understand; it sounded like something he’d heard in television shows and movies, so he assumed it probably wasn’t a more regional accent or anything.

“You were talking about Anna, about how she dumped a bunch of drinks onto the lap of some asshole who felt up her ass.”

“Hmm, yeah, the chav wouldn’t leave her alone.”

Andrew smiled as he combed his fingers through Neil’s hair. “Do you know, you have the most amusing accent right now?”

Neil slowly blinked his eyes at Andrew as if trying to figure out what he said. “Ac-accent?”

“Yeah, British right now.” Another drink or two, and he was certain Neil would fall into that adorable mish-mass of languages again. “You have no clue, do you?”

Neil seemed to consider that for several seconds then scrubbed at his face. “I… don’t… *didn’t*… fuck.” He reached out to pull Andrew closer by tugging on the front of his shirt. “Always used alcohol when we patched each other up, told ya that, right?”

“Hmm, you mentioned it a time or two.” Andrew made Neil let go of his shirt but kept hold of his friend’s hands before he tried something else.

“Yeah.” Neil closed his eyes and seemed to drift off a little. “Mum… my mother… hmmm.” He nudged his head into the pillow a little more. “Why are we talking about this?”

“Do you want to talk about something else?” Andrew didn’t want to know the reasons why – he figured it had something to do with Neil’s British mother and he didn’t really care about the woman, he just liked that lilt to Neil’s voice and knowing he was the only one who got to hear it just then. “Tell me something else.”

So Neil started complaining about what a bastard he was for always ordering vegetables on pizza when Neil hated them and he didn’t think Andrew liked them much, either. And about the phones, how Neil just didn’t understand why Andrew didn’t punch a wall or something, walls were much cheaper to fix than buying new phones, and hey, wasn’t he going to therapy now? Maybe Betsy could figure out – ow, why was Andrew being so mean, his head hurt now, what had he done? Andrew was being an asshole, did he know that? Speaking of assholes, if Aaron finished off the damn milk and put the empty cartoon back in the fridge one more time, Andrew was about to become an only child, dammit….

Andrew lay there beside Neil as he rambled on in a drunken stream of consciousness until his voice faded out and sleep took over, then got up to put the vodka on the dresser and take off his jeans. He decided to leave Neil alone for the time being rather than risk waking him up, and after getting ready for the night, returned to the bed and curled up beside him in their bed. For a lousy week, it had a pretty good end.

*******

Neil did his best to calm his nerves as he got ready for his first day of class – the first time he would be going to a new school without Andrew by his side. He dressed in the outfit that Nicky had made him promise to wear, a pair of jeans that weren’t two sizes too big and a long-sleeved t-shirt that wasn’t old and fraying, but something that Andrew had insisted that wasn’t too ostentatious.

Abby was in the kitchen and had a cup of coffee waiting for him, as well as an offer for breakfast that he was too nervous to eat; she handed over a cereal bar instead. “You’ll do fine,” she said with an encouraging smile. “You look great, and David said that J.B. is looking forward to you joining the team. So relax and just… this is your senior year. It’s supposed to be fun, all right?”

According to whom? Neil had never understood that logic, and to him, this year was only about him getting signed on to a university Exy team that wasn’t the Ravens, that was all. “Uhm, okay.” He held up his right fist and made a slight pumping motion, feeling as if he had to do something to acknowledge Abby’s attempt to cheer him up. “Yay?”

She rolled her eyes and tapped his mug. “Drink up and go get them.”

“Okay.” That seemed as if it was something he could do.

Once he was done with the coffee and tucked the bar into his messenger bag, he finished getting ready so he could head out the door; he knew that Abby had to get to the stadium and his classes would start soon.

So he grabbed his bag and the keys to the Nissan, then called out to Abby that he was leaving; he was out the door and almost to the car when it hit him, that something was wrong, that the Nissan was different. He stood there beside it as all the black and red stickers along the silver vehicle registered, the decals for the Edgar Allen Ravens on the front and back bumpers, on the hatchback window and the side back windows.

Something akin to shock rocked through him, soon turning into anger, and he stepped forward with shaking hands to pick at one of the stickers, nails scrambling at the edge as his breath quickened. Whoever had put it on had smoothed it down so that none of the edges stood out, that there was nothing to grab, and he was cursing in several languages before long and then his fist smacked into the glass. It was then that he forced himself to step back, to calm down; he couldn’t risk breaking the glass, to damage the car or his hand, and he couldn’t be late for the first day of class. So he gritted his teeth as he opened the door and started the car so he could drive away before Abby noticed anything.

Palmetto High was… it was high school. After Racine and Columbia, he was getting used to it, the whole ‘normal’ school experience after being on the run for so long, and kept his head down as he found his locker and his home room. There were a few curious looks and friendly smiles, a few people who introduced themselves to him and to whom he gave his name and a slight nod and nothing else.

He had managed to find a table to himself during lunch to eat something since he’d never had any breakfast when two guys came to a stop on the other side of it; one of them had a stocky build and a dark complexion, another was tall with broad shoulders. “You’re Neil Josten, right?” the first one asked.

Neil set aside his sandwich and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah?” There was an exit off to the left of the room, in case there was any trouble.

Stocky guy smiled and set his tray down on the table, while tall guy followed suit. “I’m Tris, this is Kelly. We’re on the Exy team.” Once they were seated, Tris motioned between them. “Dealer and backliner.”

“Okay.” Neil still waited for them to explain the point of all of this.

Tris winced a little. “Yeah, heard you were the talkative type. We also heard that you’d switched school districts, and figured you’re going to try out for the team, right?” When Neil gave a careful nod, Tris smiled. “Great! We couldn’t beat the Caps last year because of you and that goalkeeper, but if you’re with us? We’ll be sure to move on to semifinals!”

“I heard he signed with the Foxes, right? Minyard?” Kelly said, his voice a deep rumble as he shook his chocolate milk. “Guess that’s why you’re here? Heard you guys were like foster brothers or something.”

“Something like that,” Neil agreed with a carefully blank expression.

“Well, we’re just happy that you’re here with us now.” Tris poked at something green on his plate and winced before picking up a slice of pizza. “Coach Lee told us you might be coming, but I didn’t put much stock in it until I saw the car with the Ravens stickers on it. That’s you, right?” He looked at Neil while he took a bite of his lunch and didn’t seem to notice Neil’s slight wince.

“Yeah, all the talk is that you’re pretty much signed with them,” Kelly continued for them. “Must be nice – I’m busting my ass to get into a school like UT or something. Hell, I’ll be happy if Baylor signs me, as long as I get a free ride.”

Any appetite Neil had was gone in an instant once he heard the word ‘Ravens’; he pushed his own lunch aside and fought the urge to tug on something, to tug on the cuffs of his t-shirt or his hair or to… to get out of the chair and run. “It’s… it’s just a prank,” he muttered as he forced his hands flat out on the table. “A… a friend,” the word felt bitter in his mouth but he was too used to lying at this point to falter, “thought it was funny to put them on the car.”

Tris shrugged as he finished the pizza. “Nothing to be ashamed of, I’m jealous as fuck because I know the Ravens won’t consider me – at least not right now.” He grinned at Neil as he picked up the cup of pudding on his tray. “But hey, now that we have you, maybe we can raise our stats and have a chance at the district championship. Give us all something to work on, yeah? Maybe by next year we’ll have something to show those recruiters.” He shared that grin with Kelly.

“Fuck yeah,” Kelly agreed. “Only way to go is to go up!” The two of them took to chatting while Neil just sat there, doing his best to remain still, to stay seated and not give in to the urge to do something stupid. He could imagine Riko’s hands tightening on him, on his neck, his shoulders…. No, he had to stop, he had to have faith that Andrew was planning something to keep him from ending up in the Nest.

Tris and Kelly continued to talk back and forth with the occasional short answer from Neil, and by the end of the period, he had the feeling that he was stuck with them – they had pestered him about his class schedule and informed him about theirs and those of the other ‘Mustangs’. Try-outs would be the following week, but considering that they’d lost two strikers because of the players graduating… yeah, Neil was told it would be a formality on his part.

By the end of the day he just wanted to go find Andrew and the others, to feel Andrew’s strong, calloused hand on the back of his neck as it helped center him while Nicky did something outrageous and Aaron called all of them on their shit. As soon as classes were done he was out of the parking lot, and it was as he passed a store that sold various ‘spirit’ goods for Palmetto State that an idea occurred to him. He pulled over and went inside, and after a few minutes came back out with several decals bearing the Palmetto State Foxes’ paw prints and distinctive colors.

There weren’t enough to cover all of the Ravens decals, and he got a few strange looks as he went about overlapping the red and black stickers, but he felt better once it was done; later he’d check Abby’s house for something to cut through the adhesive on the rest of the stickers and remove them, but for now it was good. That taken care of for the moment, he dared to do something he’d put off since the morning and fetched his phone from out of his bag.

Of course there were a couple of texts from Andrew, the last one rather displeased that Neil hadn’t answered him back all day; Neil sent him a quick reply that he was on his way. There were also a couple from Nicky, including a warning that Andrew was not happy with him at the moment. From this morning there was the now dreaded hidden number text, and Neil took a deep breath before he tapped on it to read what Riko had sent.

‘that choking sensation is the rope of destiny around your neck, and I hold the other end’

Neil breathed in and out several times to keep himself from shouting in rage at the… the… what the fuck did Riko think he was doing? Did he think this was going to break Neil? To make him come crawling to Edgar Allen? When his hands stopped trembling, he took a picture of the Nissan, of the Foxes stickers, and attached it to the reply back to Riko.

‘again with the sick fantasies. spend less time trying to fuck up my life and go fuck yourself instead’

That done, he got in the car, tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and headed to Fox Tower so he could wait for Andrew, Nicky and Aaron to finish with their practice for the day and join him.

*******

Andrew knew that there’d been another incident when Neil was just getting out of the Nissan as Nicky pulled the GS into the parking lot of Fox Tower; thanks to the insane idiot’s driving, they were the first ones to make it back to the dorms from their afternoon practice session.

Now that classes had started, the parking lot was full of other cars, so Andrew and Nicky had taken to parking the GS toward the back left corner, which was usually less crowded. Neil tended to park the Nissan there as well, so he could leave with them if they went out together and so no one bitched about a non-resident taking up any prime spots.

He had a too-blank expression on his face and Andrew noticed that his fingers appeared reddened, and the Nissan was a bit too clean. “Show me your hands,” Andrew snapped as soon as he got out of the car.

Neil heaved a loud sigh but obeyed as his teeth sunk into his bottom lip; his fingers were indeed red as if irritated and his nails were ragged, some of them worn down by something. “Been busy scrubbing something off?” Andrew asked as he held out his right hand. “Hand over the damn phone, and if you answered him back then I’m making you go twenty minutes with Renee.”

There was a flinch at the threat – no, a promise, which Andrew had thrown at his idiot when Neil had shown up on Monday with a decal-covered car and a phone buzzing with furious texts from a livid Riko, half of them in Japanese. As a means of discouraging Neil from ‘feeding the monster’, so far it seemed to be working… but it was the third time this week that the Nissan had been plastered with Ravens’ decals. Andrew didn’t know who the hell Riko had hired to sneak into Abby’s yard during the night to do it, but they were good enough to not set off the car’s alarm or wake anyone up.

“Can we just… I don’t want to get into this right now, okay? Abby’s asking questions and I’m about to get rid of the damn car and take the bus every day.” Neil had that wild look in his eyes, the one where he started calculating the nearest exits and roads, the one right before he would let out a burst of speed, so Andrew just handed the phone over to Aaron and reached out to grab onto his idiot’s shirt to give it a shake.

“What did I say about not letting him get into your head, hmm?” He waited until Neil let out a slow breath and nodded. “Come on, it’s hot as fuck out here, let’s go inside.” The others Foxes were arriving from practice and had pulled into the parking lot, heading closer to the building.

“Okay.” Neil was quiet after that and seemed calm, but Andrew would keep an eye on him, would watch to see if he needed to take him out later and have him run off some of that nervous energy; Andrew wondered if this wasn’t part of Riko’s plan, to keep pushing and pushing until Neil did something stupid and rash like run so the Moriyamas would have an excuse to take away his freedom. Like fuck he’d let that happen.

They had just gotten up to their floor with Nicky chatting all the while about how they should make it a movie night, how they could order out for some Chinese take-out and put on a movie and just blow off homework because it was the first week of class, it didn’t count no matter what Aaron said; most of the time Nicky’s prattle annoyed Andrew, but he could tell that Nicky was doing his best to distract Neil and calm him down, so Andrew let it be, especially since it seemed to be working.

Arnolds, Gordon and Reyes were coming down the hallway from the elevators, and they scowled when they noticed Andrew and the others. “What the fuck? Are you guys such losers that you can’t find anyone else to hang with other than a high-schooler?

Nicky draped himself over Neil’s back and smiled at the assholes, the expression a bit too sharp. “It’s not age that’s important, it’s quality, and Neil here is worth a dozen of you, at least.”

Reyes grimaced at that. “What, he another fag, too? That why we never see you guys with any girls?”

As ‘amusing’ as a bout of homophobia could be – oh wait, not – Andrew had better things to do that night. “Don’t the three of you have brain cells you should be killing off right now?” he asked as he jabbed the dorm room’s key into Nicky’s left arm to make him get off of Neil. “And it’s not like we see the female population breaking down your door, either.” About then, another elevator arrived with Dan, Matt, Renee and Reynolds.

“Just what the fuck are you implying?” Arnolds took a step forward, as if he thought he could intimidate Andrew with his height – or at all. “I’m not a fag!”

“You’re not much of anything,” Andrew informed him.

“Listen, you little bastard,” Arnolds sputtered, his right hand swinging back as if to punch, but Dan was between them before he could throw it.

“No. *No*. You do not start this shit, do you understand me? No fighting!” She glared at all of them as she held her hands out. “We haven’t even had a game yet, but do you want to get benched?”

“They started it,” Gordon claimed in a sullen voice as Matt began to herd his roommates down the hall, toward their room.

“Yeah, because calling us losers and all that was being *nice*,” Nicky insisted as he gave Gordon the finger.

“Let it go,” Matt urged. “Come on, didn’t we talk about going to Julianno’s for dinner? Let’s go get ready – it’ll be my treat.” That got the homophobic pricks to clear the hallway, finally.

However, that left Andrew and his people standing with an irate Dan. “Why can’t you get along with anybody? Is it really that much to ask for?”

And just like that, it was Andrew’s fault, wasn’t it? Story of his life. “Do you really think me and mine are going to take their abuse just to make you feel better?” He sneered at her while Neil, Aaron and Nicky gathered around him. “Try again.”

Dan threw her hands up in the air while Reynolds seemed to find the conversation amusing; off to the side, Renee was watching Andrew carefully, in a protective manner over her friends. “You can at least try, you know! It’s called the middle ground!”

Nicky let out a loud scoff. “There’s no middle ground with assholes! Get them to stop calling me a ‘fag’ all the time and maybe we can work on it from there.”

“I thought you were out and proud,” Reynolds shot back as she flicked the painted nails of her right hand in Nicky’s direction.

“I am,” he told her with that sharp grin. “How would like it if I started calling you a spoiled fucking bitch each day, hmm?”

Renee was quick to step in to grab Reynolds before she lunged too far at Nicky. “I think he made a rather valid point, myself. Labels can be rather insulting, no?”

“Let me show him how ‘spoiled’ I really am!”

Dan’s glare at Andrew increased while Renee calmed Reynolds down. “Do you even care about how you’re tearing this team apart?”

He gave her a slight smile in return. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – what team? It was in pieces long before I got here.” Beside him, Aaron grunted in agreement.

“Is she going to keep you out here forever?” Neil asked in German. “This is ridiculous, blaming you for everything.”

“But it’s so convenient, having someone else take the fall as a reason for this team being an utter failure,” Andrew explained back in the same language while Dan seemed to become even more pissed off and Renee had the audacity to send him a pleading look. “She just can’t accept-“

At that point, there was a familiar chirping sound coming from Aaron’s back pocket, which caused Neil to noticeably flinch; it wasn’t a given that Riko had texted just then, but the four of them were together and Anna didn’t usually bother Neil during the week since school had started back up.

Enough of this shit, Andrew decided as he reached out to calm down his friend by touching the back of Neil’s neck and also a way to get him to turn toward their door; however, Dan’s eyes narrowed and she threw out her left arm to stop them. “Enough,” she snapped as she stared at Neil. “Why do you let him do this to you? Are you really that afraid of him?”

Neil stopped so fast that Andrew ran into him, and behind them both, Nicky could be heard mumbling “What the *fuck*?”

“Exactly,” Neil said as he gaped at Dan. “What are you talking about? *Who* are you talking about?”

“Dan,” Renee said as she tugged on girl’s other arm. “You really need to come into the room right now, this is a big mistake.”

Andrew caught that and sent Renee a warning look; when he had asked her about Dan’s odd behavior, she had just shaken her head and said that she didn’t know that one time, and then never gotten back to him on it. “What, pray tell, is a ‘mistake’?”

Dan shrugged off Renee’s hold and gave him a cold look. “You doing whatever it is you’re doing to Neil – the bossing him around in German, the never letting him be alone, dragging him out and making him get drunk. You think I don’t know the signs of an abusive relationship?”

Aaron took to laughing while she talked while Nicky stared at her as if she was insane; beside her, Reynolds had a smug look on her face and Renee went on guard, well aware of how that accusation would come across to Andrew.

“I’m warning you now,” Dan continued. “You either stop it, or I’m going to Coach and you’re gone.”

“She’s fucking nuts,” Nicky muttered with a shocked expression while Aaron stopped laughing.

Before Andrew could do anything - he was calculating how long he had to take Dan out before Renee would step in – Neil stepped up, his face flushed and hands clenched into fists. “You won’t do *anything*,” he spat out, chin lifted to look up at her, he was that close. “Because you’re so fucking *wrong* it’s… it’s….”

“Insane,” Nicky helped out.

“More than that.” Neil swiped his right hand through the air and let out a sudden breath. “You don’t know anything, don’t know shit about me and Andrew and everything’s he’s done, you just make these fucked up calls because you’re pissed off over what happened with Matt. Well here’s me, the person you don’t know anything about, the person you think he’s… god, I can’t fucking look at you and think about what you said. Mind your own fucking business!”

Dan stared at Neil while he shouted at her – the most he’d ever spoken to her, period - brown eyes gone wide and face slack with surprise, and several of the doors in the hallway opened up as people poked their heads out to stare at the ruckus; Matt was one of them, and he even stepped out into the hallway when he noticed Dan. Renee gave the people a slight wave as if to say ‘it’s all right’, then turned her attention back to Neil as he started swearing in German and spun away from a shell-shocked Dan, grabbed onto Andrew’s left arm and yanked him down the hall. Andrew allowed him that contact and merely smirked at Dan as they went, then held up the key to open the door.

“Well, that was mildly amusing,” he remarked as Neil stomped about in the room, still swearing in German and now French, while Aaron pulled out his phone to take a video of it.

“Verdamnt-“

Nicky eyed Neil for a moment as he brushed back his bangs. “Think he’s going to calm down any time soon?”

“Give him about ten minutes or so.” Andrew held out his right hand to his twin, and Aaron handed over Neil’s turned off phone while still taking the video; Neil was too busy letting off steam to notice, which was good. In fact, the one good thing about the whole ‘let’s slander Andrew and call him an abuser’ mess was that Neil seemed to have forgotten all about Riko for the time being.

“Hmm, think you should try getting some more shots into him tomorrow, seems like he’s been wound a bit too tight lately.” When Andrew turned to give Nicky a flat look, his cousin just shrugged. “I mean, he’s still going strong and all.” He motioned at Neil, who had taken to kicking a bean bag chair. “That or Aaron and I can leave for an hour or two.”

“That or I can just pay a visit to Edgar Allen and end the main problem right then and there,” Andrew said as he held up the phone in his hand.

“I didn’t hear that,” Aaron called out as he finally put his phone away. “And you’re not getting arrested and leaving me with this reject team.”

Nice to see where Aaron’s brotherly concern lied. “Wait, who’s getting arrested?” That seemed to cut through Neil’s anger. “No more arrests, lawyers are expensive.” His cheeks were flushed and his bangs fell into his eyes with a slight curl, they were growing so long.

Most people would ask about ‘why’ someone was getting arrested, or what they were plotting, but not Neil. Andrew took that as a sign to grab his friend and pull him out of the room. “We’ll be back in a bit,” he told the other two, while all Neil did was blink a little and go along.

Andrew waited until they got upstairs to the rooftop to say anything. “Are you going to calm down now?”

Neil seemed to think about it for a moment. “If things can stop being fucked up for ten minutes, then yeah, I’m good.” He held out his right hand and at first, Andrew thought that he wanted his phone back, but then he realized that Neil was asking for a cigarette. “I just don’t understand why people can’t leave us the hell alone.”

“Well, when you-“

That got him a hand in front of his face. “You say something about feeding monsters right now and I’ll reconsider that freaking out shit,” Neil warned him, but there was a twist to his lips just then.

Andrew gave him a slight scowl in return and handed over a lit cigarette. “Learned your lesson yet?”

Neil didn’t say anything at first, he just sat down on the edge of the roof and peered down to the ground below. “Why don’t you come over here and join me and find out?”

“Very funny.” Yet Andrew did sit beside him, the familiar thrill of fear running through him as it hit him, how far above the ground he was. “Ready to throw me over?” He stared at Neil as he lit a cigarette for himself.

“Hmm, I’m debating it.” Yet it wasn’t that frightening smile on Neil’s face just then, or a blank look, just one that was rather contemplative. “You think Wilds is going to leave you alone now?”

Andrew thought about it as he drew in a few puffs of nicotine. “I think you gave her something to consider.” He stared out over the campus and pulled out his own phone; he noticed how Neil gave a sharp look at that, then relaxed when he realized it wasn’t his phone. Someone was being careful not to bring up what was going to happen to it, wasn’t he? Andrew was willing to ignore the topic for now if it meant that Neil kept behaving.

He sent out a text while Neil inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and the two of them sat in silence for the next few minutes, until there was a faint knock on the door leading back downstairs before Renee slipped through it to join them. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a clip and she was dressed in sweats, as if she planned to spend the night in her room.

“Ah yes, just the person to answer our questions.” Andrew flicked the cigarette butt off the side of the building and gave Renee a fake smile. “Are you willing to tell me the truth now?”

She gave a slight twitch at that, but didn’t look away as she approached. “I told you, I’m trusting you not to use what you learn against my friends. I was worried if I told you what I found out from Dan, that you would do just that.”

Oh, wasn’t that encouraging. “Just tell me what idiotic thought Wilds got into her head,” Andrew ground out as he turned around enough on the ledge to face Renee. “I assume it has something to do with me hurting Neil.” Beside him, Neil stilled, as he always did when Renee was nearby, and fixed his attention upon her.

Renee noticed that and made sure to stand closer to Andrew than to Neil. “Back when Matt was still going through with withdrawals, I don’t know if Neil remembers this, but Dan caught a glimpse… well, I guess he bears a few scars?”

Neil stiffened upon hearing that and grabbed the neck of his shirt. “Her and Abby,” he murmured as he frowned. “Abby asked me about them, and I told her not to say anything. I forgot about Dan.”

A ‘few scars’, that was one way of putting it. Andrew clicked his tongue as he gave Neil a displeased look for not mentioning the incident to him. “So what, she thinks I did that to him?”

“I don’t think so, she didn’t tell me that, but she figures that Neil’s been abused and she….” Renee let out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her cross necklace between her fingers. “You told me that you know about her past, so you can guess that she has some issues with people being used by their partners.” Once again, her gaze flickered toward Neil. “From what I can tell, she wants to make sure that you’re not doing that to him. He doesn’t have any friends other than you, your brother and cousin, he didn’t react well to Matt talking to him and Dan doesn’t trust you anymore.” She sounded a bit regretful at that last part.

“And add to all that the fact that you and fight all the time, hmm?” Andrew added as he lit another cigarette.

That brought a slight curl to her lips. “I don’t think she believes me when I tell her that I win, and that I’m fighting you by my own choice.” She shrugged a little as she let go of the cross. “She meant well.”

“So did the missionaries who brought all those wonderful fatal diseases to the indigenous tribes along with their sparkling new faith, I’m sure,” Andrew told her with a huge smile. “Yet we know how that went.”

That earned him a displeased look from Renee and a tug on his sleeve from Neil. “She’s not going to interfere anymore,” Renee said as she folded her arms over her chest. “Neil’s reaction convinced her otherwise, and I told her that if she still has any doubts, to talk to Abby. Is that good enough for you?”

“No, is it good enough for *you*,” Andrew insisted. “Because if she meddles again, I’m not going to do nothing that time. Understand?” He caught Neil’s hand and held it in his own, held the fingers tight as a warning for Neil to keep quiet. Nails bit into his flesh as a result, but then Neil stilled.

Renee held his gaze for several seconds before she nodded. “I understand, you won’t condone a threat like that again.” There was a flash of that familiar darkness before she ducked her head. “But please understand that she’s one of mine, and I do what I must to protect her, too.”

“Then do a better job of nipping such stupidity in the bud next time,” Andrew conceded, “and we’ll be fine.”

Renee grimaced as she unfolded her arms. “I thought I had. Dan can be stubborn, especially when she’s doing what she thinks is right.” She shifted her gaze at Neil. “She didn’t mean any harm, honest. She thought she had your best interest at heart.”

Neil glanced at Andrew then shook his head. “But she didn’t, not this time.”

“No,” Renee agreed. “Not this time. I think she’s beginning to realize that now.” She looked back at Andrew and smiled. “Same time on Sunday?”

“Yes.” They had cleared the air between them, and in the end the fault lay with Dan Wilds; there was no reason to stop the practice or anything else.

“Good.” Renee gave a small little wave and went back downstairs, her steps lighter than before, and Andrew finally let go of Neil’s hand.

“Forget something like that again and I’ll make you practice with her *and* me.”

Neil closed his eyes as he scooted closer. “Is this going to become a thing or something? Because there’s this nice ledge here I should just take advantage of and everything.”

“Fucking drama queen,” Andrew sneered before he took one more drag on his cigarette and sent it the way of the other, before threading his fingers through Neil’s hair and tugging him in closer for a brief kiss.

“Look who’s talking,” Neil murmured as he pulled away with a smile. “And I’ve reconsidered – not high enough to do any real damage.”

“Yet you were perfectly willing to throw me off of it not so long ago,” Andrew reminded the idiot as he gave those soft strands a sharp tug.

“Hmm, not about to bury your body, remember?” Neil’s smile just then was wicked enough to make Andrew’s heart race in a way that had nothing to do with fear. “Nothing wrong with a little maiming.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he got up from the ledge, and made sure to drag Neil along with him. “I think a certain someone has just signed himself up to sit through Nicky explaining his most favorite movie ever.” He smirked when Neil’s eyes widened. “Prepare yourself for the joy that is Xanadu. Complete with Nicky singing along. And making *you* sing and dancing along.” Aaron had told him about the horror, now he got to watch as it was inflicted upon Neil.

Neil’s smile was wiped away as the blood drained from his face. “Su-singing?” He tried to dig in his heels and not be dragged along, but Andrew spent his days lifting weights heavier than his friend, there was no winning that battle. “Uhm, no, I think I need to go back to Abby’s, there’s homework that has to be done, laundry and- hey, let go!”

Andrew ignored Neil’s excuses and pleas as he hauled his idiot downstairs to meet his fate while being sworn at in four different languages.

*******

The first thing Neil did upon waking up Monday morning was check out in the driveway to make sure that the Nissan hadn’t been vandalized yet again, and stared in disbelief when he found out that it remained free of Ravens decals; he blinked a few times to make sure that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, then hurried to get ready for school. It would be a busy day, since he had try-outs for the Mustangs’ Exy team in the afternoon.

At least he had a good, mostly stress-free weekend to help put him in the right mood, Thursday night’s ‘torture’ aside – he’d left the Fox Tower cursing all three of the bastards, Nicky for having horrid tastes in movies, Andrew for inflicting Nicky on him, and Aaron for laughing at him while Nicky hauled Neil up out of a beanbag chair and did his best to re-enact scenes from that travesty of a film. Neil had debated getting even by leaving them at Eden’s Twilight on Friday, but he just didn’t have it in him to be that cruel (that and Andrew seemed to suspect something and wouldn’t let him out of his sight). Saturday had been the annoyance of getting a new phone, since he’d been borrowing Andrew’s since Thursday night, but Nicky had thrown another backyard cookout so there had been hamburgers and sparklers and sitting by the fire pit while watching the fireflies light up the dark yard with Andrew next to him. Neil had hated leaving on Sunday, even if he had some homework to do, and had a quiet dinner with Abby where she told him some interesting stories about her years at university.

So yes, he was a bit suspicious that Riko seemed to have given up on the car, especially when there are no new texts. Something was coming, but maybe it would be in a few days or even a week or two, like in the past. Maybe Riko was taking his time to build up to something.

Neil really should have known better.

He had just showered and shaved off the faint stubble on his chin when there was a knock on the bathroom door. “Neil? There’s a package for you on the kitchen table.”

Confused over what it could be, Neil finished drying off before he answered. “Okay, be there in a minute.” Maybe that one lawyer friend of Wolfe’s – Iorio – had found some more out about Neil’s father’s estate and sent some paperwork. He didn’t want to start the day thinking about Nathan Wesninski, but if he could put the money to use for his and Andrew’s future… whatever it took. Especially if it protected them from the Moriyamas in some way.

As soon as he was dressed, he left the bathroom and went into the kitchen, where Abby was dressed for the day as well in a pair of blue slacks and a white short-sleeved blouse and had a cup of coffee waiting for him. “It’s some sort of special courier,” she explained as she waved at the box.

Neil frowned when he saw it, because it was a bit large for paperwork and it didn’t have a return address. After fetching a knife from the utility drawer, he examined the box and lifted it with care, but it didn’t feel heavy enough for a bomb or something like that, it didn’t rattle in a suspicious manner.

“Neil?”

Telling himself that he was being unduly paranoid and would freak Abby out if he told her to leave the room for her safety, he steeled himself and cut open the box. There was red wrapping paper inside of it, which he pushed aside to reveal something black with red on it. He hesitated for a moment, and then lifted out what was a black leather jacket with red accents and a stylized red ravens on the sleeves and front right, along with the name ‘Moriyama’ and the number ‘1’ on the back.

It was an official Ravens jacket, the type worn by the team when traveling, off the court or when doing publicity, and he could tell from the faint wear to it that this had been used, that this had belonged to Riko. His hands clenched in the thin, supple leather with the desire to tear it apart – and then there was a ringing sound.

“Is there a phone in there, too?”

Neil almost dropped the jacket as he realized that the ringing was from inside the box, the same time that Abby spoke up. Even as his instincts told him to ignore the phone, to just shove the jacket back in the box and then throw it away, to burn it, he swallowed with a throat gone dry and dug through the tissue paper to find the phone before it stopped ringing.

He didn’t say anything, he just accepted the call and held the device up to his ear and waited for whatever it was Riko was about to drop on him.

“It’ll fit, you do take after your mother that way, after all,” Riko said, his voice smooth with smug satisfaction.

“I won’t know, considering it’s about to be thrown in the fireplace,” Neil told him.

“Ah yes, your mother’s stature and your father’s temper, what a lovely combination.” Neil flinched upon hearing that. “You’ll have that much farther to look up at me when I finally break you and make you kneel before me.”

“Speak fast,” Neil told him as he turned his back to Abby so he could leave the room; he didn’t want her to overhear this. “Because the phone will be joining the jacket.”

“I don’t think so – I think I’ve figured something out,” Riko said, still smug despite Neil’s threat. “You’re going to wear that jacket or else your mutt is going to suffer.”

Neil stumbled on his way to his room. “What? That’s it, I think your ego has finally swollen up to the point that it’s choked off the oxygen to your brain. You need to get that looked it, and soon.” He struggled to control the panic inside of him, to calm down; Riko couldn’t mean anything by that ‘mutt’ comment.

“Oh, but I do. Let me explain while I still have your attention – there’s no telling when a certain mutt will interrupt us, and that will be very, very bad… for him.” Riko was all but purring, sounding entirely too pleased just then. Neil slipped into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him, then slumped against it. “It’s very interesting, our dear Ravens’ fans. They come from all walks of life, from all over the country, the world.”

“Is there a point to this, other than the fact that you get off on the sound of your own voice?” Neil dropped the jacket to the floor and stepped on it as he slid down, his head held cradled in his left hand.

Some of Riko’s smugness faded. “So very defiant even now. I do so hope you don’t disappoint me, Nathaniel, when I have you bleeding and screaming before me.”

“Get to the fucking point,” Neil gritted out. “Some of us have things to do today besides act all psycho.”

“Next summer can’t come soon enough,” Riko swore, and then let out a slow breath. “Our Ravens fans,” he continued after a moment. “I was telling you about them, and one in particular. One from the fair city of Oakland, California. One who spent two years at a lovely facility known as Wayward Burns. Perhaps you’ve heard of it, mmm?”

Neil felt a pain in his chest and had to struggle to breathe for a few seconds before he could answer. “What about it? I’m still waiting for some big reveal here.” That didn’t come out as even as he’d hoped.

Riko laughed, the sound grating to Neil’s ears. “Nice try, Nathaniel. Since you are so worried about time – yes, your classes start soon for the day, don’t they? – let me make this simple for you. This fan is only too willing to post on our forums everything he knows about that mutt of yours, about the charges you’ve been clever enough to bury, the vicious fights he got into with other residents, the illegal drug use – everything he did while at that charming facility. He’ll also mention everything that your mutt discussed at group therapy, or that the staff attempted to make him discuss since we know what a cooperative soul he can be at times, and how he was required to see therapists who specialized in cases of… hmm, shall we say certain traumas?” Riko paused as if to let that sink in. “Do you want your mutt’s sordid past to be known like that? To be aired right before this season starts? The Foxes are known to be a unique bunch, but wouldn’t that be a bit much? What do you think?”

“I think you’re making me want to come to Edgar Allen just so I can shove your own racquet down your damn throat, you sadistic fuck,” Neil ground out as he envisioned Riko’s neck clenched between his own hands.

His teeth snapped together when Riko laughed at the threat. “Oh yes, definitely your father’s temper.” Neil flinched again at the comparison, and it wouldn’t surprise him if somehow Riko knew how much the jab hurt. “But remember, your father *gave* you to me. You’re mine.” The amusement was gone from Riko’s voice.

“No, I belong to-“

“You are *mine*,” Nathaniel,” Riko repeated, and Neil shivered at the hint of madness to those words, the utter conviction behind them. “And if you don’t want everyone to know just how broken and filthy your mutt is, you are going to listen to me. Do you understand?” When Neil didn’t say anything, Riko gave a slight huff. “That’s a start. You are going to show everyone who you belong to, as of today. You will take that jacket, and you will wear it. It will be on your person at all times, barring Exy practice and games, of course. If word gets back to me that you are out in public and aren’t wearing it… well, those posts go up. Do you understand?”

Neil’s fingers bit into the palm of his left hand as he forced himself to answer. “Yes.” He understood that this was something that he had to do in order to protect Andrew, and that was it.

“If something happens to the jacket, I will be very, *very* displeased. Be sure to pass that along to the mutt, and no getting inventive with it, as you did in the past week. Understand?”

“Yes,” Neil muttered again.

“See, is that so difficult?” Riko sounded too pleased with himself just then. “You will learn, Nathaniel, and I will take great pleasure in making you learn. Now run along, you’ve got a lot to do today. Continue to do well with your Japanese classes so we can speak properly in the future.” With that, Riko disconnected the call.

Neil stared at the phone in his hand as it was a venomous creature for a moment or two, half-expecting Riko to call him back, before he threw it across the room. He panted heavily, hands clenched into fists, as he struggled to calm himself down, to accept what Riko had said, what Riko had done, what he would have to do for Andrew - *fuck*, but Andrew was going to kill him when-

No. One thing at a time. Get up off of the floor. Pick up the jacket, even though he wanted to cram it into a ball and shove it into the toilet. Neil draped it over his left shoulder for the moment and tried not to think what he was going to do with the damn thing when it was still so hot outside – focus on the tiny things, the minutia, to distract himself from the real details that would drive him insane. Focus on anything that would keep him from going out the door and start running.

Abby was waiting in the hallway for him, an anxious expression on her face. “Is everything all right?” She glanced at the jacket draped over his shoulder. “You look… maybe you should stay home.”

Neil summoned up a weak smile and dug the car keys out of his messenger bag. “I’m fine,” he lied. “Besides, it’s try-outs for the team today, I have to go.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “Probably be late coming home, since I’ll swing by and see Andrew.” See Andrew and be killed by Andrew.

“Okay.” Abby rubbed at the back of her neck as she continued to look him up and down. “That package….”

“Something a friend sent,” Neil continued to lie. “Bit of a joke.” He forced himself to touch Riko’s jacket. “Could say I lost a bet.”

Abby’s eyes narrowed as she took in the Ravens’ gear. “Could say, huh?” She seemed indecisive about something then shook her head. “Neil, I know you’re the quiet type and don’t like a lot of questions… but I’m here for you, okay? If you want to talk about stuff. About anything.”

Her expression just then was so damn earnest, and she was nice, was much nicer than he deserved – putting up with him in her house, looking out for him and all. But that just meant she was much too nice to deal with the Moriyamas and everything, so Neil merely gave her a wan smile and shook his head. “Thanks, but I need to get going to school.”

He ignored the slight look of hurt on her face and left the house, Riko’s jacket weighing him down with each step he took.

*******

It was another boring day of practice for Andrew, stuck on the bench watching the Foxes fail at something that should be so easy; at least Renee was out in the goal right now, which meant that most of the shots were being stopped, but Nicky was too busy trading insults with Gordon and Reyes to defend the goal, and Mazzio refused to work with Nicky.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a great year,” Aaron murmured as he sat next to Andrew, an empty sports drink in his hand, his brows furrowed as he glared out at the court.

“Never too late to consider going pro,” Andrew told him, well aware of how his twin was only here to work for that medical degree.

The look of disgust Aaron gave him just then was almost amusing. “I’m trying to figure out how to apply for med school without mentioning that I attended this university - *this*,” he waved at the Foxes, “is so fucking pathetic I don’t want it associated with me in any way.”

Hmm, now that was a bit bitter, but he had a point. Further down the bench, Arnolds and Duncan were sniggering at the antics on the field, while Matt winced over how their intrepid captain was yelling at how badly the latest scrimmage sucked and what needed to improved. Wymack had come off the sidelines to stand beside her, probably to add his two cents when she was done. Andrew hoped that they wrapped it up soon, because he was tired of all this useless posturing and… well, it was all just so useless. Duncan and Mazzio only cared about getting high, Gordon and his crew refused to cooperate with Andrew’s or to put up with Dan for long, and Andrew’s group weren’t going to accept a bunch of assholes who didn’t respect them. End of story.

While Dan carried on with her hopeless ranting, Andrew  noticed that something had caught Renee’s attention – she stared up into the stands as she stepped out of the goal and flipped up her visor, a worried frown on her face which she then turned in his direction as she stepped further from the goal. A bad feeling coming over him, he got up off of the bench as he twisted around to look up into the bleacher seats, and found Neil sitting up a dozen rows or so.

Neil, who never came into the stadium when it was group practice like this, who waited for them to finish out in the parking lot or their dorm room. Neil, who hadn’t texted earlier to say he was coming. Neil, who sat there too still and silent with a perfectly blank expression and something black and red draped over his left shoulder.

Andrew was moving in an instant, was out of the Foxes’ box area and scrambling for the door which would allow him up into the bleacher section before the others finally realized that Neil was there, too.

“Minyard? Min- Andrew, get your ass down here,” Wymack called out to him. “Practice isn’t done yet!”

“Is someone up there? How the hell did someone get in the stadium?”

“It’s their junior monster,” Reynolds answered Reyes.

“Neil? Hey, is everything all right?”

“Not you, too, Hemmick!”

Andrew ignored them all as he took the steps two at a time, and it wasn’t until he was almost there that Neil stood up, face still blank and eyes shadowed. He was wearing jeans and a pale blue long sleeved t-shirt, which only made the black and red of the jacket stand out even more; this close, Andrew could make out the ravens on it, the ‘yama’ falling down the one side and the bright ‘1’.

Rage burst to life inside of him so sudden that he felt lightheaded from it, that he wavered on his feet even as he reached out. “Give it to me.”

“No,” Neil said, voice quiet yet firm.

“Damn you, give it to me!” He tried to snatch it from Neil’s shoulder, but Neil took a step back out of reach.

“No,” Neil repeated, but this time in German, while behind Andrew there was the sound of running footsteps. Neil glanced over Andrew’s shoulder and shook his head. “I can’t let you take it, can’t let you destroy it,” he continued in that language.

“There’s no ‘letting’ here,” Andrew ground out in German as well. “Just stay still and I’ll-“

“*No*.” Now there was some emotion on Neil’s face, and it wasn’t pretty, it was pure frustration which bled into something haunted as he combed back his long bangs with a jerky motion. “You think I’m doing this for the hell of it? That I went out and bought it or something?”

“You’re wearing his fucking jacket like you’re a damn Raven or something!” Andrew’s fingers twitched to snatch it up and tear it into scrap, to destroy it, but whenever he tried to get closer to Neil, Neil took a step away. “Like, like-“

“Don’t say it,” Neil whispered as he shook his head and his eyes pressed shut, the haunted look that much stronger. “It’s just… it’s just a fucked up game of his, all right?”

“Then give me the damn thing before I set it on fire with you wearing it.” There was no way Andrew would allow Neil to wear something of that asshole’s, that he’d allow Neil to go along with Riko’s fucked up plans. If they allowed Riko to win this round… *no*.

His fingers actually brushed against the soft leather when Neil let out a choked gasp and stumbled against a chair. “I said no!” His eyes flew open as he shook his head. “Dammit, listen to me! You can’t do that, it’ll be bad if you do that!”

Behind Andrew, Nicky and Aaron stopped whispering to each other and Nicky cleared his throat. “Uhm, Andrew, why don’t you-“

“Shut up,” Andrew told him, unwilling to be interrupted when Neil was being so evasive, when Andrew was barely able to control his temper.

“You’re attracting a crowd, you idiots,” Aaron snapped in German.

Fuck. Andrew scowled at the Foxes standing at the bottom of the aisle, their attention gazes focused upward, and nearly threw one of his knives at them. “Come on,” he snarled at Neil as he motioned back down the steps. Neil hesitated before he nodded and followed, still just out of reach.

Nicky and Aaron took the rear with Neil sandwiched between them and Andrew, and whatever expression that was on Andrew’s face made Gordon and Arnolds get out of his way in a hurry. Renee gave him a slight nod while she tugged Reynolds aside, even as Reynolds made a complaint. Wilds dared to stand in front of him for a moment, so Andrew gave her a murderous look. “Don’t,” he warned her. “Don’t make that mistake again.” She wouldn’t get off with a talk-down from Neil this time.

“Dan, it’s not what it looks like,” Renee called out.

Wilds’ jaw clenched for a second as she stared past Andrew at Neil, and then her expression softened. “All right, go deal with this,” she said as she stepped aside.

Behind them, Reyes made an incredulous scoff. “So what, to get out of practice early, we just have to have one of our girl- Ow! What the fuck, Matt?”

“Shut up, Juan.”

Wymack was leaning against the door to the locker room, his tattooed arms folded across his chest and expression neutral – at least until he caught sight of Neil. “I didn’t give you permission to leave practice early.”

“Come on, Coach, there’s only another half hour left,” Nicky pleaded while Andrew stared the man in the eyes. “Be a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, because you guys deserve that.” He continued to stare at Andrew. “Problems?”

“We’re handling them,” Andrew said.

“By leaving practice early.”

Andrew gave him a grim smile. “Not like it was much of a practice. I’m sure you can do without us this one time.”

Wymack’s eyes narrowed at that, but all he did was shake his head. “How did your friend get into the stadium? It’s locked up.”

“He’s a talented fellow.” Judging from the way Neil pressed against Andrew’s back just then and remained quiet, he’d have to say that Neil wasn’t about to admit to picking locks.

“And a quiet one.” When nothing else was said, Wymack let out a loud breath and stepped aside. “We’re going to talk tomorrow.”

“And my heart leaps with joy, I’ll be counting down the minutes until then,” Andrew told him while he stepped forward.

There was something muttered about smart-mouthed pains in the ass, but Andrew ignored that in favor of getting to the locker room and stripping off his uniform as quickly as possible; Aaron and Nicky did the same, all the while eyeing a nervous Neil who kept picking at the edges of the black jacket – at *Riko’s* jacket. It was clear that his twin and his cousin wanted to ask questions about it, but as if by silent consensus, they had all decided to wait until they were away from the stadium to continue the discussion.

Once in the parking lot, Nicky and Aaron split off to drive the Nissan to the Tower, while Neil got into the GS with some reluctance – probably over being in such easy reach of Andrew. Andrew didn’t blame him, because he was still furious and still wanted to light that damn jacket on fire. “Why did you come here?” he asked, the one question he would allow himself until they got back to the dorm.

“Because….” Neil paused to scrub at his face, and Andrew noticed the marks on the palms of his hands, as if something had bitten into them. “After try-outs today, I couldn’t go back to Abby’s house, and I… I just couldn’t take being alone. My thoughts….” His voice trailed off as he stared out the window.

“What about those thoughts?”

“I was afraid I’d do something stupid,” Neil admitted as he kept staring at the scenery with too much concentration as they drove past.

Andrew’s hands clenched around the steering wheel when he heard that; he didn’t think Neil meant that he’d kill himself or something that drastic, but that he might just take off and not stop running, or, depending on whatever leverage Riko had used to make him put on that foul jacket, would be on the next plane to Charleston. *That* would be the epitome of stupid.

The rest of the ride back to the Tower was quiet, with Neil still staring out the passenger side window and Andrew struggling not to snatch at the jacket and throw it out of the car; it didn’t help that when they did get there and park, that Neil garnished odd looks from the people he passed by in the parking lot and the hallways.

Andrew had just grabbed the bottle of whiskey that he’d brought back from Columbia and poured himself some when Nicky and Aaron caught up and entered their dorm room, Nicky with an anxious expression on his face. “Did you start yet? Tell us you didn’t start.”

“Was waiting for you.” Andrew handed the bottle over to Aaron. “Now talk,” he ordered Neil, who had once more taken to standing out of his reach.

“Yeah, what the hell have you done now to get saddled with that?” Aaron gestured with the bottle at the jacket before he poured himself a tall glass of alcohol.

Neil’s teeth bit into his lower lip as he settled into the sill of one of the windows, the jacket now spread across his lap so the ‘Moriyama’ on the back was displayed, along with Riko’s number. “He sent it to me this morning, along with a phone. Told me I had to wear it while out in public or else.” There was evident anger in Neil’s voice, even as his fingers twitched over the jacket.

“And why didn’t you just burn everything then and there?” Andrew wanted to dump the whiskey on top of the foul thing and break out his lighter, to burn it even if it set the rest of the room on fire.

Neil shook his head. “I told him that, told him it was about to be destroyed, and then he mentioned you.” Neil looked up from the jacket to gaze at Andrew.

“Wait, he’s threatening Andrew now?” Nicky went to stand beside Neil, but one sharp look from Andrew made him stop in his tracks.

“What did I tell you about trying to protect me,” Andrew said in a quiet voice. “That’s not how our deal works.”

“Dammit, will you just listen to me for once!” Neil went to throw aside the jacket but seemed to think better of it; once it was out of his hands it was fair game. “He said he knows someone who was at Wayward Burns the same time as you! Someone willing to post online all about it!” Andrew felt himself react upon mention of the juvenile detention facility despite himself and knew that Neil had seen it. “He said that the person knew all about you, knew the stuff you’d done in there, that they’d sat in the group therapies with you!” Neil’s pale blue eyes flickered toward Aaron and he switched to French. “He said that the person knew about your therapists, knew… said that they tended to treat people with certain traumas.”

That they dealt with kids like Andrew and Anna, who had all the markings of repeated sex abuse even if they refused to admit it. Especially if they refused to admit it. Andrew drained the whiskey in one go and then threw the glass away from him. “I’m going to kill that bastard,” he said while Nicky yelped and Aaron flinched while staring hard at him.

“What did Neil say? What was that last part?”

Andrew ignored him. “So you gave in to protect me? You stupid little *fool*!” Now Riko knew that all it took to bring Neil to heel was anything that would harm Andrew.

Neil surged to his feet, his face flushed with anger and his eyes bright. “Do you want that out there? Do you have any idea how damaging that can be to you? He said that kid would post about what got you put away in the first place! About all your fights, about the drugs you took while locked up, *everything*! What if the university decides you’re too much of a risk? What if the people you’re playing against throw that in your face?”

“I don’t give a shit about that stuff”, Andrew yelled back. “I do about how that you basically handed him a weapon that he’s going to enjoy twisting in your gut again and again!” He glared right back at Neil until Neil finally looked away and sunk back into the window.

“He’s right, though,” Aaron said as he dared to step between them. “What if that stuff affects your probation?”

Even Aaron? “Do you have any idea what he’s handed Riko?”

“It’s just a jacket.”

If Aaron wasn’t blood, if Andrew hadn’t given up so much for him, if Andrew didn’t suspect that part of the reason that Neil had done what he’d did that morning was to keep Andrew’s past a secret from his twin – and dammit if some part of Andrew didn’t feel a rush of relief in knowing that Aaron would never find out about what had happened in California – then his twin would regret those words oh so much right now. However, Andrew kept his fists at his sides and sent Aaron a scathing look instead, one that made Aaron take a step back and glance aside.

“It’s never ‘just a jacket’, not with someone like Riko,” Andrew said as he fought to push back the rage. “Every time Neil gives in, he’s putting himself that much closer to Edgar Allen, to Riko’s hands.”

“No,” Neil moaned as he shook his head, yet he didn’t throw aside the jacket. “I’m not letting that happen.”

Andrew gave him a condescending smile. “And when he gives you that final ultimatum now? When he says to sign the contract or something happens to me? Or to Nicky or Aaron? What will you do then?”

Neil didn’t say anything… but he didn’t need to, now when he just stared at Andrew with glassy eyes and clutched at the jacket in his lap.

“Oh my god… oh fuck, I think I’m going to be sick,” Nicky groaned. “He won’t- he won’t do that, will he? He can’t… no one is that messed up.” He covered his mouth with his hand as he stared back and forth between Andrew and Neil.

“This is the guy who sent people to beat you up,” Aaron reminded their cousin as he wrapped his arms around his waist, his face pale as if it was finally sinking in. “But does he really have that much power? You said that Neil belongs to the main house, family, line, whatever. How is he getting away with all this shit if he’s just some useless second son?”

A very good question, one that Andrew was going to dig into with a vengeance now that Riko had turned him into a weapon against Neil. He was furious, was beyond furious – at Riko, a bit at Neil giving in even if it was for his sake, and even at himself for not seeing how Riko would do this.

“All that matters is he can,” Neil said, his voice hoarse and his expression bleak.

Andrew wished he still had something to throw just then; as he shifted forward, Aaron stirred and then went over to push at Nicky’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

“But I’m not hun- oh, yeah, right.” Nicky gave Andrew a weak smile as he followed Aaron to the door. “We’ll, ah, we’ll call on our way back to see if you two want something.”

Andrew waited for them to leave before he bridged the space between him and Neil, and the first thing he did was rip that shitty piece of leather from Neil’s hands and throw it across the room; he didn’t want to see it anymore. “Do you really believe that he’s won?”

Neil moved in a languid manner, as if in a daze. “I…” He sighed as his hands hovered in front of Andrew’s chest. “I think he knew what would hurt us, with this one.”

Riko might be a huge asshole, but Andrew had to admit he was a clever one. “Only if we let him,” he insisted. “We can always burn the damn thing.”

“No.” That seemed to clear the fog from Neil’s brain, to bring back the fire to his eyes. “I won’t let him do that to you – it’ll only make him look for something else to use against you. You or the others.”

Andrew grabbed at Neil’s hands and squeezed. “You do know he’s effectively branding you as a Raven, as one of *his*.”

The smile Neil gave him then was too self-depreciating for words. “Why not, I’m Moriyama property after all. If one of us is going down, it’s going to be me.”

Andrew’s fingers clenched until Neil grimaced. “That’s not going to happen, I won’t let it – for either of us.”

For a moment it looked as if Neil was going to argue, and then he sighed as he let his head fall forward to rest against Andrew’s right shoulder. “I’ll admit, I’ll be duly impressed when you pull it off.” His tone was light, but Andrew could feel the tension in his body, in the way he twisted his fingers about to clutch at Andrew’s.

“Just watch me,” Andrew swore. Riko thought to use Andrew as a weapon? He would find out just how misguided that plan was. “So stop doing this stupid shit and making my job all the more harder, all right?” he insisted as he tugged on the hair along the nape of his idiot’s neck to make Neil look up at him. “Nothing stupid from here on out, including whatever you’ve got in that head of yours.”

That earned him a displeased look. “I’m not planning anything stupid.”

“Yeah, so what, you were just going to meekly wear that piece of shit around all year?” Somehow, Andrew didn’t buy into it, especially when Neil’s eyes shifted away and he mumbled something too low to be heard. “What was that?” He gave another tug, this time harder.

“I said that I figured if he wants me so much, he can put up with me saying what I really think about him – to anyone who asks about that fucking jacket.”

If Andrew thought it would do any good, he’d tattoo ‘don’t feed the fucking monster’ on Neil’s right arm or something, but at this point it seemed to be a lost cause.

One thing at a time – Andrew could deal with Neil’s impulse to throw himself to the metaphorical lions at a later time, when he wasn’t so likely to throttle the idiot. “I have never met a person with less survival instincts than you,” he muttered as he let go of Neil’s hair and stepped away.

“What?” Neil got off of the windowsill and followed. “What am I supposed to do?”

“The list is so damn long it would take us all night for me to tell you,” Andrew said as he began to pull off his clothes so he could finally wash off from practice; he didn’t even go into a percentage just then, because right now? Yeah, Neil was off the damn chart.

“Well sorry, the next time Riko pulls something like this, I’ll be sure to call you up and let you deal with him.”

Andrew threw his shirt in Neil’s face. “Exactly, now he gets it, just too fucking late for me to do any good.”

Neil let out a growling noise as he batted the shirt aside and went to follow Andrew into the bathroom. “It wouldn’t have- what?” He blinked when Andrew held up his right hand.

“You come in here, it’s as good as saying ‘yes’, and I don’t want to talk about that asshole anymore.” He’d have to put up with a reminder of Riko on a daily basis from now on, thanks to Neil’s ‘sacrifice’, he’d had enough of the asshole for the night.

Neil blinked for a moment and let out a slow breath. “Okay.” The rest of the tension finally left him as he tucked aside his bangs. “I’m tired of all this, too.”

Upon hearing that, Andrew let his arm fall down and stepped aside, and Neil looked him in the eye as he stepped into the bathroom.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, a lot going on there (and Neil really, REALLY needs a vacation, that poor boy, but again, it sets things up for a break on that part). Next chapter will be a bit more Andrew focus. Hmm....
> 
> And yes, I'm a bit behind on answering comments - thanks so much for those who have left them the last couple of days, especially those who've responded back and forth! Life sorta got really hectic (family stuff and all), so between that and work, it'll probably be a couple of days for the next chapter.
> 
> But as always, the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, it's been an insane week, and the weekend doesn't look much better, so the writing time has slowed down. Boo. But have something to post finally so here it is! Finally got this chapter to a good stopping point and figured I'd get it up for now.  
> *******

*******  
There are a lot of things that Andrew found unfair in life – at one point there was little he didn’t find unfair, but lately, that balance had tipped. It made him uneasy, that fact, made him wonder when it would get to get all fucked up again and he was beginning to think Riko Moriyama was going to have a good deal to do with it if he wasn’t careful. Because that tipping point? It had much too much to do with a certain auburn haired idiot with the most intense blue eyes he’d ever seen who had left his dorm room last night with a fucking Ravens jacket draped over his shoulder.

There hadn’t been a text from that asshole yet, but Andrew knew one would be coming soon, once Riko made certain that Andrew had accepted what Riko had crammed down Neil’s throat. Fuck ‘accepting’ – Andrew was counting this as a minor setback, especially since he had gone through Neil’s phone last night while his friend had been distracted by Nicky to check a number, and sent a text off once Neil had gone back to Abby’s.

But for now? Now Andrew was left with six fucking am morning workouts when he wasn’t even on the starting line-up for the worst team in Class I Exy. Yeah, that was just a little unfair. He glared across the locker room as he changed clothes, not in the mood for dealing with the rejects on his team at the moment.

Nicky seemed to pick up on that since he kept his teasing and his comments restricted to Aaron for the time being, who appeared to be barely awake. Once they all were ready, they headed to the workout room together, only for Andrew to pause when he heard Wymack call out his name.

“What the hell is it?” he asked as he turned around to see the man standing in the hallway, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt bearing the Foxes’ logo.

“And a good morning to you, Sunshine,” Wymack snapped. “Come into my office, I told you yesterday that we were going to talk.”

Andrew waved to Aaron and Nicky for them to go on without him as he headed toward Wymack, and soon they were in the man’s office with the door closed. “Whatever it is, I swear I didn’t do it, honest,” he said with a flat tone of voice while crossing his heart.

“Very funny, as if I’d believe that for a moment.” Wymack sighed as he sat behind a desk cluttered with folders and stacks of paper, and reached for a mug filled with coffee. “Now what the hell is going on with you and Josten?”

“You see, there’s this thing called ‘the birds and the bees’,” Andrew said as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against an ancient filing cabinet. “You not knowing about it might explain why no one can settle the bet on you and Abby.”

Wymack’s eyes narrowed over the rim of his white and orange mug, but he waited until after a couple of sips of coffee before he answered. “I am not paid anywhere near enough for this shit,” he complained as he set the mug aside. “Abby told me that a package arrived yesterday, and the next thing she knows, Neil is having a quiet freak-out over someone sending him a Ravens’ jacket and a phone, but he won’t tell her why. Then he shows up here wearing said jacket and you’re the one freaking out, you and your little gang.”

All Andrew did was stand there and give him a flat look, until Wymack sighed. “This isn’t you talking to me.”

“I distinctly remember you agreeing with me before I signed a contract that you? You were restricting your concern to only things that occurred on the court. I fail to see how this is you living up to that agreement.”

“It interfered with a practice session,” Wymack reminded him.

“Then we’ll stay behind for an extra half an hour today and Neil won’t interrupt another one,” Andrew offered. “End of discussion.” He gave Wymack a cold smile. “See how easy that was? Let’s not do this again.”

Wymack rushed to his feet when Andrew turned to leave the office. “Dammit, Minyard, something is going on with your friend and those Ravens assholes, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out! Did it ever occur to you that I could help?”

That was so ridiculous that Andrew actually stopped. “Oh Coach, why didn’t you tell me that you’ve started spiking your coffee? And you’re not sharing? How unkind.” He gave the man a scathing look when Wymack took to glowering at him. “Don’t say such preposterous things.”

“It’s not preposterous,” Wymack insisted. “I’ve seen a lot of promising young athletes go to Edgar Allen and come out damaged, I know they pull a lot of unsavory shit and get a free pass because they’re the best and because of Tetsuji.”

“Hmm, wrong answer.” Andrew gave him a dismissive wave and went for the door. “Close, but no cigar. Worry about your own little freak show out there and leave Neil to me, like you promised.”

“For fuck’s sake, Minyard, don’t be such an ass when people are trying to help!” Wymack shouted after him, which Andrew again waved aside; that wasn’t the type of help he needed, not when the man was clueless as to what was going on inside Castle Evermore’s walls. No, Wymack would just cause more harm than good, and get in Andrew’s way.

Even if it was too damn early to be up and moving about, at least working out gave him a means to vent some of the anger and frustration he was feeling, and Gordon and his crew wasn’t about to mess with Andrew when he could bench press more than those homophobic assholes. He left the stadium feeling drained but satisfied… the latter feeling intensifying when Nicky pulled the car into the Fox Tower parking lot and there was an impressive, shiny black sedan parked near their usual spot in the back corner.

“Go inside without me,” he told the two as he got out of the car, repeating the order when Aaron hesitated. “It’s fine.”

“I get the car if you go missing,” Nicky called out as Andrew went over to the sedan, and let out a nervous chuckle when Andrew gave him the finger in return. Andrew didn’t look back, he just got into the passenger side, which was unlocked, and nodded at the driver, who turned out to be Stuart Hatford.

“Obvious much,” he muttered as he gestured about to the car.

“Nice to see that you’re still a little prick,” Stuart said in an accent which reminded Andrew of Neil’s that one night. “What Nathaniel sees in you, I’ve no bloody clue.”

“He has good taste.”

“Debatable,” Stuart sniffed as he drove off.

Andrew kept any comments on how at least Neil had picked a partner better than his mother had to himself, since Neil had said that Stuart had been close to Mary – the man had killed Nathan Wesninski for her, after all.

Stuart drove around for about ten minutes, until they were off campus and in an empty parking lot of a closed restaurant. “Okay, so you didn’t text me to hear me complain about Nathaniel’s life choices, right?” Stuart put the car in park and twisted around enough to face Andrew. “What do you want?”

“Actually, part of it is about his life choices,” Andrew admitted. “How much do you know about the shit Riko’s been pulling on him lately?”

Stuart’s lips thinned as his fingers tapped against the steering wheel; Neil did take after his father, for the most part, but there were hints of the Hatford blood in him – the arch of the eyebrows, the shape of the hands, and of course the lean build and lack of height. “Enough to know that Riko’s been sending people out from Castle Evermore to dig up stuff and follow him around.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed when he heard that. “And you didn’t think to warn your nephew?”

“He’s a big boy, and he knows what it means to be property – someone’s always going to be watching over him. Kengo’s got eyes on him, too, to make sure he doesn’t run.” When Andrew continued to glare at Stuart, the man sighed. “I’d let him know if he was in trouble, but I’m not going to waste a warning on something as trivial as people keeping track of him.”

“So nice of you.”

“Fuck off, you shitty little twat,” Stuart snapped. “I didn’t come here to put up with this, and I doubt that your knickers are in a twist about someone trailing Nathaniel. What did Riko do?”

“He tracked down someone who knew me back in Wayward Burns and either bribed or blackmailed them to the point where they’re ready to go online to expose everything that went down in regards to me in that facility,” Andrew explained in as flat a tone as possible as he struggled to remain calm – he needed Stuart on his side to help them out. “In return for keeping that from happening, he’s making Neil wear one of his old jackets out in public.”

“Huh, that’s a bit childish.”

“Riko’s extremely childish,” Andrew snapped. “Neil’s trying to get scouted by another team, and now he’s wearing a big Ravens’ sign day in and day out. How is that going to look to the other universities?”

Stuart winced. “Okay, point taken.” He stared through the windshield as he seemed to think about something. “So in addition to sending those guys to rough up your cousin, now he’s doing this, the threat against you.” Somehow, it didn’t surprise Andrew that Stuart knew about Nicky’s beating. “Shite like this is traceable, which isn’t good.”

“My thoughts exactly. I’m working with an old… friend, to try to figure out who the leak might be.” Andrew never thought he’d be thankful for Neil staying in touch with Anna, but all it took was a quick phone call and a very bare bones explanation, and she wouldn’t stop until she helped him track down which of their former ‘roommates’ who’d left old Wayward in the last year or two was supplying the information to Riko – not when it came to someone fucking with Neil. “Soon as I have a name, I’ll give it to you.”

That brought a slight but impressed smile to the mobster’s face. “All right, maybe I’m beginning to see the attraction there, you and Nathaniel.” Then he shook his head. “Give me what you can, and I’ll take it to the little lord, but….” He began to frown. “I’m not too sure what he’s doing, to be honest. Sometimes I get the impression it’s going to be the long game with him.”

Not what Andrew wanted to hear, but he had to work with what was at hand. “What about Kengo? I thought he was still in charge.”

Stuart gave a slight grimace for some reason. “Just give me what you have, and I’ll pass it on.”

“As long as you do,” Andrew warned the man, Neil’s uncle or not. “Now unless you’ve anything that might be of use to me in dealing with your ‘little lord’s’ psychotic brother, I need to get back. Get to it.”

“One of these days, I’m going to have a chat with that boy,” Stuart muttered as he put the car back in drive.

“Hmm, good luck with that,” Andrew said as he leaned back in the seat. Would be amusing as hell to watch, and his money was on Neil.

Stuart slanted him a displeased look, but wisely didn’t say anything else; Andrew was fine with that, since he’d done what he’d intended to do and ratted out Riko to his own family as a potential troublemaker. Maybe Ichiro would do something, maybe not… but considering that the Moriyamas watched over Neil to make sure he didn’t run or cause them any more headaches… well, even if Ichiro played the long game, it meant grief for Riko in the end. Andrew just had to keep Neil out of Riko’s reach until then.

It meant a lot of work, but Andrew was pissed off enough at the asshole to do just that – and the more shit Riko pulled? The more ammunition it would be to turn over to Ichiro. Funny thing, no? Almost enough to make Andrew laugh, if it didn’t mean that Neil would be the one paying the price in the end.

*******

Despite Riko’s latest actions, the school year proceeded to go… well, it proceeded. Neil got a lot of odd looks for always wearing the jacket, a lot of muttering about being a ‘show-off’ and so forth, but he repeated his story about ‘losing a bet’ to Tris and Kelly, and besides laughing about it, they had spread word about it to the rest of the Mustangs who seemed to accept it. The new team reminded him a bit of the Panthers – except that they were good – in that they were rather easy-going with each other and friendly, but there was a sharp edge of competition to them as well. Brett, the team’s captain, definitely was pushing for them to win the district championship, as was Coach Lee, but Neil didn’t get the feeling that this team would tear itself apart to do that. They didn’t give him grief about being a Ravens’ recruit, saying that anything that got the team some good publicity and brought the top recruiters to them was a benefit to all. If there was any way for Neil to switch Riko’s attention to the other players as potential recruits, he would – except he wasn’t that much of a bastard. At least, he didn’t think he was that much of a bastard.

As much as he hated to admit it, the jacket proved to have a few semi-good points; it discouraged some of the ‘fans’, as Andrew called them, since some people viewed him as stuck up by wearing the jacket all of the time (it also attracted some people, which he was only too happy to ignore), and Riko appeared to have calmed down a little now that Neil seemed to ‘come to heel’ (Riko’s words, not Neil’s. Never Neil’s). No more decals on the car, and only the occasional fucked up texts which seemed more a reminder now and then that Riko was watching than anything. Neil had the feeling that Riko was too busy getting the Ravens into shape for their own season to bother with him, which was fine.

So he focused on keeping up on his schoolwork, practicing with his new team and spending what time he could with Andrew and the others, and tried not to think of what would happen come early spring when it would be time to sign with a university team (he tried to think that he still had options, despite Riko’s insistence and daily reminders). He tried not to think about when Andrew would most likely be right and Riko would force some sort of ultimatum on him or else something would happen to Andrew. It was bad enough that there was a timer now via Riko’s texts, counting down the days until then, until his freedom was truly gone and he would have to admit that Riko had won.

Until then, he would just pretend that things were all right, that Andrew would figure something out and Penn State would come through with a scholarship offer. Crazier things had happened before… but Neil had used up an awful lot of luck in the last few years, he didn’t think he could keep on hoping that the impossible would happen. No, best to just enjoy what he had while he still had it.

He’d had five years away from his father, and would have three years with Andrew. Three years as Neil. That wasn’t too bad, for the son of the Butcher of Baltimore. It was more than he would have had if he’d been given over to the Moriyamas when he was ten.

He grabbed the books he’d need for the first few classes of the day out of his locker then closed it, before turning around and heading to his Japanese class. He was a bit tired from staying late at the Fox Tower with Andrew last night, but he’d make sure to stay awake in the class, since it was important for him to pick it up fast; he had the impression he’d be speaking it a lot in the near future.

*******

Andrew sat in sullen silence on the bench for the Foxes’ first game of the season, which was, as expected, a mess. Duncan refused to cooperate with Aaron and Nicky when they were out on the field, as did Mazzio. The only time there was a decent defense was when Matt and/or Renee was out there, but that didn’t mean much when Gordon, Arnolds and Reyes were too busy getting into fights to score. Yeah, Andrew was beginning to see why the Foxes were ranked at the bottom – it was one thing when they were playing against themselves, but another team? Pathetic.

Aaron basically said the same thing when he joined Andrew on the bench, though Nicky just grinned and shrugged off the scathing review, having too much fun being back out on court in front of a cheering (and booing) crowd once again. At least he got to do something, even if Andrew couldn’t be bothered to do much for a team like this other than to stand in the goal and glare at them if they ever allowed him out on the court.

The worst part? Wymack refused to let him bring his phone out of the locker room, so he couldn’t keep in touch with Neil – not that Neil would be able to text except during his game’s half-time – to make sure that his idiot wasn’t getting slammed around too much by the opposing team. Which, knowing Neil and that mouth of his? Yeah, it was happening.

Half time was spent listening to Dan and Wymack try to rally the fractured team while Andrew sent a couple of texts to Neil, furious at the ‘still alive, up two points’ he had received from the idiot; there would be a discussion later, yes there would, about appropriate responses. If Neil could send longer insults to that asshole Riko, then Andrew, as his…. Andrew threw his phone into his locker and kicked the door shut.

“Problems?”

Andrew gave his twin a flat look. “Neil’s an idiot.”

“I’ve been saying that for over a year,” Aaron agreed. “What brought on this most recent revelation?”

Looking out over the locker room, at Reynolds pointedly ignoring Gordon as he joked a bit too loudly with Reyes and Arnolds, and Dan attempting to work out a new strategy with Wymack as if it would help any, Andrew slid his right hand down the arm guard on his left forearm. “Just that he has a lot to make up for.”

Nicky had come back over with a cup of water by then and overheard that. “Eh? Neil?” When all Andrew did was stare at him without answering, Nicky looked at Aaron. “What did Neil do now?”

“Seems they’re having a ‘friends’ spat.”

Andrew gave his brother the finger for that comment. “What did I say about that?”

“And I told you that as long as you kept being in denial, it’s fair game.”

Nicky looked as if he wanted to make his usual inane observation, but just his luck, he was saved from being stabbed by Wymack ordering them back out onto the court for the second half. Oh joy, more time sitting on the bench watching the Foxes show the world just what a bunch of wretched losers they were, Andrew couldn’t hardly wait.

Surprise, surprise, in the end they lost the game. Wymack and Dan tried to ‘soften’ the blow with such platitudes of ‘just the first game of many’ (yes, many more for them to lose) and ‘just working out the kinks’ (Andrew was certain they would figure out many more ways to fail, just give the team some time). Part of the problem was obvious, was the fact that Duncan couldn’t be a worse goalkeeper if he tried, yet Wymack refused to bench him and put Andrew out on the field – oh, not that Andrew was at all eager to play with these rejects, but why recruit him and not use him? For next season when Duncan couldn’t function during this one? And people said *Andrew* had issues.

Speaking of issues… Neil was waiting for them when they pulled up at Abby’s, dressed for a night out at Eden’s Twilight; Andrew had to wonder if Nicky had texted to warn him or something, because for once he hadn’t needed cajoled into the black skinny jeans or the clingy top. That or it might have been the swelling lower lip he sported, a sign that he had indeed taken at least one rough hit during the game earlier.

Andrew remained behind the wheel and let Neil slide into the passenger seat before pulling back out onto the road. “So ‘still alive’ means ‘knocked around’, good to know that.”

Neil sighed as he draped the damn jacket across his lap. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” He let out a yelp when Andrew reached over without looking to give his mouth a pat. “Dammit, that’s not funny.”

“Hmm, looks like it’s pretty bad to me.” Behind in the back seat, Aaron stifled a snigger while Nicky sighed something that sounded like ‘little children’.

“All right, so she slammed me into the wall really good. We still won.” Neil sat facing forward as he glared through the windshield.

‘She’, huh. “So not only did you get beat up, but you got beat up by a girl.”

Some of Neil’s anger gave way as he shrugged. “She was really good, and had about half a foot on me.”

“Most people have about half a foot on you.”

“Look who’s talking,” Neil said with a smile as he reached for the pack of cigarettes on the middle console.

Andrew snorted and snatched up his lighter, which he held out of reach from the idiot for a few seconds until Neil narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, but who keeps getting slammed around?” He might be shorter, but he still had more muscle mass – that and a less of a ‘go ahead, it’s fine to fuck with me’ nature than a certain someone.

Neil seemed to realize that it was in his best interest to just drop the topic, so switched it to ask how the game had went. Nicky rushed to let him know, eager for some attention, and filled him in on all the pathetic details before asking Neil about his own. The Mustangs hadn’t won by much, but they’d won, and Neil had a feeling that his new coach would be cracking the whip come Monday, along with the team’s captain. However he didn’t seem worried – the team had promise, they just needed to work on a few things, especially the newer recruits who had come in to replace the seniors who had graduated. He was including himself in that somewhat, since he had gotten used to playing with Andrew and wasn’t used to dealing with goalkeepers who weren’t up to Andrew’s level. But he thought the Mustangs would be ready for the next game – which was good, because it was against their old team, the Caps.

They made a quick stop into Sweeties’ for some crackers and then were off to the club. Nicky insisted that Neil do a couple of shots with them to celebrate his team’s victory, and then him and Aaron were out on the dance floor, like always, dancing around as the drugs and alcohol hit while Andrew and Neil stayed behind. Despite the shitty jacket draped over his shoulders, Neil appeared to be in a good mood, probably because of his team’s win, and gave Andrew a slight smile as he stood there and watched him drink.

Andrew reached out to hook a finger into the front pocket of Neil’s jeans and pulled him closer. “Have another shot.”

“Why?” Neil didn’t sound upset or anything, just curious even as he picked up a glass of whiskey.

“Why do you think it’s a good idea to let people beat you up?”

Neil grimaced in response even as he drained the glass. “I don’t – I kept her from scoring, all right? Not all of us are nice and safe in our little net boxes and extra padding.”

“Not all of us have these mouths that fire off insults guaranteed to make people want to smack you around, either,” Andrew felt justified in pointing out.

“I didn’t insult her.” Neil looked a bit affronted at the thought.

“*Her*.” Andrew rolled his eyes and reached for another drink. “Nice to see that you can keep that mouth shut sometimes.”

Neil frowned as he picked at the jacket. “Look… is this about.…” He shook his head as if unwilling to follow that train of thought. “You’re the one who comes back every Sunday needing patched up.”

“That’s different, and I’m getting better.” Andrew had actually won against Renee in their last sparring session. “That’s not about me goading someone into smacking me around.” He got a look that said ‘somehow I doubt that’, which made him shove another shot Neil’s way.

“I think we’re going to agree to disagree on this one,” Neil sighed as he eyed the whiskey with some trepidation. “I’m not going to stop playing the way I play just because….” He stopped again and shook his head.

Because what? Andrew wasn’t even sure what bothered him right then, other than the fact that he’d sat on the bench all evening doing nothing while Neil had played against another team, had taken the hits while Andrew couldn’t do anything. Maybe the situation was a little too close to home just then, reminded him too much about the mess with the damn jacket and Riko – but even if – no, *when*, dammit – he managed to break Riko’s hold on Neil, his idiot was just going to go sign with another team so Andrew had to get used to it. This was their reality now.

So he snatched up the whiskey he’d pushed at Neil and the rest of the drinks on the tray. When Aaron and Nicky returned from the dance floor, he left Neil with them while he went back to the bar for another round, and checked his phone while Roland got to work. It didn’t come as a shock to him to find a message from Riko waiting, not since he’d felt the phone vibrate about an hour ago. The asshole had taken to leaving him texts now and then, smug as hell over the whole jacket incident and what he thought was him winning.

‘I see that you Foxes did what you do best tonight – losing’

Andrew debated ignoring the asshole, which he did most of the time, but figured if Riko was busy with him, he might leave Neil the fuck alone – might. ‘just how many hours does it take you to come up with something like that? too many, I bet’

‘a shame you’ll never get a chance to play with Neil again’

Seriously, if only the Ravens’ fans could see what a fucking moron their great ‘Riko’ was, maybe those bastards would get a life. Andrew sighed as he glared at his phone, which made Roland scramble behind the counter as if to hide any sharp instruments – not to worry, Andrew only destroyed Neil’s phones since he wouldn’t give Riko that satisfaction – and texted back one more time. ‘Neil doesn’t have a problem playing with some of us’. Then he powered off his phone so a certain asshole couldn’t ruin the rest of his night. He was out with his family and Neil, had a tray full of drinks and the pleasant buzz of crackers in his blood, and could look forward to sleeping in tomorrow then waking up whenever he wanted to hunt down a certain idiot to pull him back to their bed with ‘yes or no’. Maybe it wasn’t much, but it was more than he’d ever had before, and he wasn’t letting some spoiled psycho take it away.

*******

“Fucking Raven-wannabe,” one of the football team muttered as he shouldered past Neil, probably on his way to practice as well.

“Hey! Want me to tell Coach Rudolph about that?” Tris shouted at the asshole’s back. “You’re already on probation for fighting, Trey! Yeah, keep walking, you Neanderthal!” the backliner muttered, never mind that the football player had at least fifty pounds and a few inches on Tris if he decided to turn around and make a fight out of things. “Don’t worry, Neil, they’re just jealous because we’re having a better season.”

Neil hadn’t known that he’d been worried in the first place, but he just gave his teammate a slight smile and shook his head. “Good to know.” It hadn’t been the first time he’d taken flak from the football team and it probably wouldn’t be the last, not as long as he was stuck with Riko’s jacket. As much as he hated it, the rest of the Mustangs had taken to considering it a good luck charm of sorts, which… yeah, it was creepy. Creepy and disturbing.

“So, away game this week. Charleston is pretty good, but as long as Luis holds the goal in his half, we’ll be okay,” Kelly said as they neared the gym.

“Oh he’ll hold it all right.” Tris grinned as he motioned at some of the school spirit decorations. “He’s trying to impress Lisa, and you know it won’t look good if he loses a game for us.” The two laughed while Neil tried to figure out who they were talking about. Tris seemed to notice and shook his head. “Lisa, head of our pep squad.”

The image of a tall girl with dark brown and blonde corkscrew curls and a bright smile came into Neil’s head. “Oh, okay.”

Kelly sniggered. “Tris, man, you know he doesn’t pay any attention to stuff like that, not with his sweetie back in Columbia.” He made a flicking motion with his right hand at Neil’s neck, which caused Neil to flinch away a little.

“Uhm….” Neil just shook his head and didn’t say anything, and resolved to yell at Andrew again the next time his friend left any marks in an obvious spot. Not that Andrew ever listened to him – he swore that sometimes, it just spurred Andrew on; last time it had been teeth marks on the back of his neck, and hadn’t *that* been fun when Kelly had noticed, the tall bastard.

“Ah, someone’s shy – she must be quite the looker.” Tris laughed as he shoved open the door to the Exy gym. “Aw man, we’re just teasing you. Pretty smart, you keeping her quiet, though. I’ve heard a lot of girls complain about how you’re taken. Think they want to snag a future pro player while they can.”

“Oh hell.” Suddenly all the offers he’d gotten to help study for the upcoming math exam made sense – not that Neil had taken any of the girls up on it, since that was one of his best classes. “Seriously?”

Kelly rolled his eyes while he pulled out his phone to an answer a text. “Yeah, we figured you didn’t know about them. It’s a good thing you’re not a player, because with everything else you’ve got going on, then you’d be unbearable.”

“Huh?” Sometimes Neil didn’t understand these two, including why they insisted on hanging out with him all the time.

Tris and Kelly shared a look as they continued to their lockers. “Yeah, exactly,” Tris said while shaking his head. “Come on, last one out on court has to do the most laps.”

Honestly, no clue at all, Neil thought as he opened his locker to pull out his gear. And it wasn’t as if he wouldn’t do the most laps warming up anyway.

*******

“Dammit, do you understand the concept of protecting the fucking goal! Get your head out of your ass and do your job, Damien!”

“What do you think I’m doing out here, Coach! Tell those two to work a little, why don’t you?”

“I don’t need to, they’re doing just fine. Why don’t you show a little motivation for once?”

Andrew leaned back against the wall while Wymack continued to yell at Mazzio; his brother propped himself up on his racquet while Nicky looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else than on the court just then, and the rest of the Foxes didn’t seem happy about the fight, either. “Gee, this seems all so familiar. Why is that so? Hmm… maybe because this is the eight time Wymack has chewed out Mazzio’s ass this week?”

Beside him, Renee sighed. “From what I hear, Damien’s grades have slipped even further.” She glanced over to the left, but Matt and Reyes had gotten up to stand closer to the Plexiglas as if to catch what was going on with the fight. “Dan said he’s going to be benched, they’re that bad. I think this is Coach’s last ditch effort to get through to him.”

Andrew made a fake sobbing sound and wiped at his right cheek. “Say it isn’t so. My heart, it breaks.”

She turned enough toward him to give him a reproachful look. “I still don’t understand why you won’t step in for him when you did for Matt.”

His expression became blank as he stared out onto the court, where Mazzio was stripping off his gear and throwing it onto the ground. “Because the person has to be worth some effort. Mazzio? He’s wallowing at the bottom, content there. You honestly think he’s going to bother crawling out of that hole?” He scoffed at that. “A little too much faith there, Christian Girl.”

Judging from the tightness of Renee’s mouth, she understood what he’d just said. “What’s the sense of faith if you don’t believe in second chances for everyone?”

Andrew picked up his racquet, the racquet he barely used, and slammed it against the bench; Renee barely twitched, but it made Matt and Reyes jump, the loud noise. “Oh the stories I could tell you,” he said as he stared out at Mazzio, his expression blank. He was certain Neil could tell a few, too. Redemption? For some people? There was a reason Neil had given that message about his mother to Durand back in Chicago, setting things into motion for his father’s death. No ‘jailhouse conversions’ for Nathan Wesninski, oh no. “Some people are hell-bent regardless.”

Renee’s expression turned bleak, just for a moment. “That doesn’t mean you can’t hold out a hand to try.”

“That’s for do-gooders like you to do,” Andrew told her. “Me? I’m going to keep those bastards from dragging me and mine down with them.”

“Fair enough.” She nodded once, as if in acceptance, then sighed again. “I’ve a feeling that practice is done for the day.” Wymack went storming after Mazzio, who had finished stripping off his gear, leaving a distraught Dan staring after them before she shook her head. Renee got up and went onto the court to help her friend gather up Mazzio’s gear, and then they all ended up practicing drills until it was time to leave.

Renee had been right – Mazzio was officially benched the next day; Gordon was pissed off and an even worse goalkeeper as a result since he took it as an ‘affront’, his friend being kicked off of court for his own stupidity, and there was some rumbling among Gordon and his crew. Wymack and Dan seemed the most affected, and it wasn’t even their own faults – they didn’t make the moron take the drugs and had given him more than enough chances to improve. Andrew didn’t get these idiots, how they could allow the weakest links to pull them down like this.

They had made it to October at that point, and while Neil was doing great with the Mustangs, was managing a winning season, the Foxes were well on track to be at the bottom of the Class I division yet again. Andrew was growing tired of getting up early each weekday for training, then heading out to class and doing some homework before completing more practice for games where he only sat on the bench and watched ‘his’ team lose. If they both were free in the evenings, Neil came over so they could spend time together, either with Aaron and Nicky or, on rare nights, just the two of them. The sessions with Bee were still bearable, and Conrad didn’t give him too much shit as long as he didn’t fail any drug tests and kept her up to date with his away games – and didn’t get into any trouble, obviously. The only breaks Andrew had were on the weekend when he got away to Columbia, the Friday nights out at the club and the Saturdays at the house and his own fucking bedroom with some well deserved privacy.

One of those Saturdays was when he and Neil were sprawled out on the bed, a naked Neil panting and trembling beneath Andrew as Andrew wiped his mouth clean then reached for one of the bottles of water on the nightstand; he enjoyed watching Neil try to pull himself together after he came, the flush to that pale skin, the way auburn hair clung to Neil’s sweaty and gorgeous face. Neil’s long legs twitched as Andrew trailed his fingers along them as he settled beside him.

“Hmm.” Neil’s eyes fluttered as he looked over at Andrew and then rolled onto his side to face him better. “You?”

“Me,” Andrew said and caught at Neil’s reaching hand.

That earned him a wrinkled nose as Neil tried to pull his hand free. “No, I meant what about you?”

“I’m good for right now.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Neil nodded at the evidence in Andrew’s boxer briefs.

“It’s not polite to stare,” Andrew chided as he tugged on Neil’s hand.

“Hmm.” Neil closed his eyes again. “Whatever.” He pulled his hand back, tugging Andrew along with it until Andrew gave in with a slight huff and lay half on top of him. “Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Life’s not fair, don’t you know that?” Sometimes Andrew liked to draw things out, to enjoy moments like this, to make sure that things weren’t going too fast or that he pushed too far. Sometimes he liked it when *Neil* got demanding, like now, and twisted beneath him to pull Andrew over some more with gentle hands and tentative kisses, pausing now and then to give Andrew a searching look in a clear sign of making sure that things were okay. He liked to know that Neil wanted him yet respected boundaries.

“Yes or no,” Neil asked as he slid his fingers into Andrew’s hair, his right heel gliding along the side of Andrew’s left calf.

“Yes,” Andrew told him as he finally gave in and settled fully on top of Neil, between Neil’s thighs. From there it was giving in to what he wanted and seeing Neil come apart beneath him, coming apart again because of him, and damn if it didn’t twist something up inside of him like it did each and every time.

Some day Neil would come to his senses and realize that he could do so much better than Andrew, or Andrew would wake up and all of this would be just some elaborate, drug-induced fantasy… but not that day.

The peace from that weekend barely carried into the following week, between Riko and his damn texts (seriously, didn’t the asshole have a life? Like his own practices and classes and shit like that?) to Neil that were a countdown to when he would be expected to report to Edgar Allen and more cryptic ones to Andrew about ‘enjoy the game while you can’ and shit like that.

It was also a week when Reynolds and Gordon were ‘off’, so everyone had to put up with them fighting, with Gordon being even more of an ass during practice as he strove to make Reynolds pay attention to him in some form or another while Arnolds and Reyes gave him shit for being so ‘whipped’. Which, yeah, didn’t help the situation any. On top of that was Aaron furious at Andrew for scaring off a freshman whom had reminded him a bit too much of those leeches back at Columbia who thought a fancy car and a house meant that Aaron made a good catch, not to mention the pre-med degree.

So when it came time for Friday and Neil was at another away game, meaning he wouldn’t get back until late that night, Andrew was more than willing to nap through the Breckenridge game, at least the parts when Aaron wasn’t out on court. He really didn’t give a shit if it was one of the more ‘exciting’ games, meaning one of the dirtiest, since he wasn’t playing, though there was some amusement to be found in watching Wymack’s reactions as the two teams kept breaking out into fights. Hmm, someone should tell the man that he needed to relax, that high blood pressure wasn’t good for someone his age who smoked and drank.

Andrew had taken to zoning out again – the referees had stopped yet another fight, how boring – when he heard Wymack go on about ‘jackasses’ and then tell Renee to ‘wake him up’. Andrew assumed that meant him and opened his eyes to give the man a flat look. “No.” He was benched all season and now Wymack wanted him to do something? No.

“We need you out there – Reggie just got red carded, the dumb-ass.”

And that was his problem, how? Andrew sneered as he looked over at Renee. “Not my problem, you’ve got Joan of Exy over there, put her in.” He didn’t care if she’d already played a good bit of the game, she wasn’t some delicate little flower.

Wymack appeared ready to strangle him; Abby really needed to check out the man’s diet, see about cutting back on the salt and the red meat or something. “I said ‘now’. Start earning your damn keep, Minyard.”

Andrew sighed as he debated what to do for a moment or two, but in the end, it would speed up things and he could watch over Aaron better if he was out on the court than on the bench. That decided, he grabbed his helmet and went to get his racquet, then followed Wymack over to the door so he could enter the court; the crowd made a loud noise when they noticed that he was being subbed into the game, while Duncan continued to be an ass as he was escorted off of it by three referees and threw his helmet away before he was through the door. Wymack and the referees gave chase, and Andrew slipped out so he could head to the goal.

Andrew twirled his racquet about while the referees bolted the door shut, and the game was back on right after that; to prove what a bunch of bastards they were, one of the Breckenridge strikers chose that moment to fire off a penalty shot, as if they expected him to be caught off guard. Having practiced so much with Neil, who was fast as hell, Andrew had no problem snagging it and then lobbed it back at the bastard’s head, catching him in the face – Neil was better at dodging, too. Aaron, being used to Andrew’s tactics, was quick to pick the ball on the rebound and sent it back to him with a grin. Once it was in his racquet for a second time, Andrew sent it as far up the court as he could.

The game back into motion, the Foxes rallied the best they could but were tired and out of substitutions. Andrew didn’t put his heart into guarding the goal, it just wasn’t the same without Neil on the court, but Aaron and Nicky were semi-decent and the Jackals enough of arrogant shits that Andrew figured the game was worth enough effort from him that he blocked all but four goals. Considering that Duncan and Renee had given up fourteen before him, it kept the Foxes from being completely embarrassed by a top-ranked team.

Andrew got some odd looks from a few teammates on the way back to the locker room to shower off and change – such as Matt and Dan – and outright loathing from Duncan. Like he gave a shit.

“You played well tonight,” Renee told him. “Doesn’t that make you want to get out there more often?”

“You might want to check that precious necklace of yours, I think it’s cutting off the blood to your brain,” he said with a sneer.

Even Wymack tried to pat him on the back when he, Aaron and Nicky went to head out to the parking lot. “Nice save tonight, Minyard.”

“Just ‘earning my keep’,” he tossed back in the man’s face. “Not like it did much good in the end though, huh?”

“Maybe you should try to give a damn about something for once and see what happens then,” Wymack shot back as he went for his pack of cigarettes.

Andrew just grinned. “Still won’t do me much good when I’m just your spare.” He gave the man a jaunty wave goodbye. “Night, Coach.”

Nicky shook his head as they approached the car. “Like that’ll help make him put you in the game more often.”

“Ask me if I give a damn.” Andrew narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “Go ahead.”

Nicky just sighed in response as he opened the driver’s side door to the car. “How much longer until Neil gets in?”

Smart man, to change the topic like that; Andrew checked his phone as he slid into the car. “About another hour or so.”

“Hmm, we should be able to have at least one round tonight, then, before the club closes down.”

Andrew lit a cigarette as Nicky drove them to the dorm, eager for Neil to get back into town so they could leave for Columbia. Tonight had been something different, but he doubted that he’d play too many more games that season; Wymack was too loyal to Duncan and there just wasn’t a point. So back to the same old, same old soon enough.

*******

This time, Neil’s team had beaten the Decatur Bulldogs on their own turf, and with a decisive defeat at that, though the Bulldogs took it just as hard as they had last year. The Mustangs were still undefeated, so Neil wasn’t too surprised to see a local news reporter talking to Coach Lee and Brett after the game as he came out of the building and made his way to the bus.

What did surprise him was hearing his name be called out; he stilled at first, and then flinched when he realized that it was Coach Lee, and that the man was still standing in front of the reporter and a camera man. “Josten! Come over here.”

Neil hunched his shoulders and wondered if he could try to pretend that he hadn’t heard anything, but then Brett came over and grabbed onto the straps of his gym bag; by then, the team had realized that Neil wasn’t big on personal contact. “Come on, they want a word or two with you!” Brett cajoled as he all but dragged Neil over to where the immaculately groomed brunette in a white polo shirt and black slacks was standing holding a microphone in front of a cameraman.

“There he is, Neil Josten.” Judging from the way she was smiling, the camera was rolling. “The young man who scored five of the nine goals tonight! You were pretty amazing.”

Keeping his head down as much as possible so his hair covered his face, Neil nodded and made a non-committal sound; he hoped that the news station was a small, local one and wouldn’t share the footage.

“Aw, I think he’s also shy. You’re going to have to get used to giving interviews if the rumors are true and you’re joining the Ravens next year!”

Coach Lee laughed and gave Neil a little pat on the back. “Yeah, everyone’s just waiting for the recruiters to come and make it official.”

“From what their forums say, it’ll be any day this spring. He’s even wearing their colors, as we can see.”

Neil did his best to push down the sense of growing nausea he felt just then, and the urge to pull off the detested jacket he was wearing so he could throw it onto the ground.

“I bet you must be excited about the prospects of going to Edgar Allen and playing alongside of Riko, right?”

Hearing mention of Riko, who was part of the reason he was being put through this, made Neil lift his chin a little and shake his head. “I… well, I want to play with the best. Edgar Allen, Penn State, just one of the best schools,” he said as he avoided looking straight at the camera. “But yeah, the best is at Edgar Allen… Kevin Day is there, after all.”

The interviewer – he had no idea who she was – blinked her eyes in surprise. “Well, Kevin Day is number two, so he’s one of the best. But Riko-“

“Kevin Day,” Neil repeated. He did consider Kevin to be better than Riko, he had seen the two play up close as children and he’d watched enough games back before that day in Racine, when he’d lost all interest in Riko and Kevin as some sort of Exy heroes. “But for now, I just want to keep getting good. Coach Lee is really helping.”

And with that, he allowed Lee to take over the interview again and slipped away as the man went over highlights of the game and how well his Mustangs had played; Lee was a good coach and eager to talk about his team, about all of them.

Neil climbed onto the bus and texted Andrew while he waited for Coach Lee to finish, anxious to leave. There weren’t any texts yet from Riko, but then the bastard would be busy with his own game that night. He wondered a little if Riko would manage to track down the video footage and then shrugged – it would serve the bastard right, to hear that Neil didn’t think of him as the best Exy player, considering that massive ego.

The rest of the team was loud and hyper, happy about their win and ongoing winning streak, and Coach Lee wrapped up the interview after a few minutes. Relieved that they were finally leaving, Neil texted Andrew that he’d be back soon and hoped that his friend had a decent night playing Breckenridge.

*******

The Friday after the Breckinridge game, they had an away game planned in Virginia; Andrew had let Conrad know that he’d be out of state. Neil was heading off to Columbia as soon as he finished with his classes and practice for the day, since by the time Andrew, Nicky and Aaron got back after the game, it would be too late to go to Eden’s Twilight and they would just head straight to the house; Andrew refused to spend any more time on campus then he had to.

So considering the long drive ahead of them, Andrew and the rest of the Foxes were a bit surprised when they got to the stadium and Wymack sat them down instead of yelling at them to gather their gear then get on the bus. He appeared tired and a bit beaten down, which was odd when none of them had started fighting or slacking off yet, or were facing another suspension like Mazzio that Andrew knew of, while Abby stood beside him as if to offer silent encouragement.

“Look, I’ll get right to it since I know we don’t have much time” he said as he ran his right hand over his hair. “Palmetto State is a Class I school only on a technicality,” Wymack told them. “We earned that rank on my say-so, because of me training with Kayleigh Day.” He paused as if thinking of something. “I guess the ERC thought that stood for something.” His expression was carefully restrained, but some of his agitation showed in the way that he drummed his fingers against the mug he held.  "As you know, we're halfway through our fourth season and so far we've only won ten games during that entire time."

Frankly? Andrew was surprised that they’d won that many, considering the mess he’d seen this season and that Duncan had been the goalkeeper for so long. Maybe miracles did happen. While everyone was paying Wymack attention, he yawned and hoped that the man got to the point sometime soon – it was a known fact that the Foxes sucked.

Wymack finished taking a sip of coffee as if stalling to gather his thoughts and continued. “We’re getting better, this season has shown some improvements, but the powers that be are losing patience.” He paused again to look over at everyone, and Andrew noticed the way that Renee and Dan had stilled, as if they were expecting a blow. “I received a call from the ERC this morning, where they informed me that they’re considering dropping our status in December.” Dan sucked in her breath as if she’d just been punched, while Renee gave a slight nod and Reynolds took to glaring; Wymack nodded at their reactions. “Let me tell you now that if we get demoted to Class II? We’ll never be Class I again.” He paused for another sip of coffee as if to let that sink in, the dramatic bastard, while several players shifted about on the benches. “We would need to have near perfect scores for five years straight before we’d earn a reconsideration, and even then there’d be no guarantee of winning an appeal.” In other words, no fucking chance, considering the Foxes’ records, Andrew translated. “It’d be easier to leave us as the best of the second-best than to give us another chance.”

All of a sudden, Riko’s cryptic texts the last month or so were beginning to make sense to Andrew, about him never having a chance to ‘play’ with Neil again; he’d thought it referred to Neil being a Raven and so in another district, maybe Riko cutting off Andrew’s access to Neil or something along those lines. But no, it sounded as if Riko had made his uncle go to the fucking ERC and spew garbage in their ears until they were willing to demote the Foxes – all just to ‘hurt’ Andrew, to weaken whatever ability he had to protect Neil.

Wymack’s voice jolted Andrew’s from his thoughts. "I'm going out on a limb here," Wymack said, his voice a bit firmer than before. "I'd like to think I don't ask a lot of you, but I'm asking you now to help me. The last thing I want is for us to lose our Class I title, but there's nothing else I can do. The fight is going to have to be yours, so start fighting unless all you want to be is second best,” he told them, his eyes intent as he gazed out over all of them. “You need to do more than just show up and play for once. You need to start believing in yourselves and each other. You need to win, and you need to keep winning.”

It was clear from the seniors’ attitudes that they found the premise to be utterly ridiculous, and Andrew couldn’t blame them – they’d never even broken the middle ranks, let alone the top, and Wymack wanted them to not only win but to go on a winning streak? He must be lacing his coffee with something pretty potent.

However, only Dan spoke up, and that was to tell him, “yes, Coach.”

Wymack waited to see if anyone else had something to say, and then nodded once. "Good, glad we’re all on the same page. Now get your stuff. If you're not on the bus in five minutes I'll leave you here."

Yeah, always nice to back things up with an empty threat – as if the man would leave any of his worthless rejects behind, even if he had a better chance of getting that needed win if he did. Andrew rolled his eyes at Aaron and Nicky as he got up and gathered his gear, which he was going to use for once because of Duncan being red-carded. Once on the bus, he grabbed a seat for himself and decided to take a nap so people would leave him the hell alone; he didn’t want to talk about the upcoming game or how important it was, or any shit like that.

The team was in a quiet mood when they got to Virginia, and it didn’t help any that the crowd had turned out in a frenzy to support the Jackdaws. Andrew sneered at the booing students as he ran around doing laps to help warm up, Aaron stone-faced beside him while Nicky appeared a bit apprehensive. Gordon didn’t help any by giving the crowd obscene gestures, which made Wymack yell at the moron.

Andrew didn’t know if it was the crowd or the speech earlier that was affecting the team, as everyone appeared a bit more focused on the pre-game drills than usual, especially Dan, Matt and Renee. Good for them, see if they could play the damn game by themselves – oh, wait, it took nine players, right? Too bad that still left them with Gordon and the rest. Well, Reynolds was pretty good, when she wasn’t letting the drama with Gordon fuck her up. Then Andrew remembered that he was stuck playing for half a game tonight because of Duncan’s red card and sighed.

As they got off the court, Andrew went to go join Aaron and Nicky who were talking to Abby, only to be called out by Wymack. “Andrew, I want to talk to you about something.”

“Hmm, sorry, not in a talkative mood,” he told the man. “I’m sure you can find another reject who’ll appreciate the pep talk or whatever.”

Wymack rubbed at his forehead as if he had a headache. “Some days… yeah, just love this job.” He dropped his hand and shook his head. “You heard what I said back at Palmetto, right? You know how important this game is tonight.”

Andrew folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side. “I wasn’t aware that I suffered from any memory retention problems. You’re confusing me with Mazzio, Coach. Might be time for you to get the memory checked out, too.”

That jab made Wymack curse beneath his breath. “Why is it never easy with you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Andrew said with an innocent smile.

“Sure you don’t.” Wymack narrowed his eyes as if he was losing his patience. “I’ve seen your games back in high school, and I saw what you did last week. You’ve got talent, and you can do a hell of a lot if you just bother to apply yourself. We need you to apply yourself tonight.”

Andrew arched an eyebrow at that; off to the side, he noticed that Renee was paying attention to them. “I’m only one person, what good do you think I can do?”

“I think that if you can close the goal for us, the rest of the Foxes can do their job and get us a win,” Wymack said with a straight face. Oh, how fun it was to deal with the delusional. “That’s all we need to prove ourselves to the ERC and hold our Class I status.”

“I think you’re going to need more than that,” Andrew insisted as he motioned for Renee to come join them, since she seemed so intent to listen in on the sidelines. “So what’s in it for me if I do this for you?”

“Being part of the team?” Even Wymack didn’t sound like he believed that, and grimaced when Andrew took to scoffing. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t buy into it. So what the hell do you want?”

Oh, this was too easy, wasn’t it? Wymack didn’t realize that Andrew had every reason to ‘close the goal’ tonight because of Riko’s latest bit of fuckery, but if he could get something out of Wymack as well? That was a bonus in his book. “Give me a number between one and ten and a bottle of Walker Blue, and I’ll see about that ‘applying’ myself.” He smiled as he waited for the man to figure out what he was proposing, and thought about the fun he’d have with the bottle of whiskey and Neil.

Wymack frowned for a moment, and then he appeared to get it. “Five,” he said with a slight nod, and didn’t even try to argue about the alcohol. Then he turned to Renee. “Sorry, but you’re sitting out this game.”

Surprise flittered across Renee’s face upon hearing that, considering that it was only Andrew’s second game of the season and he’d only played a partial half at that. "I'm shutting down the goal,” he explained as he leaned in close to her, as if telling a secret. “Can't do that if you're giving points away like it's Christmas, right?” She didn’t seem offended by what he said and just nodded, the surprise increasing as she looked back at Wymack. “Pay attention, Coach! I'm only going to do this for you once,” he warned. He wouldn’t allow Riko to win at this new game, but he also wouldn’t allow Wymack to use him to bail out the man’s precious Foxes time after time.

Meanwhile, Renee still seemed to be confused about something. "Can someone who doesn't care about winning really close the goal?" Renee asked as she gave him a thoughtful look; out of all the Foxes she knew him the best, so it was a fair question. She knew he didn’t care about the team or Exy, but she didn’t know about Riko.

So all he did was give her a sharp grin and say "so little faith,” before he walked away, because he knew that would annoy her the most.

Aaron and Nicky were surprised when they found out that he was going out for the first half instead of the second, and Wymack kept quiet about the fact that Andrew would play the entire game. Andrew went out into the goal and the game started, and for the hell of it he allowed the five agreed upon goals to land in the first half an hour just to make things more interesting for him. The Jackdaws were a decent team so he was kept from being bored defending the goal and got some amusement firing off the ball far down the court, a slight smile on his face when the other team started to get pissed off as they failed to land any more goals.

It wasn’t until half-time that Wymack told the rest of the team about his plan. There were several complaints on Renee’s part, and when Andrew went to check his phone to make sure that Neil had gotten to the house in Columbia all right, Nicky and Aaron followed him.

“Why are you doing this?” Aaron asked in German. “Why help them out?”

“Yeah, it’s not like you to care this much,” Nicky agreed.

‘here w/ three pints of chocolate chocolate chip ice cream waiting for you’ Well, the idiot was learning to send better texts, Andrew supposed. He sent back a message to Neil about surprising him with dirty talk like that before he told the two about his deal with Wymack.

“Again, it’s not like you to care,” Nicky repeated.

Andrew gave them a flat look. “Do you really think that it’s coincidence that *this* year is the one when the ERC decided to get fed up with the Foxes? Hmm?”

Nicky frowned at that, while Aaron cursed. “You telling me that Ri-“ At Andrew’s glare he stopped and ran his right hand through his hair. “That the asshole had something to do with it?”

“Oh hell,” Nicky muttered. “Really?”

“Let’s just say I think it’s rather interesting, him telling me that I’ll never have a chance to play with Neil again and then we get this news today,” Andrew said. “So yes, I’m doing this.”

Nicky shared a look with Aaron then shook his head. “Well fuck if I’m going to just stand around, too, after what that prick had done to me.”

Aaron gave their cousin a sneer. “Just don’t let those asshole strikers through all the time, like you did earlier.”

“Oh now that *hurts*,” Nicky cried out, and Andrew leaned back against the lockers to exchange some interesting texts with Neil while the two bickered about their performance on the court.

Soon they were back out on the court for the second half, and the Jackdaws came out determined to break through the Foxes’ defenses and score some more goals; they were furious at being shut out. Meanwhile, the Foxes were more focused now, having gotten a second wind during half-time and after hearing Wymack’s plan. While his teammates pushed forward to score some goals, Andrew continued to block all of the Jackdaw’s attempts, fighting past the growing exhaustion by imagining Riko’s anger and frustration at having this latest plan to fuck up Andrew’s life thwarted. It fueled his own anger and added strength to his throws as he deflected all of the attacks on his goal.

By the time the game ended, the score was five – ten in favor for the Foxes, and the team went crazy over their win while the crowd erupted in boos and shouts over their team’s loss. Andrew leaned against his racquet and glared at anyone who dared to approach him to get him to join in on the celebration, even Nicky, and let the exhaustion of playing an entire game wash through him.

As soon as the referee opened the door to the court, he was through it, done with the whole game and ‘team experience’. He just wanted to get out of his gear and shower, to rid himself of the sweat trickling down his body then check up on Neil. Since he was the first one in the locker room, he managed to wash off and get dressed before the rest finished with their little party out on the court, and was sitting on a bench texting with Neil (excited for their win and completely awful at sexting, what a surprise) when they finally came in.

He was texting Neil back that ‘you know… that thing… uhm’ was not very helpful or at all explicit when Dan came up to stand in front of him. "That was incredible, what you just did," she told him, a slight flush on her sweaty face. Andrew paused in his texting because it was the first time she’d talked to him all day, and the first time she’d said something nice to him all year long. What, did he have a fatal disease or something?

He finished his text before he responded. "So happy you think so, but it won't happen again anytime soon," he said without bothering to look up from his phone. "Pull your own weight from here on out, hmm? It’s much too much effort to keep on saving your asses."

Dan made a spitting sound as she turned around and stalked away, taking her stink with her. Good riddance. Andrew smiled when he got another text back from Neil, and could only imagine how embarrassed his friend must be at the moment. Hmm, a little better than the last one, but the idiot still wasn’t explicit enough.

This time, it was Wymack who came up to him. "What if I'd said one?"

Seriously, could these people not leave him alone? He’d done what he’d said he’d do, he pulled their asses out of the fire, and he couldn’t get a bit of peace so he could a little sexting on with his idiot to help kill the time until he got to Columbia? "What if?" he muttered; it wasn’t his fault that Wymack had picked the higher number.

“So if I say-“

“No.” Andrew cut him off then and there. “I told you, I was only doing it once.” He looked up from his phone to give Wymack a cold look. “Get the rest of your pity projects to pull their weight, got it?” That said, he got up to gather up his gear so he could go wait for everyone out on the bus.

“Always so much fun to deal with you, Minyard,” Wymack said through gritted teeth.

“Aw, you know I’m your favorite,” Andrew sang out as he stuffed the gear into his travel bag.

“Favorite what, we won’t get into just now.”

Andrew had to give the man that, so he just grinned and continued packing up, eager to leave and get back home.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think you all know what's going to happen in the next one, right? Well, there's another bonding scene between Andrew and Uncle Stuart (they're such buds now), a bonfire, and a road trip. Hmm, not eventful at all. Maybe I shouldn't post it. So boring.
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are so greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we go! Last of the Foxes finally gets on the scene!!! I think you know who I mean....  
> *******

*******

The Wednesday after the Virginia game, Andrew was pleased to see that he had a text from ‘Limey prick’ on his phone – just a time and an address. It meant that he had to ditch his Social Histories class, but oh, the sacrifices one had to make for their idiots. Andrew stopped for a double chocolate mocha along the way and was standing in front of the GS while sipping the hot beverage in the middle of the parking lot of an amusement park closed for the season when Stuart Hatford pulled up in the black sedan.

“And you give me grief?” The mobster shook his head as he lit a cigarette. “Seriously, what the fuck do you have on Nathaniel that he’s with you?”

“Our sex life is incredible,” Andrew said, just to piss him off – even if it wasn’t much of an exaggeration.

Stuart closed his eyes while the fingers of his right hand twitched, as if he was just stopping himself from going for his gun. “Mary is turning over in her grave right now.”

Fortunately, before Andrew could give his own opinion on the man’s beloved sister and Neil’s mother, Stuart got control of himself and continued speaking. “But that’s neither here nor there. I spoke to the little lord about your leak.”

Hmm, interesting how Stuart was being careful to avoid speaking Ichiro’s name out loud. “And? Don’t keep me in suspense,” Andrew said as he finished off the coffee. “Did he find his dear brother’s antics ‘childish’, too?”

Stuart shrugged as he pulled out one of those pocket ashtrays and tucked the butt of his cigarette inside of it. “He’s a man of few words. But what I do know is that your problem is dealt with – word is that someone wasn’t happy about a potential loose end that could be traced back to the family if people decided to look a little too closely into the scandal.”

Hmm, ‘someone’. That didn’t indicate if it was Kengo or Ichiro who made the decision, just ‘someone’ with authority. Andrew wondered if something was going on behind the scenes, if Ichiro was making a grab for power or if something was wrong with Kengo that the main branch didn’t want leaking out just yet. “Whatever, just as long as Riko’s lost his upper hand in this matter.”

Stuart gave him an accessing gaze for a few seconds. “You don’t want to know what happened to your… to what’s his name, Rich Costanzo?”

Andrew bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. “You said he was dealt with, which is all that matters to me.” He didn’t care if that meant that Costanzo had been paid off or was currently buried in an unmarked grave somewhere – actually, he much preferred the latter, but what mattered the most was the end results. It would have been nice if he could have dealt with the traitorous rat himself, but one didn’t always get what one wanted in this life. “While it would make my day to hear many gruesome details, I just care about twisting Riko’s tail in the end.”

There it was again, that hint of approval on Stuart’s face. “Kid, you’re not half-bad at times.” And then his expression hardened. “Which is good, because what Nathaniel needs beside him is someone who can make the tough calls and see things through. He’s got too much of his mother in him, is too willing to throw caution to the wind along with all common sense when it comes to those he cares about being in danger.” For a moment, Stuart’s eyes grew haunted and then he shook his head. “It’s clear that Riko’s got a hard-on for both Nathaniel and you, and I don’t think he’s going to stop here.” He looked back at Andrew and glared. “So you watch yourself, you hear me, you cocky pissant? You watch out for yourself but good, because there’s only so much I can do for Nathaniel now that he belongs to the Moriyamas. Don’t go making yourself a fucking target and dragging Nathaniel down with you.”

“Why the fuck do you think I came to you about this?” Andrew asked, his hands clutched into fists over being taken to task because of Neil – and by a man who had done nothing while Neil had been chased over two continents by his own father, carved up bit by bit the entire time.

The question made Stuart flinch, just a bit. “Yeah, the little twit should have been the one to come to me, dammit. Just like his mother, I said.” He rubbed at his face, which was now marred by grief. “Got the Hatford pride in spades, he does. Prideful and stubborn.”

“Like I would know,” Andrew muttered.

“Heh.” Stuart smiled a little and shook his head. “Just watch over him, okay? And don’t leave that childish prick any openings. Because I’m willing to bet that Nathaniel’s learned nothing from Mary, he’s not going to hesitate to throw himself in front of that bullet for you, and you won’t know until it’s too damn late.”

As if Andrew didn’t know that *already*, after watching Neil walk around wearing Ravens’ colors for the past however many weeks, after watching the idiot stress himself out over the damn texts and busted phones because of Riko’s abuse, over any mention of the upcoming spring and his choice of a university. “You wanna help with that? Take care of that ‘childish prick’ just like you did Costanzo,” Andrew told Neil’s uncle, then gave a grim laugh when Stuart said nothing. “Yeah, I thought so. Neil’s not the only one who’s ‘property’, is he?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” Stuart gritted out. “Oaths were sworn when-“ His lips pressed together. “Someone had to step in to fill the void left behind by that bastard, Wesninski.”

It all came back down to Mary in the end, didn’t it? The damage inflicted on Neil, Stuart dancing to the Moriyamas’ tune, Andrew doing what he could to keep together this life he’d made for himself in South Carolina. “A void you were oh so happy to create, yes?” He scoffed as he unlocked his car’s doors. “I’d say pass on my thanks to the little lord, but somehow I doubt he gives a shit.”

“Be thankful he doesn’t, not about a smart-assed twat like you,” Stuart muttered as he stepped toward his own car.

“You’re breaking my heart, Limey. Good thing your nephew will kiss it and make it all better later – oh, wait, that’s something a lot lower down that I’m thinking about.”

Oh, that grinding sound from Stuart just then was *amusing as hell*, Andrew could dwell upon it for days and smile upon remembering it.

“Just know that when Nathaniel finally comes to his senses and dumps your sorry arse, that your days will be numbered.” Stuart made an obscene gesture in his direction before getting in the sedan, so Andrew just waved before he got into the GS, which he started after lighting a cigarette. Soon enough he was back on campus, and he texted Anna while on the way to his next class with a simple ‘all wrapped up now’.

He wanted to break something when she answered back with ‘give Neil my love’ and a bunch of heart and kissy face emoticons, but since she’d helped him out with tracking down Costanzo, he supposed that she got to live a bit longer. There would be a very long, painful discussion on boundaries if they ran into each other in person again, yes indeed, but she would get to live.

The rest of the week went by quickly, in anticipation of the coming weekend at Columbia and the ‘celebration’ that Andrew had planned. The only downside was that in light of the Virginia game and Riko’s – or Tetsuji’s on his nephew’s behest – interference with the ERC, Coach Wymack was now insisting that Andrew play at least one half of each game. He wasn’t asking Andrew to shut down the goal anymore, but yes, no more bench sitting anymore. And dammit, Andrew couldn’t argue because of Riko, not when he knew what was at stake. It didn’t mean that he had to go all out for each game, but he would have to ensure that the other teams didn’t walk all over the Foxes as they’d done during the first part of the season.

It would be so much easier if Wymack would just bench Duncan, who was the weakest member of the team now that Mazzio was off the court, but the man had come up with some sort of great idea to alternate between Duncan and Renee so there wouldn’t be any ‘hurt feelings’. Andrew was about to just take a racquet to the druggie’s kneecaps and save them all a bunch of unneeded aggravation, when Aaron must have noticed something in his expression and grabbed the stick before Andrew could go more than a step or two. “I doubt your ‘friend’ will be in a happy mood if he has to bail you out again,” Aaron said in German as he attempted to wrestle the stick free. “Though, hey, maybe that means I should let you do it, but then I’d be stuck with these morons all by myself.”

By that point Nicky had joined in. “What about me? Where’s the love, huh?”

The rest of the team had paused in doing their drills to stare at the three of them, Dan with growing outrage, Matt with amusement, Reynolds with disdain, Duncan, Gordon and his crew with loud snickers and Renee with a sharp stillness.

“He’ll forgive me eventually,” Andrew gritted out as he struggled against the other two. “I’ll just tell him it was for the good of Exy.”

“What the hell? Did I say it was time to fool around? Get back to the damn drills before I have you doing laps, you friggen morons!”

Andrew sighed as Aaron and Nicky let go of his racquet and glared at them, but gave up on his plan to maim to Duncan, dammit. Too many witnesses paying attention to him now for it to be effective.

He regretted giving up on the plan when he was stuck defending the goal that Friday night against Blackwell, unable to allow more than two goals because of Duncan’s terrible performance in the first half. If it wasn’t for the fact that the rest of the Foxes were still as determined as they’d been against the Jackals, if not even more, and so were actually racking up points against the other team, it would have been a lost cause. However, Andrew holding the goal meant that the Foxes managed to close the gap in points in the second half and eventually take the lead, which caused the home crowd to go wild – it was a rare occurrence that they got to witness their team win. Andrew just gritted his teeth as he deflected each shot, as he caught it and lobbed it as far down the court as he could; he focused his thoughts on what would happen later that night, on the bit of revenge he had planned.

In the end it wasn’t much of a victory, but it was still a win and that was all that mattered. Wymack was grinning so much that his face had to hurt, and Dan leapt onto Matt, who caught her and spun her around in his arms; the idiots appeared even more pleased with themselves than they had in Virginia. Gordon was shouting about having a party, while Andrew just jerked his chin at Aaron and Nicky to indicate that they needed to go wash off so they could pick up Neil and head to Columbia.

Once again, Andrew – along with his twin and his cousin – were all done and ready to leave by the time the rest of the rejects finished with their on-court celebration. Dan gave them an odd look upon seeing them freshly washed and out of uniform. “What, you’re not sticking around to celebrate with us?”

“Oh so sorry, but we have much better plans,” Andrew said as he looked past her at Wymack. “Speaking of which, I believe you have something for me.”

Wymack grunted before he turned around to go into his office, while Dan took to scowling. “Would it really kill you to join in with the rest of the team for once?”

Andrew gave her a sharp grin. “Oh captain, my captain, I think you should know better than most that we play rough. I don’t think you want some of these kiddies to join us in the deep end of the pool, hmm?”

Off to the side, Gordon muttered something about ‘assholes’ while Dan threw up her hands and stalked away, right about when Wymack returned with a shopping bag; he gave Dan’s back a curious look and then shook his head at Andrew. “Be responsible with that, understand?”

“I swear to put it to good use,” Andrew promised, and after taking a closer look at him, Wymack shook his head again and held up his hands.

“You know what, I don’t want to know anything else. Just get out of here and be back on Monday morning.”

“Hmm, all sharp-tailed and bushy-eyed, or whatever,” Andrew agreed as Nicky headed toward the exit door. “Y’all have fun now, ya hear?”

Reyes shouted something about *them* having fun, if they didn’t get arrested for trolling under-aged bait, and Nicky blew him a kiss off of the middle finger of his left hand. Wymack stepped in before Reyes and Gordon could step up for a fight, while Nicky laughed as they left the locker room.

“A fucking child,” Aaron muttered as he slipped into the passenger seat for once.

“What can I say? I meet the handicap of my opponents,” Nicky shot back.

They stopped at the dorms only long enough to change into their outfits for the night and grab anything they needed for the weekend, and were gone before the rest of the Foxes returned from the gym, then made their way to Abby’s to pick up Neil. Andrew got out of the car upon seeing Neil dressed in those low slung skinny jeans and the thin black top, the Ravens’ jacket only draped along his left shoulder despite the cold. He reached out to pull his friend in close for a kiss and tasted mint toothpaste, felt slightly chapped lips before Neil’s mouth parted beneath his own while fingers slid into his hair, and suddenly all of the shit he’d put up with that day didn’t really matter.

At least, it didn’t matter until his hands had just slipped up past the soft, silky material of Neil’s shirt to feel firm, warm skin and then there was a loud blast of the GS’s horn. Neil flinched at the sound while Andrew pulled away with a curse, and looked over his shoulder at the car to find Aaron leaning into the front seat with a potent glower on his face. “Let’s get there before the club shuts down for the night, all right? Suck face with your friend later,” he shouted out through the open door.

“I’m reconsidering my stance on burying bodies,” Neil ground out as his fingers dug into Andrew’s shoulders for a couple of seconds, and then he let go.

“So happy to know that, but Nicky’s at the top of the list,” Andrew said as he caught Neil’s left hand and then tugged him toward the car. “At least when it comes to family.”

“Fine then, two graves.” Neil sighed as he began to walk toward the car. “You enjoy your win tonight?”

“Hell no.”

“Yeah, I figured not.” Neil smiled as he shook his head.

Andrew made the idiot drive them to Columbia, where they gathered some cracker dust before going off to Eden’s Twilight. They got two rounds in before the club shut down for the night, two rounds where Andrew had Neil drink so he was in a relaxed mood by the time they reached their home.

Instead of going straight into the house, he tugged Neil out into the back yard, the night air a bit crisp. Aaron and Nicky, who had been enlightened about what was going to happen, went to fetch a few supplies, while Andrew shrugged off the Foxes jacket he’d brought with him from the dorm room which he had kept in the GS until they’d left the club and held it out to Neil.

“What’s going on?” Neil frowned as he looked at the white and orange jacket bearing Andrew’s last name and the number ‘3’. “What’s with that?”

“Put this on,” Andrew told him.

“But-“

“No, put it on,” Andrew insisted.

Neil frowned a little, but he gave in after a moment, careful to put Riko’s jacket by his feet as he slipped on Andrew’s jacket instead. “All right?”

“And have some of this.” Andrew handed over the whiskey Wymack had given him for last week; if anything Neil seemed more reluctant to drink that than to exchange the jackets, but did it after staring at Andrew for a few more seconds; he drank probably about two or three shots worth and then grimaced.

“Wah- ack, what is this about?” Neil shook his head as he handed over the bottle. “What are you doing?” By that point, Aaron and Nicky had returned, with some kindling to put in the fire pit.

“We’re going to have a little bonfire tonight,” Andrew informed his idiot, a grin on his face as he motioned to the jacket by Neil’s feet.

That provoked an immediate reaction. “No!” Neil snatched it up and took a step back as if to flee, but Nicky was already behind him. “I told you – Riko will-“

“No, he won’t.” Andrew’s face settled into a stern expression as he closed the distance between him and Neil and reached for the offensive garment. “I took care of it.”

That surprised Neil so much that he didn’t move quick enough to keep the jacket out of reach. “Wha- dammit, Andrew, give it back!” He attempted to snatch back the jacket, but was too slow. “The forum – he’s going to post about you!”

“No he isn’t,” Andrew insisted as he tossed the jacket to Aaron, who was quick to throw it onto the wood stack on the fire pit and dose it with lighter fluid; when Neil attempted to prevent that, Andrew grabbed him by the forearms. “I told you, I took care of that!”

That got Neil to look at *him* and not the dam jacket. “But… how?” Neil’s eyes were wide and his fingers dug into Andrew’s arms. “How could you do that?”

Andrew debated if he should tell the truth or not, and settled for a partial revelation. “I worked with your Uncle Stuart to track down the asshole selling me out to Riko, and we convinced him to back off.”

Neil stared at him for a moment or two, face an incomprehensive mask, and then his fingers tightened on Andrew’s arm for a moment before he shook his head. He slumped against Andrew, body taut with tension or some other emotion, and then… then he relaxed. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he murmured.

“*Riko* shouldn’t have done that,” Andrew snapped, even as his fingers combed through Neil’s hair. “I promised you, I’d take care of shit like this.”

Neil shook his head again, but he pulled back to look Andrew in the eye and gave him a tremulous smile; Andrew had a feeling that Neil didn’t buy the whole ‘convinced’ part… but he’d grown up with the ‘Butcher of Baltimore’ and had always known what his ‘Uncle Stuart’ had done for a living, so it probably had been a foolish idea, to try to hide things. “Just don’t get yourself in trouble,” was all Neil said before he leaned in to give Andrew a brief kiss. As he pulled away, he murmured “thank you.”

There it was, in part why Andrew was willing to go to such extremes for this one particular idiot; no one else appreciated his efforts like Neil did. He let out a slow breath and pulled Neil back in for another kiss, for one that made Neil let out a low moan and slide fingers into his hair, just as Andrew grabbed him by the hips and tugged him even closer, as Andrew-

“Are we lighting this damn thing on fire or what tonight?” Aaron sounded a bit impatient just then. “I’m getting bored here."

“Yeah, you promised us a fire, though the floor show right now is rather nice.”

Andrew glared at Nicky as Neil broke off the kiss. “There’s a fucking yard to bury you in,” he warned his cousin, and smiled at the way Nicky nearly fell over in his drunken haste to step back. “Yeah, right.”

That taken care of, Andrew pulled Neil closer to the ‘bonfire’ and picked up a small piece of kindling, which he used his lighter to set on fire. Once the stick was burning for a moment or two, he dropped it on top of the fire pit, and grinned as the jacket, soaked with the lighter fluid, started burning.

Nicky let out a loud whoop and even Aaron was grinning, while beside Andrew Neil stared at the flames with a narrowed gaze, as if he was imagining something else burning other than the Ravens’ jacket. When Andrew gave him a nudge in the side, Neil turned to look at him, his expression smoothing out into a slight smile before he leaned in for a brief kiss.

Aaron took a couple of pictures of them standing in front of the fire as the jacket burned, before it was reduced to ashes, and Andrew sent two of them Riko – he made sure that the asshole could see the jacket on fire and what Neil was wearing. All he said was ‘this is what mutts do’.

Then he grabbed the mostly full bottle of Walker Blue and his idiot, and took them both inside while Aaron and Nicky sat around the still burning fire. Neil didn’t say anything until they were in their bedroom, when he sat down on their bed. “Are you sure he can’t come back and hurt you?”

“Stuart ran it through the ‘little lord’,” Andrew said after he took a swig of alcohol; he had held back a little that night at the club in anticipation of their ‘celebration’. “There’s no way Riko can do anything after being shut down on that high of a level.”

“Okay.” Neil nodded then began to take off Andrew’s jacket.

“Wait, don’t get rid of it just yet,” Andrew told him with a grin. “I think I like it, seeing you wear it.”

The look Neil gave him just then was at first confused, and then a bit distrustful. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You hate the Foxes’ colors.”

“Hmm, almost as much as the Ravens’. But after seeing you wear them for the past couple of months….” Andrew put the bottle of alcohol on the dresser and came over to stand in front of the bed, which made Neil look up at him; he cupped Neil’s face between his hands. “Yes or no?” He liked the idea of Neil wearing something of his for a bit longer.

Neil shivered a little, those long lashes of his fluttering as he licked his full bottom lip. “I guess it’s better than sexting.”

“Hmm, yeah, you gotta work on that some more,” Andrew said with a smile as he leaned in a little more; it made the long bus rides on away games more amusing. “Was that a yes?”

“Yes,” Neil breathed out as he tilted his head a little to the side, right before Andrew kissed him. Of course the idiot said yes, he always did, and something inside of Andrew did this odd little twist each time he heard it because even with all the repetitions, he never expected them. So he pushed past the peculiar feeling to kiss Neil breathless and then told him to get naked – except for the jacket.

Even with all their clothes gone but the Fox jacket, the scent of smoke clung to their skin, to their hair; Andrew nuzzled along the front of Neil’s neck until he wrung a frustrated whine from his friend, the taste of sweat and a hint of ash on his tongue as he swiped it along the exposed skin. His back propped against the headboard by pillows, he sat on the bed with Neil straddling his thighs, both hands clenched on the headboard as Andrew’s fingers slid slowly in and out him.

“Oh fuck,” Neil groaned out as Andrew curled his fingers, face flushed and eyes darkened with desire. “Fuck,” he repeated as he sucked in a sharp breath, his lean body shivering in reaction to what Andrew was doing. “You- oooh.” His hips rocked back and ass grinded down as Andrew curled his fingers again, and swore in a muddle of French.

Andrew smiled as he skimmed his teeth along Neil’s jaw. “Right there?”

“*Yes*.” The word came out ragged and low as Neil attempted to glare at him, at least until Andrew’s fingers curled again to make Neil shudder and moan; it was more than just breaking Neil down, it was that Neil *let* him do it, even as Neil cursed at him or glared. Neil always said ‘yes’, Neil always agreed to everything, even if he would hesitate at first or fumble along. There was so much trust there that it frightened Andrew at times and confused him at others, but at moments like these, when he knew that he wasn’t pushing too far and they both were about to get what they wanted… it just made everything that much sharper, that much better. “Bah-stard.”

“Hmm, I know.” Andrew nipped at Neil’s left ear as his fingers slipped free, and smirked when one of Neil’s hands tugged at the back of his head to tilt his head up for a proper kiss while he fumbled for the lube so he could prepare himself. Neil’s kiss was ravenous, was a sign that maybe he’d been teased a little too much, and as soon as Andrew’s hands settled on his hips, Neil was sinking down and taking Andrew in with such a steadiness that Andrew couldn’t hold back on a low groan.

It wasn’t often when Andrew allowed himself to be in a position like this, pinned down or cornered even if it was by Neil… but being able to see Neil in Andrew’s jacket, wearing something with his name across the chest, with Neil staring down at him with such evident passion on that gorgeous face…. Andrew reached up to thread the fingers of his left hand through the auburn curls falling onto Neil’s face, to tuck back the strands and to pull his idiot down closer as his hips continued to thrust up hard. Neil met him thrust for thrust, left hand latched onto Andrew’s shoulder while the other stroked himself, Andrew’s name tumbling from his swollen lips as Andrew’s mouth ravaged his neck and collarbone.

Feeling Neil begin to tremble, Andrew yanked back on Neil’s hair so he could better see his friend’s face, could see the expressions which flashed across it as he rocked his hips up faster and harder, his lips twisted in a pleased grin when Neil came. To have something that was just his… he closed his eyes as his own pleasure burned stronger inside of him, at the clench of heat and friction from Neil’s orgasm, at that spike of possessiveness, at just *everything*. He rode it out a little longer, and then the brush of Neil’s lips along the side of his neck sent everything tumbling down in the best way.

A faint moan escaped him as he came, but for once he didn’t care. He lay slumped back against the pillows with Neil sprawled against his chest, the wool fabric of the jacket a bit scratchy against his sweaty skin. In a minute he would need to get up and put some space between them and wash off and… and… well, in a minute.

“Uhm, I think your jacket… yeah. Maybe it can be dry cleaned?”

Andrew smiled despite himself and gave a tug to Neil’s hair. “Like I give a shit about that jacket.”

“Just saying.” He could feel the smile on Neil’s lips against his neck. “Long as you don’t blame me for it. Your bright idea.”

“Completely worth it.” He couldn’t wait to go into Wymack’s office in Monday and tell the man that he needed to order a new one. His skin was beginning to twitch, but he forced himself to remain on the bed for a little longer. “So… this doesn’t bother you, does it?” His fingers clenched a little in Neil’s hair before he made them let go of the damp strands.

“Hmm?” Neil untucked his head from the crook of Andrew’s beck and sat up straight, which made him wince a little. “The jacket thing? It’s yours, so no.”

Andrew glared as he gave Neil’s right hip a strong squeeze. “193%, you idiot. No, I mean… this.” He motioned Neil sitting on his lap and the mess on them. “Do you ever wish that- forget it.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, if Neil was unhappy about anything between them.

Neil gave him an odd look for a few seconds before shaking his head. “I’m… it’s okay.” Then his lips twisted in a wry smile. “Still don’t get the sexting thing, but I’m happy, the way things are between us.” He placed his right hand against the center of Andrew’s chest. “You give me what you can and that’s more than enough.”

What Andrew ‘could’ – what if Neil got tired of that ‘could’ some day? “And if you want more?”

“I already have what I want,” Neil sighed. “What’s brought this on?”

 To be honest, Andrew wasn’t quite certain; maybe it had been that meeting with Stuart, with the bastard chiding him to watch after Neil better. It was disconcerting, to think of what Neil might do for Andrew, if Riko got out of control, when there was still so much holding Andrew back when it came to his… his ‘friend’. Dammit, Andrew was going to kill Aaron. “Too many toxic fumes from burning that shitty jacket,” Andrew murmured as he gave Neil’s hip another squeeze. “Now come on, time to wash off.”

“I guess.” Neil grimaced as he lifted himself off of Andrew’s lap, his hand wiping down the front of him. “Oh yeah, the jacket’s definitely a mess.”

Wouldn’t it be so much fun, explaining to Wymack how it got ruined?

*******

“Hmm, how about some apples?”

Neil nodded to Abby in agreement, and watched as she picked what turned out to be two bags of the fruit; at his puzzled look, she smiled. “Some of those are for snacking, and some will be for an apple pie or two.”

“Oh.” He frowned as she put them in the cart. “You bake?”

She laughed a little. “I try. It doesn’t always turn out that well, but I try.” She gave him a wry grin. “Maybe with your help, it’ll work out better this year.”

“Uhm, yeah, maybe. I’ve never done it before.” He could honestly say that, from the little he remembered, his mother had not been the baking type. She had taught him how to cobble together the ingredients for a couple of easy explosives and some basic poisons, but no baking or cooking. All the cooking had been handled by staff back in Baltimore, and anything they ate while on the run had been extremely simple or take-out.

The look Abby gave Neil just then was a little sad. “Well, no one will hold it against you if it turns out a mess. It’ll be a learning experience.”

Great, Neil was so fond of those. Still, he knew that Abby was trying to include him in things, in *normal* things, so he summoned up a smile and told her that he was looking forward to it. That seemed to make her happy, and they got on with their weekly shopping.

Since Abby housed him several nights a week, and not every night he was able to spend with Andrew, Aaron and Nicky, Neil had taken to joining her on these shopping trips to help cover some of the grocery expenses and pick up anything he needed. Abby had told him that he didn’t need to worry so much about the food and other stuff, but he thought she enjoyed his company and it made him feel better, since she was basically letting him live with her for free room and board.

Finished with the fresh produce, they went through the rest of the aisles, with Abby getting various things and Neil picking up a couple of personal items. It was when they were about finished with their shopping trip when they came across an aisle full of candy, since it was almost the end of October and Halloween was just a couple of days away; Neil and the others were supposed to go to Eden’s Twilight for a costume party on Friday after the Foxes’ game since the holiday fell on a weekday.

Seeing all of the candy, Neil started to pack the cart with the various types that Andrew enjoyed – anything with lots of chocolate. “Uhm… I had already gotten some for the trick and treaters,” Abby commented as she watched him.

“I know, this is for Andrew.” He finally stopped when the bags threatened to spill out of the cart.

“Oh really? Hmm, I thought I remembered Betsy saying that he enjoys her hot chocolate.” Abby smiled as she began to push the cart toward the check-out lanes. “I’d say something about him being lucky to have a boyfriend like you, except I know he takes care of you in return.”

Neil felt his cheeks grow warm at the odd compliment. “He just… he likes sweets and it’s on sale.”

Abby laughed. “Aw, you’re adorable, you know that?” When Neil’s face became even more heated and he took to staring straight ahead, she laughed a little more. “Okay, I’ll stop embarrassing you.”

“*Thank you*.”

Of course he got a lot of weird looks going to the Fox Tower with all of that candy, but it was worth it for Andrew’s slight but pleased grin once he got to the dorm room. Nicky made lots of cooing sounds until he got a bottle of soda thrown at his head, while Aaron made a gagging noise and told the room at large that he was going off to the library to study, where it wasn’t quite as sickening. It was a good week, especially since Andrew seemed rather smug whenever Aaron or Nicky mentioned Coach Wymack (even though the man gave Neil a decidedly odd look the one night he stopped over to visit Abby), and there weren’t any texts from Riko, despite burning the jacket.

It was such a good week, that Neil put up with the Harry Potter costume Nicky had gotten for him (‘you have the scar and everything! Well, sorta. Ow, why are you hitting me, Andrew?’) and tagged along to watch Aaron and Nicky get drunk, then spend another night out in the backyard with the fire pit (no jackets were burned that night, but they made more of a mess out of Andrew’s – okay, it was an official kink, Neil was thinking. He also was thinking he was quite fine with it).

So it had gotten to November with the Foxes starting an unexpected winning streak and the Mustangs still undefeated, and Neil back at Abby’s after a great weekend in Columbia. He’d planned on spending the Sunday evening at her house helping to make an apple pie and catch up on some homework when he heard the front door open and close, and then the heavy tread of footsteps.

It wasn’t unusual for Wymack to come over and let himself in, since he had a key and all. Normally he spent the nights when Neil was out, or maybe during the weekdays when Neil was too busy with school and Andrew, but Neil wasn’t going to say anything about the man’s visits when he was a guest – a long-term one, but still a guest. Even after living there for a few months, the man’s presence still made Neil a bit nervous so he usually just left or went to his room when Wymack came over, but Neil was currently stuck in the kitchen since he was helping Abby peel the apples.

“Hey, you.” Abby smiled up at Wymack and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Didn’t think you were going to stop by today.” She grinned a little. “Not at least until you heard how the pie turned out.”

Wymack gave her a weak grin in return. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He didn’t sound too convinced just then. “Actually, I came over to talk to Neil.”

Neil stilled upon hearing that, while Abby frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Wymack noticed that Neil hadn’t said anything and had paused in peeling the apples and sighed. “Look, I know that Andrew feels that I should mind my own business when it comes to you, but got a call from an acquaintance today – George Fletcher, who handles recruiting for Maryland.” He paused as he went over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water, his gaze intent on Neil. “Called to let me know something about a mutual friend, and then we got to talking about shit – Exy shit.”

Neil’s right hand clenched around the handle of the peeling knife. “Okay. And that has to do with me how?” he asked when Wymack stopped talking to drink some water.

The man grimaced as he set the bottle on the counter. “Because some of that Exy shit was about the upcoming recruiting season. There’s some stuff we don’t say to each other because of professional courtesy, but he did let me know that him and a bunch of others are pissed off because the Ravens have put out word that you’ve already signed a contract with them and effectively cut off any chance for the other universities to even make an offer.”

Neil heard the words but they didn’t make any sense, didn’t quite register, so Wymack continued. “George said that according to Tetsuji, they locked you in last year, but you don’t want people to know and give you too much grief about it since you’re still so young, especially since Andrew turned down the offer and joined the Foxes. But Riko and Kevin have faith in you, in that you’ll be part of their Perfect Court, hence Riko sending you his jacket.” Wymack went quiet again as if waiting for a reaction. “Look, I don’t quite know what’s going on, but that doesn’t… it doesn’t jibe with what I know about you. I figured that you deserved a head’s up, especially since I think you were hoping for those recruiters to come through.”

In other words, no Penn State. No Maryland or USC, even though it was too far away from Andrew. No Breckenridge. Riko didn’t even have to force Neil to make an ultimatum because there wasn’t any other alternative – he *had* to join a top tier university for the fall or risk his deal with Ichiro and the main Moriyama line. So what had Riko and Tetsuji done? They’d ensured that Neil only had the Ravens to go to, in the end.

He glanced aside from Wymack as he forced his hand to unclench from the knife and set it down on the table. “Okay. Thanks,” he told the man as he walked out of the kitchen, toward the steps where he’d left his shoes upon entering the house after being dropped off by Andrew before his friend went off to practice with Renee.

“Neil? What the hell? Is he all right?”

“No, that… Neil! Wait, Neil!” Abby called after him, and came scrambling onto the landing by the door just as he tied on his shoes. “Neil, are you all right?” She reached out to touch him, but stopped when he flinched.

“I’m fine,” he told her, but couldn’t summon up a fake smile, not for her. “I’m… I’m going to run to clear my head, all right?”

“Oh sweetie.” She shook her head, her eyes glimmering for some reason. “Be careful, okay? I’ll be here when you get back, if you need to talk.”

He just nodded, unwilling to promise that he’d talk at all, not about Riko, not about the Ravens, and was out the door as he heard Wymack’s deep voice rumble something to Abby. He was out the door and running, running as if he could actually flee the mess he was in, if he could run away from the Moriyamas.

But he couldn’t. Not with the limited funds he had, not when they owned him, not when all they had to do was hurt Andrew – hurt Andrew and Nicky and even Aaron. Neil’s mother had been right, it was such a mistake to stop running, to let people close… but Neil couldn’t hate himself for Andrew. Not even if it meant being dragged off to Castle Evermore and handed over to Riko, he couldn’t regret Andrew.

If he couldn’t run away, he could at least run until he was too tired to think, which was what he did; around and around the neighborhood at first, through all the winding side streets with the cookie cutter homes, and then slowly outward. He ran through the thirst and the hunger, ran through the sun setting and his muscles beginning to cramp because those were inconsequential things, were nothing compared to the awful thoughts in his head.

He ran until finally there was nothing but white noise in his head, and even then kept on running. Everything was just motion and ache and exhaustion, and then it wasn’t. He found himself in a heap by the side of the road without knowing what had happened, his left calf clenching in pain from what felt to be a charley horse and his lungs gasping for air.

Feeling in a daze despite the pain, he looked around and realized that he was somewhere on Palmetto State campus, but with no idea where exactly; he was just familiar with Fox Tower and the stadium, which he could see far off in the distance. Struggling to control his breath, he patted down his jeans, but he’d left the house without his cell phone and even his keys – all he’d thought about was getting away, and that Andrew would be busy with Renee at the time so he couldn’t run to his friend.

Neil had also left without a jacket, with only a thin long-sleeved t-shirt on which was soaked with sweat, and now that he’d stopped running, a decided chill was setting in. He sat hunched on the curb as he attempted to force his numbed mind to work, to figure out what to do next, and several cars drove past, one or two honking at him.

Maybe make his way to the stadium? Once there, he should be able to figure out how to get to the Fox Tower and Andrew – maybe it would be better to just go back to Abby’s?, but his body was so sore, he wasn’t sure how long that would take. What time was it? Neil went to brush back his damp bangs and hissed when he realized that he must have scraped up his palms when he’d fallen down. Maybe there was an open building somewhere and he could find a phone so he could-

“Neil? Neil, right?”

Neil jolted back into awareness and found a huge truck stopped a few feet away, with the passenger door opened and someone leaning across the front seat. He forced himself upright, to move, to run away – and nearly fell down again as a wave of dizziness set in from the sudden movement.

“Fuck! Neil, it’s me, it’s, uhm, it’s Matt! Matt Boyd.” The person inside the truck scrambled out of it, and Neil found Matt Boyd reaching out for him. “Holy shit, you look… ah, you all right?”

Neil flinched a little from the young man’s large hands but didn’t have the energy to move very far. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. “Just… need to get back to Abby’s.”

“Shit, I think Andrew’s looking for you, him and the other two have been a mess all afternoon.” Neil flinched again, that time upon hearing about Andrew. “Come on, I’m not about to leave you out here like this, not with you looking like shit.”

Neil tried to argue that he just needed to figure out how to get back to Abby’s, but found himself all but picked up and shoved into the truck’s cab; he blinked a couple of times as he tried to figure out just how that had happened, and the next thing he knew, there was a sports drink placed into his scraped hands. “Drink that, you look like you need something in you right now.”

“Uhm.”

“Drink,” Matt said, while he started up the truck. Neil merely blinked again and fumbled with the lid to the drink, which took a couple of attempts to undo, and had to admit that even warm, the liquid felt good to his parched throat.

Matt somehow managed to text on his phone and drive, though the roads through campus weren’t that busy, especially on a Sunday night. He had just set his phone down and Neil had finished the drink when he’d pulled into the parking lot of the Fox Tower.

“Not Abby’s,” Neil mumbled as he rubbed at his face; the drink had helped a bit with his thirst and the muscle cramps, but the exhaustion was still wearing him down.

“No, I’m sure someone here will take you back.” Matt turned off the noisy as hell truck and got out, and the next thing Neil knew, the passenger door was being yanked open before he could even reach for it. He recoiled from the sudden motion, and found Andrew glaring up at him.

“500%,” his friend snapped, his eyes narrowed in anger and expression so tight just then, that Neil was considering staying in Matt’s truck forever. “Now get the fuck out here.”

“Uh….” Neil wasn’t too certain he wanted to do that.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed even more and he stepped up onto the foot rail of the truck. “Do you want me to pull you out?” There was a deceptive calmness to his voice just then that Neil knew not to trust.

Okay, Neil was getting out. Only his muscles didn’t seem to want to work after sitting down, and Andrew had to steady him once his feet hit the asphalt. “I have never wanted to throttle you more after you pulling this shit,” Andrew murmured in his ear as Neil clung to him. “No phone, *nothing*, for hours.”

“I just… Sunday’s your day with Renee,” Neil tried to explain. “I needed to… I didn’t want to think.” He tucked his face into the crook of Andrew’s neck so he could breathe. “Didn’t run away, just ran.”

Andrew’s arms wrapped around him with a painful certainty that made Neil sigh in relief. “If you ever pull a stunt like this again, you’ll be joining those Sunday sessions, understand?”

“Hmm.” Neil nuzzled Andrew’s neck and smiled when that provoked a slight shiver. “’kay.”

“You need a beating and a shower, not necessarily in that order,” Andrew declared as he gave Neil’s hair a sharp tug. “How do you manage to completely wreck yourself?” He wrapped an arm around Neil’s waist and began to half-drag Neil toward the building; Neil realized that Aaron and Nicky were right behind them, along with Dan and Renee. “I’m going back to that masochistic hypothesis, you know.”

Neil let out a slow hiss as he was forced to move. “I don’t know, I just… I just ran.”

“Next time, get on a fucking treadmill and save us all the headaches.” Andrew reached across to flick Neil in the head; Neil would normally complain, but he could still feel the tension in his friend’s body. “And your phone, don’t even get me started on you taking off without your phone.”

Nicky came up on Neil’s other side to smile at him. “See the fun you’ve been missing these last few hours? Oh, I’m sure he’s going to make you catch up on everything.”

“Like you weren’t wringing your hands and calling the damn hospital,” Aaron called out.

“You looked up the number for me,” Nicky said with a smile.

Aaron glared at everyone before hurrying inside. “I hate you all.”

“He cares, he really cares,” Nicky fake-whispered to Neil.

Neil didn’t really care himself right then, when all he wanted was a hot shower and a soft bed. “Uhm, I’m fine with the elevator today,” he told Andrew, mentally cringing at the thought of taking three steps, let along three flights.

“I should make you suffer with the stairs, but I don’t feel like this taking two hours. Fine.” Andrew shuffled them over to the elevators but didn’t allow Matt, Dan or Renee in with them – Renee gave them a wave goodbye before the doors closed. “Don’t ever go running off without your phone again,” he told Neil. There was no need for an ‘or else’.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Neil slumped against his friend, his tiny flare of energy fading fast. “Did… I….” He didn’t know how to bring up what had sent him running in the first place.

Andrew’s arm tightened around his waist. “Abby told me, when she called after you’d been gone for over an hour.” Andrew stared ahead with that blank look of his. “We’ll figure something out.”

Neil didn’t say anything, he just sighed and let his head rest against Andrew’s shoulder. Fighting Riko just then seemed impossible… but if anyone could do it, it was Andrew. So Neil merely closed his eyes and trusted his friend to see him to safety.

*******

After that Sunday when Neil had pulled his disappearing trick for several hours – he spent the night at the dorm, too exhausted to do anything but fall asleep after Andrew got him cleaned up, and even slept through a good part of the next day – Andrew put a fucking tracking app on Neil’s phone and made some very convincing ‘threats’ to ensure that his idiot never went anywhere without it again (daily knife fighting practice with him and Renee. Renee had agreed to it, after one look at Andrew when he’d spent over an hour driving around searching for Neil and not finding him).

Fortunately, Neil seemed to get it out of his system that day. Andrew knew that the problem was still there, that they would have to figure something out about the damn recruiters… but for now they had classes to pass and Exy games to win; Neil still had to prove that he could play at a university level, and Andrew was busy saving the Foxes’ asses so they didn’t lose their Class I status. That was a hell of a lot easier to do when Renee was in the goal for the first half of the game than Duncan.

The teams that they were facing off against now were a lot better, were some of the best in their district, so Andrew had to work to keep the points in the Foxes’ favor each game. As their wins grew to outweigh their losses for the first time ever, the game attendance increased, and the Foxes were actually close to popular on campus and receiving news attention for something other than being the worst team in their division.

The Foxes took their ‘success’ with mixed reactions – Dan was pushing everyone to keep on improving and didn’t seem to trust the new fans, Duncan was just as much of an asshole as always and pissed off that Mazzio was still benched, while Gordon, Reyes and Arnolds thought that they were doing just fine and could take things easy. Meanwhile, Wymack was pushing them on, too – he kept reminding them that they’d bought time on the ERC ruling, but yeah, a winning season would make the rumblings go away for good.

It made Andrew grateful for their weekends in Columbia, when he could get away from all of the damn morons and have a few drinks and stretch out on his bed with Neil curled up beside him. When he could sit out beside the fire pit with Neil on one side and Aaron on the other, the stars above and enjoy the quiet.

It was the weekend after the game with Belmonte, which they’d lost (there was only so much Andrew could do thanks to Duncan’s complete inability to guard a goal – he’d managed to salvage the second half enough that there wasn’t that wide of a point loss, but yeah, *Duncan*. Fucking Duncan. And fucking Wymack), when Andrew and Neil were in their bedroom together while Nicky was probably having phone sex with Erik and Aaron either drinking beer or working on his homework or both.

“Hmm, so Erik’s coming back over for the Christmas break?” Neil was lying with his eyes closed, his right hand curled beneath his cheek but his left stretched out toward Andrew.

“If I see any mistletoe, I’m making Nicky eat it.” Andrew was not putting up with all that disgusting PDA again this year.

“You know it’s poisonous, right?” There was a slight smile on Neil’s lips just then.

“Really? I had no clue. In fact, I never heard you say anything about that at all.”

Neil gave a tug to Andrew’s sweatshirt. “Little more than fourteen more months to go. Don’t get caught just yet,” he warned, referring to Andrew’s probation.

Andrew scoffed at that. “I’m not the one doing harebrained things all the time, like you.”

“No, you’re just in cahoots with my uncle.” Neil opened his eyes and began to frown. “If I find out one of these days that you’re running a vast criminal empire, I’m going to be mildly upset. Plus, you’ll pay me back for all of those phones.”

‘Mildly upset’. Andrew would suggest that Neil get his head examined, but he knew lost causes when he saw them. Plus, he thought that insanity was part of Neil’s attraction, to be honest. “Who says ‘cahoots’ anymore, you idiot?” he mocked as he shifted over for a kiss.

“I do. And no comment from the walking sarcasm generator.” Neil lifted up to brush their lips together, which Andrew took for a ‘yes’.

It was a leisurely kiss, which Andrew didn’t intend to move beyond that, but it was enjoyable and peaceful and one he was in no hurry to end, so of course that was when Neil’s phone chirped. Neil sighed and let his head fall back onto the bed, eyes closed and expression shuttered, so Andrew reached over him to grab the damn thing. “Speaking of sarcasm….” He eyed his friend as he sat up on the bed.

“I haven’t sent anything you haven’t seen,” Neil muttered. “Not about to start training with you and Renee.”

Andrew reached out to pat him on his tousled curls – someone needed a haircut soon. “Good boy.” He smiled in the face of Neil’s icy glare. “Though you were a bit mouthy on that interview last night.” Word was slowly getting around about Neil ‘signing’ with the Ravens, and with the Mustangs’ winning streak, the local news station tried now and then to grab a sound byte off of him. Nicky had pulled the latest one up online last night when they’d gotten home, about a sullen Neil remarking about how *if* he was going to Edgar Allen that he was certain Kevin Day would have a lot to teach him.

“I’m not going to give Riko what he wants.” Neil had that same sullen expression on his face as he sat up as well.

Wasn’t that fine and dandy? Except that Riko would do his best to tear whatever he wanted from Neil, if he ever got his hands on the idiot. Andrew attempted to tamp down on his anger as he checked the phone’s latest message, and then used the device to tap Neil on the head. “I think Riko saw the interview.” The message had read ‘you had best learn who is your master. Kevin won’t make the pain go away’. 

Another text came in, but Andrew just threw the phone over his shoulder, determined to ignore it for the day. “Come on, I think it’s time you made me something to eat.”

“Why do I have to make something?” Yet Neil followed Andrew out of the bedroom.

“Do you want me to make something?” Andrew grinned over his shoulder. “If I bother to cook, my feelings are going to be hurt if everyone doesn’t appreciate my efforts.”

Neil winced at that, probably remembering Andrew’s last ‘effort’ which had involved ground beef, chocolate and tabasco sauce – he still argued that the principle of it all had been sound. “Never mind, I’ll make something.”

“I thought so.” Some people were just too easy.

And some people were just useless; when the fall grades came out, it was confirmed that Mazzio had the dubious distinction of failing all of his classes, the stupid asshole. Duncan once more took to ranting when Wymack had no choice but to cut his friend from the team – Andrew had no idea what the waste of flesh thought the man could do, when it was clearly stated in all of their contracts that they had to maintain a certain GPA in order to retain their scholarships. It was also clear that Dan and Wymack were upset about the whole situation, which Andrew also thought was ridiculous and not worth the effort, and he made sure to wave from his doorway as Mazzio walked through the hallway with his luggage since he could no longer live at Fox Tower; Renee gave him a bit of grief about that at their practice session the next day.

“I know you don’t want to get along with the others, but there’s no need to be outright antagonistic,” she chided as they ran around doing their warm-up laps.

“I’m sorry, but have we met?” he asked her, while behind him, Nicky groaned and Aaron took to chuckling.

“It’s just… not everyone is happy to see Damien go,” she tried to explain. “He’s been here a long time.”

“That is not a valid argument,” Andrew said. “Don’t tell me that your precious team hasn’t improved without him, and that things wouldn’t get even better if his drug buddy Duncan’s GPA slipped another point or two. Nostalgia and familiarity are no reasons for everyone to suffer along with their inadequacies.”

Renee just gave him a blank look before she shook her head and then fell back to run along with Dan and Reynolds.

However, she was a bit more talkative the following Sunday, after they’d been told on that Friday by Wymack that they’d qualified for spring championships – somehow they’d scraped together enough wins and points to grab the fourth spot in the upcoming spring games. After enduring the cheering and congratulations in the locker room, Andrew, Aaron and Nicky had picked up Neil to go to Columbia, where the ‘celebrations’ had continued. Nicky had been hyper all weekend long and even Aaron in a good mood, and Andrew had cajoled Neil to get drunk enough again for the British accent to come out. When Andrew was back on campus on Sunday, Renee brought up the Exy Christmas banquet that was held each year for the Class I teams right before the students went away for holiday break.

They were done sparring, and it had ended with an even draw; Andrew was nursing a tender spot on his left side and Renee would have a bruise on her left cheek. “So, if you think Neil wouldn’t object, would you mind being my date for the night?” she asked as she sipped her water.

A slight chuckle slipped from Andrew at that. “Oh yes, I’m sure he’ll take great offense. Be prepared for battle.” He could just imagine Neil taking on Renee – it wasn’t that he doubted Neil had the spine to do it if it ever came down to it, but Neil would either do something too impulsive or would be sneaky as hell. The idiot didn’t seem to have any middle ground when it came to things like that.

Renee seemed to be thinking something along the same lines. “Hmm, that would have… interesting implications. However, I take it from your response that you feel he won’t have any problems with it?”

“He knows you’re not a threat in that regard – part of him fucking up that one day was that he didn’t want to interrupt our session so he didn’t come straight to me,” Andrew said, explaining that one Sunday. "You still bother him, but he gets that you don’t bother me so he’s fine with us spending time together.” Andrew would be upset with Neil’s casual acceptance of him spending so much time with Renee… but there was Neil’s reaction to Roland’s easy flirting, so yeah, it was fine.

“I think I’m a bit jealous.” Despite the words, Renee gave him a sweet smile. “It must be nice, to have someone who cares about you so much that as long as you’re happy, they’re fine with things like that.”

Andrew narrowed his eyes at the girl and tapped his fingers against his own bottle of water. “Back to this banquet.”

“Hmm.” Renee still kept smiling. “So yes, if Neil won’t mind, will you be my date?  People are allowed to bring one, but it’s more that we’ll just show up and be seated together.”

“I suppose.” Andrew scoffed before he took a sip of water. “If I have to be there, at least you’ll be a semi-bearable choice to suffer along with for the night.”

Renee beamed at him. “Thank you!”

Neil didn’t have any problems with Andrew taking Renee – he just seemed relieved that he wouldn’t be dragged along to the event, especially when Nicky brought up about what a shame that he was going to miss out on the party (no, Neil kept stating that he was quite happy to stay home). Andrew didn’t think anyone on the team would have been surprised if he did take Neil, even if it wasn’t 100% confirmed that they were a couple – there weren’t any public PDAs between them, other than the ones they’d done at Eden’s Twilight, and which Dan and Matt didn’t seem to remember. But Andrew didn’t know who all was going to be at the banquet, so that meant that there was no fucking way in any hell that Neil was going to be anywhere near the event, was going to be anywhere near people that *Riko* might have sent.

Neil had strict instructions to keep to Abby’s house for the night, until Andrew, Aaron and Nicky returned from the banquet to pick him up so they could head to Columbia together – and to keep his damn phone charged. After taking the last few seats in the back of the bus between the three of them, Andrew made sure to exchange frequent texts with his idiot on the long drive to Virginia (no sexting that time, unfortunately), along with Nicky who was chatting about the upcoming plans for the holiday break while Aaron played on his phone.

Once they were at the event… well, Andrew didn’t understand the fuss. He knew that it was mandatory, the Foxes being there, *him* being there, and that was the only reason he was suffering through the night. Because the point to all of this? Ridiculous. Renee gave his arm a gentle pat and then wandered off to talk to some of the few other female players, often in attendance with Dan and Reynolds, while Nicky found someone to dance with on the makeshift dance floor. There were a lot of sneers thrown the Foxes’ way, but not too much could be said when they’d also beaten a good number of the teams in attendance and were going to the championships in the spring; Andrew had a feeling that a lot of the other teams were trying to adjust to that fact, dealing with *winning* Foxes.

Wymack seemed to spend his time divided between socializing with the other coaches and keeping an eye on his team, including to give Andrew a lingering gaze now and then as if to make sure he wasn’t starting any trouble. Andrew just gave him a cool look back, in-between texting with Neil and ignoring everyone other than Aaron and Renee.

After informing Neil that his percentage had gone up two points because of Andrew having to suffer through this… this ‘thing’ tonight and that Neil was treating him to a late breakfast in the morning, he got a rather odd message back.

‘think R is drunk texting me. things are… weird’

Andrew frowned when he read that and pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against. ‘explain weird’ he typed back.

“Is something wrong?” Aaron asked. “Don’t tell me that Neil pulled a runner again or something.”

“No, but he might want to depending on his next text.” Andrew’s eyes narrowed he read the response.

‘just weird. jumbled. different threats than usual’

‘do NOT answer him’, Andrew sent back. ‘daily sessions’, he reminded, just in case. He got a frowning emoticon from Neil, which he took to mean that the idiot wasn’t going to argue in face of the rather effective threat.

The Ravens would be attending their own district’s banquet, which meant that Riko just might be having a few too many drinks or something at the party. Might be.

Andrew’s patience was worn thin by the time Wymack finally came looking for everyone to tell them that it was time to leave, and couldn’t help but notice that the man no longer had on the white dress shirt he’d been wearing when they’d arrived earlier that evening. He’d also noticed that Wymack had disappeared for about an hour – him and Abby, since Andrew had been watching out for him in hopes that they would be leaving soon so he could get back to Clemson and Neil.

So he kept a close watch on the man as the rest of the team was rounded up, at the tension in Wymack’s large frame while they all shuffled out to the bus. Wymack didn’t let anyone on until they were all gathered into a small group, and as soon as Andrew got up on the steps, he was jolted wide awake by the scent of blood; he looked behind him and noticed when Renee caught it, too.

“Keep moving,” Wymack snapped, intent to get them all on board as quickly as possible. “Go, go. Get on, all of you.”

Andrew stared at him and then at Abby, who was blocking the first seat as she all but pushed everyone to keep moving down the aisle – to keep moving *past* the seat she was blocking. Andrew stared at her and noticed the strain on her face, noticed that she had changed out of the fancy dress she’d worn to the banquet… and that the bright blue garment was now draped over the still figure curled up on the seat she was blocking.

Andrew gave Abby a narrowed look, which she returned for a moment before shaking her head and motioning him on; she knew enough to not touch him to push him onward. Dan grabbed the second seat and then Renee the other one, so Andrew went to the back of the bus like always.

“Keep moving,” Wymack called out. “We have to get the hell out of here.”

Yeah, Andrew sort of suspected that, especially after having caught a flash of black hair, and was beginning to wonder if there was a connection to Neil’s ‘odd texts’ and their mystery stranger. He motioned for Nicky and Aaron to join him in the back of the bus even as everyone else huddled as close to the front as possible.

Once everyone was on board, Wymack closed the door and took to standing in the aisle so he could address them, removing his jacket as he prepared to speak. The blue t-shirt he wore beneath it was covered with patches of dark blood, the sight of which caused most of the Foxes to cry out in one way or the other – except for Andrew and Renee. Dan even leapt to her feet as if to physically reassure herself that Wymack was all right, but the man just shook his head and motioned for her to sit back down; Renee reached out to pull her back into her seat, and Dan looked as if she was cutting off the circulation in Renee’s arm, she clung on to her friend’s arm in return with such a tight grip.

"Listen up," Wymack said, "because what I'm about to say is non-negotiable, and I am not going to repeat myself.” Oh, great, there went the belief that they were in a democracy. “We," the man then gestured to include everyone on the bus, "are not going to repeat it, under any circumstance, to anyone. That means friends, family, friends with benefits, I don't care. If one word of this gets out before we're ready for people to hear it then a lot of people are going to get hurt. Tell me you understand me."

Oh yes, Andrew had a feeling that his suspicions were indeed correct, and gave a slight nod when Aaron glanced at him. What the fuck had Riko done now? Around him on the bus, the rest of the Foxes took to murmuring but eventually nodded. Wymack continued to stare at him until they all told him “yes, Coach”, except for Andrew, Nicky and Aaron. That earned them a baleful gaze, which Andrew met with a level one; he wanted the man to know that he was not pleased with being forced to such an agreement, and that he knew more than what was being said. However, after a few tense seconds, he smiled then said “yes, Coach,” which prompted the same from his twin and cousin.

After that, Wymack looked to Abby and her patient, his gaze lingering there for about half a minute before he continued. “There’s been… an accident, and someone came to us for help since we’re the only ones able to help him out. We’re going to have a visitor for a while.” He kept staring at the unconscious figure, and Andrew grew bored with the useless emotions flashing across his face, the guilt and grief and blah, blah, blah. Get on with the answers.

Renee, brave soul that she was, prodded the man on. “Ah, Coach?”

That seemed to kick Wymack into gear because he finally looked up. “It’s Kevin Day.” While the Foxes started at the revelation, everyone but Andrew and to some extent Aaron, Wymack continued on before the bus erupted into useless chatter. “His left hand is broken.”

Oooh, Riko really had been a bad boy, hadn’t he? Andrew felt a great bit of annoyance at the moment for the asshole breaking a perfectly fine striker, especially if Riko was under the mistaken impression that he was going to take *Andrew’s* idiot striker as a replacement.

It seemed to sink in to some of the Foxes that Kevin Day was left-handed, since Dan gasped loud enough to be heard in the back of the bus. “Oh my God. Oh MY GOD, Kevin is….” Ah, such a bright one she was, their captain.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Gordon muttered as he got up out of his seat, him and Reyes to go over and gawk at Kevin, soon followed by Arnolds as well; Abby allowed them to look at Kevin but not get too close. Andrew didn’t know if they wanted to confirm what Wymack had said or if they wanted to gaze down upon their striker idol, and didn’t really care.

“Eh, why is he alone?” Arnolds asked, and the question made Nicky stare at Andrew. When all Andrew did was give his cousin a mocking grin, Nicky looked as if he was going to be sick while Aaron shook his head and muttered “psychotic asshole” beneath his breath.

“It’s not really broken,” Gordon said, even if he didn’t sound that convinced. “This is a joke, right?” Always the bright one, Gordon.

“Abby put the bones back in,” Wymack insisted as he trailed the fingers of his right hand along the back of his left hand. Why the hell was the man wasting time like this when they should be on the road and leaving this place? “I didn’t get all the details yet about what happened out of him, but I do know that Kevin wants to be left alone.” Wymack ignored Seth’s disbelieving stare and once more gave everyone on the bus a warning look. “You know what’ll happen if people find out he's down south with us, you know how crazy the press is about him as is right now. We aren't ready to face that kind of response; I don't know if we ever will be. So we're going to hide him until he doesn't need to hide anymore."

Everyone glanced around at everyone else, as if to see if there would be any disagreements, and finally Reyes spoke up to say that it would be fine. Wymack looked at each of them individually as if to make sure, and Andrew noticed the way that the man’s gaze lingered on him before he grunted out a ‘thank you’ then turned to *finally* start the damn bus and get them on the road.

It was a quiet ride back to campus, with people huddled together and whispering, and Abby fussing over Kevin. Neil’s texts indicated that Riko was increasingly erratic, and Andrew didn’t want to tell him about Kevin until they were face to face. “What do you think this means?” Nicky whispered as he leaned in closer.

“That someone is even more fucked up than we suspected,” Aaron answered.

“Well, d’uh.” Nicky rubbed at his face, his eyes shadowed by exhaustion. “I mean, what does it mean for-“ he motioned at Andrew’s phone.

Andrew gave him a warning glare; he didn’t want any mention of Neil at the moment. “Nothing. If anything, we’ll see how bad the fallout hurts the asshole,” he mumbled, mindful of being overheard. “And that’s enough of that topic, understand?”

Nicky held up his hands to indicate ‘message received’ and sank back down in his seat.

By the time they reached the stadium, everyone was exhausted and more than eager to just go home, even with the ‘excitement’ of their celebrity ‘visitor’. Wymack reminded everyone once again to not say a word to *anyone*, and wished those who were heading home safe trips and a good holiday.

Andrew, Aaron and Nicky stood off to the side while everyone left, even Dan; somehow Wymack wasn’t surprised to see them standing there in the parking lot. “What do you want?”

Andrew smiled. “Gee, we just wanted to make this special night last a little longer, Coach.”

Wymack scrubbed at his face. “Minyard, I’m not in the mood. Just come out and say it – we have to get Kevin to Abby’s.”

The smile fell away. “I’m coming with you. I’m not about to allow you have a Raven anywhere near Neil.”

Wymack stared at Andrew as if he wasn’t making any sense just then. “You do know that he’s injured and can’t do anything right now. Also, it’s not your call.”

“I don’t give a fuck, I’m still coming back with you.” So what if the guy had his hand broken, Andrew wasn’t going to chance that this wasn’t some fucked up plan of Riko’s to get at Neil.

“Andrew….” Wymack rubbed at his face. “You know, Kevin mentioned you. He seemed intent on you being here.”

Oh, wasn’t that interesting. Andrew shared a look with Aaron before turning back to Wymack. “We’re going there now.”

“Just you! I’m not putting up with the lot of you tonight, do you hear me!”

Andrew waved aside the complaint as he grabbed the bag which contained his dress clothes and motioned for Aaron and Nicky to head to the GS; he let Nicky drive since he’d be dropped off at Abby’s house and the other two could go on to the dorm.

After warning the two to watch out for themselves – he wasn’t sure what was going on, considering Kevin Day and Riko and all – Andrew pulled out the spare key to Abby’s house and let himself in; he figured it would be a few more minutes before Wymack and Abby got Kevin off the bus and into one of their cars. He entered the house to find the living room and kitchen light on, the scent of coffee in the air, and Neil standing there with his Exy practice racquet in his hands.

“Don’t tell me you want to practice right now,” Andrew said as he leaned against the wall.

Neil blinked twice before he leaned the stick against the wall. “It gives me a longer reach than one of the kitchen knives.”

Someone was a little rattled, weren’t they? “Where’s the phone?”

Neil didn’t say anything, just motioned for Andrew to follow him into the kitchen, where Neil’s phone was set on the table. It looked as if Neil had been sitting there, nursing a cup of coffee. “Hasn’t been anything for about the past hour.”

Andrew started scrolling through the texts and could see why Neil was a bit on edge; it looked as if yes, Riko had been drinking at some point and yes, Riko was indeed insinuating that there was a spot on the Ravens’ team for a new striker and Neil was it – that Neil would take the position or be in a world of pain.  “What the hell is going on? Can you make sense out of it, other than he’s even more messed up than usual?”

Setting the phone aside, Andrew reached out to pull Neil closer by the nape of his neck. “I think you’re getting a new roommate.”

“Huh?” Neil frowned as he slid his hands onto Andrew’s waist. “You mean Reyes and Duncan crashing here over the holidays? I don’t care about that, we’ll be back in Columbia.”

Should he begin the mental countdown to the freak-out now or what? “No, I mean the fact that it seems that, as far as I can tell, Riko decided to break Kevin Day’s left hand and Kevin to seek out Wymack’s help for some odd reason.” It was the last part that puzzled Andrew the most – why would Kevin Day go to the coach of the worst team in the Class I league for help?

It took about five seconds before Neil’s body tensed up and he began to pull away, except Andrew refused to allow that to happen. “No, don’t freak out,” he ordered. “Whatever is going on, we’ll figure it out.”

“Why would he do that? Why… how?” Neil shuddered as he bridged the space between them. “How could he do that to Kevin? They’ve been together forever.”

“Do I need to explain psychos to you?” That earned him a dirty look for a moment, until Neil sighed. “They’re going to be here with him any moment. Whenever you’re both here, I don’t want you alone with him, do you understand? I don’t trust him.”

“All right.” Neil’s face went blank as he stared at something on Andrew’s chest. “He better not be here to cause trouble, not if Abby’s helping him out.”

“Try worrying about yourself,” Andrew chided.

That made Neil smile as he looked up. “Thought that was what you’re here for.”

“Smart ass.” Their lips had just brushed together when the door opened again, and Wymack hollered for someone to help him.

Damn pain in the ass… Andrew pushed Neil toward the table and went to the door, which Wymack was holding open. The man nodded and gestured for Andrew to follow him out to Abby’s car, where Kevin was sprawled out in the back seat. “Head or legs?” Then he seemed to think of that question. “Take the legs, less damage if you drop them.”

“Aw Coach, don’t you have any faith in me?”

“Some, but we won’t talk about what that faith’s in,” Wymack grumbled as he waved for Andrew to grab Kevin Day’s feet. “Now get moving, it’s late as fuck.”

Abby hovered nearby as the two of them hauled Kevin’s moaning body into the house; Abby had to have doused him something good when she fixed his hand, but he seemed to be coming out of it. She closed the door and raced into the spare bedroom to fix the bed for Kevin.

From the looks of it, he was dressed in a mix of practice gear and regular clothes, as if he’d pulled on stuff after working out or something. His clothes were splattered with blood, probably from when Abby had fussed with his hand, and Andrew left the striker with Abby to follow Wymack into the kitchen, where Neil was still standing.

Wymack’s face lit up when he spied the pot of coffee and he went to fix himself a mug; his right eyebrow lifted when he caught Neil handing Andrew a mug already made up with creamer and sugar. “Are you going back to the dorm?”

“No, I told you, I’m not leaving Neil alone while there’s a Raven in the house,” Andrew insisted as he leaned against the counter with Neil tucked against his side.

There was silence for about a minute while Wymack and Andrew sipped their coffees, a staring match where Wymack looked away first. “He came here looking for help.”

“Yes, you said that. You also said he mentioned me.” Neil stirred upon hearing that.

Wymack scratched at the back of his head, which made a mess of his short hair. “Look, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out there’s something going on with you guys and the Ravens. There’s the fact that Kevin tried to recruit you and you turned them down,” he said that to Andrew, “and not in a nice way, from what Jackson told me, and that they’re doing whatever they can to get their hands on Neil.”

All Andrew did was take another sip of his coffee while Neil tug on the cuffs of his sweatshirt.

“Hmm, yeah, the usual silence from you guys.” Wymack sighed. “You’re among the most stubborn bastards I’ve ever come across, which is saying something, you know?” He sighed again. “So, today Kevin Day tracks me down, covered in blood and hand a broken mess, and begs me to help him. Me, who’s never talked to him before, who has no idea why he’s reached out to me other than the fact that I knew his mother.” There was a flash of that grief from earlier across Wymack’s face. “Amazing woman, Kayleigh, she taught me everything I know about Exy.” He fell silent and sipped his coffee.

“There a point to that trip down memory lane?” Andrew asked as he shifted some of his weight against Neil. “Or should we leave you alone for a few minutes to work it out?” He made a jerking motion with his free hand.

Wymack gave him a look which clearly stated that he was a bastard, which was nothing new. “I’d have taken in Kevin Day because of his mother alone, but it’s clear that he’s in trouble.” He paused again when Abby, face worn down with exhaustion and stress, joined them in the kitchen. “There’s things I’m not going to tell the other Foxes, things I don’t think it’s safe for them to know… but like I said, I think there’s something going on, with you two and the Ravens. Kevin didn’t say too much, Abby had to knock him out and all, but we got a little out of him. Enough to know that Riko Moriyama did that to him and he’s terrified of going back to Edgar Allen.”

Andrew just continued to sip his coffee while Neil pressed against him, warm and solid, fingers hooking into the belt loop of Andrew’s jeans as if to hold on somehow but not to restrict Andrew’s reach just then. He couldn’t see Neil’s face just then, but he imagined that his friend was giving Wymack that carefully blank look of his, the mask Neil wore when he took everything in and intended to give nothing away.

“Yeah, no surprise there at all.” Wymack glanced over at Abby then shook his head. “What the fuck have you two gotten yourselves into?”

“We’re just two sweet innocent babes, making our way through this nasty world,” Andrew insisted, and felt more than heard Neil huff in response.

“You know what? It’s too damn late for me to put up with you tonight,” Wymack insisted. “I suppose you’re not going to tell me why Kevin Day seems to think you can help him out? He wanted to come some place with me *and* you.” Once again, Wymack watched Andrew for any sign of a reaction.

Andrew shrugged. “I must have made an impression, that time he came to recruit me.”

That wrung another sigh from Wymack as he looked over at Abby, who rubbed at the back of her neck as if to ease some tension. “He’s resting now, I did what I could to make him comfortable and I doubt he’s going to wake up until morning. As long as no infection sets in… he should be all right.”

As ‘all right’ as a champion Exy player could be after being crippled, but hey, Andrew was certain Day would bounce right back. Just give him a week or two, right? “Well in that case, I think it’s past our bed time.” He nudged Neil as he set the mug down on the sink. “Finally time to rest these wicked souls.”

Neil gave Abby a slight wave by way of saying ‘good night’ and made sure to collect his racquet as they made their way down the hall. After getting ready for bed, both of them climbed into bed and Andrew turned off the light, stretched out on his back with Neil lying facing him. “Do you really think he’s here on some mission for Riko?”

“I believe he’s going to be a headache, whatever reason he’s here,” Andrew admitted. “But I’ll find out soon enough if he’s worth the aggravation.” No matter what Wymack thought, if he proved too much of a danger to those Andrew had sworn to keep safe, Day would be gone – one way or another, Day would be gone.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> Poor Wymack, he really puts up with a lot from these guys....
> 
> Hmm, next chapter. Next chapter. Andrew and Kevin. Oh my. A new deal will be made. And Neil and Stuart.
> 
> Things will get a bit rough before they get better.
> 
> And GAH! Finally getting the good part (all the Foxes! Getting to the 'main' plot of the story!). Still real life craziness. Bah. Hopefully will be able to post in a couple of days, but we'll see.
> 
> As always, so appreciate the comments and the kudos!  
> *******


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another long one. Seriously. Some more twists on things here, well, you'll see. Hmm.  
> *******

*******  
“How much gas is in the car?”

Neil paused in washing his hair to answer Andrew. “Over half a tank – wasn’t sure if you’d want us to take both cars back home or not.”

“Okay.” Andrew tugged down his sweater then left Neil to finish taking his shower, and stepped out into the hallway; depending on what there was for breakfast in the kitchen, he might run out for something to eat. They’d decided to tell Nicky and Aaron to just head off to Columbia without them because of the whole ‘Kevin’ business, and were still figuring out how long they’d be stuck in town. There was no sense in everyone hanging out on Clemson together, especially since the dorms would be shutting down soon and Nicky’s boyfriend would be flying in from Germany in tomorrow.

Andrew went into the kitchen and found an almost full pot of coffee and Wymack standing in front of the stove, making what looked to be some sort of egg scramble. “You two finally up?” the coach asked, sounding as if he hadn’t been up very long himself.

“Something like that,” Andrew told him. “Neil’s still in the shower.”

Wymack grunted as he pushed around the mix of eggs, cheese and sausage in the pan. “Still trying to wrap my head around, you know, the two of you. I mean, the fact that it’s Neil and *you*. It’s just that-“

“Coach?” Andrew waited until the man looked up at him. “We’re not going to do this, all right? You agreed to just Exy things between the two of us, and I fail to see how my sex life has anything to do with Exy.” He gave Wymack a smile with too many teeth while he poured himself some coffee. “Unless they changed the rules at some point during the night, in which case I believe I’m quitting here and now.”

“Why the hell did I have to go and sign you?” Wymack said in a rather plaintive tone, as if speaking his thoughts out loud.

“It’s something I ponder often myself,” Andrew admitted. “Now, when will breakfast be ready? Doing those unmentionable things works up an appetite.”

Wymack gave him the finger. “Shut up and set the table.”

Andrew ignored the order in favor of fixing his coffee, aware that Neil would be out soon; one good thing about his idiot was that he never wasted a lot of time getting ready in the morning. About three minutes later, Neil entered the kitchen, auburn hair damp and mussed, jeans worn and wearing one of Andrew’s old sweatshirts as well as a slight smile on his face. “Breakfast?”

“Yes, after you set the table,” Andrew told him; he ignored the displeased look that Wymack sent his way with practiced ease.

They were sitting down and eating when Abby showed up, looking a little better than she had last night. “He’s up now,” she said as she went over to pour herself some coffee. “Kept down the water I gave him, so I’ll try something light in a little bit.”

Next to Andrew, Neil stilled as he watched Abby move about the kitchen, then glanced aside at Andrew, who had leaned back in his chair. Meanwhile, Wymack got up from his chair and went over to stand beside the nurse. “That’s good. Is he saying anything else?”

Abby looked over at Andrew. “He was asking about Andrew, actually. Said he’d like to talk to him, if he can stop by.”

That surprised Wymack, who sent a curious look Andrew’s way. Meanwhile, all Andrew did was smile. “Well, no time like the present, right?” He got up from the table, only to be stopped by Wymack.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here-“

“No, you certainly don’t,” Andrew informed him, all traces of the smile gone. “Which is probably why he wants to talk to me.”

“But none of your rough shit in there,” Wymack insisted, as if Andrew hadn’t interrupted him. “He’s hurt, don’t go adding to it.”

Andrew gave him a cold look before glancing back at Neil, his meaning clear. “No promises.” He wasn’t going to go easy on Kevin if there was a danger to those he had promised to protect. That said, he pushed past Wymack and made his way to the spare bedroom.

Kevin was propped up in the bed, dressed in what looked to be a spare t-shirt of Wymack’s with the sheets folded down onto his lap; his bandaged left hand was propped up on a stack of pillows and his face appeared sallow and bruised.

“Wow, how the mighty have fallen,” Andrew remarked as he began to clap while he approached the bed. “From the top of the Exy world to hiding out in the spare bedroom of the nurse of one of the worst teams around. Color me impressed.”

Kevin managed a weak glare and attempted to shift about on the bed, his expression shifting into pain as he moved. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Hmm, a little,” Andrew admitted. “You’ve caused me and mine a lot of grief, you know.”

“That….” Kevin glanced at the closed door behind them before he shook his head, and when he next spoke, it was in French. “I didn’t know about Nathaniel when I looked into the two of you, I swear it.”

Oh, someone was full of surprises, weren’t they? “I don’t care,” Andrew told him in the same language since it should prevent Wymack and Abby from eavesdropping. “The end result is the same, it brought Riko down upon us. It brought Riko down upon *Neil*.”

Kevin grimaced again as he rubbed at his sweaty and bruised face with his right hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Like that does us any good, considering that the Moriyamas consider Neil their property.” Andrew’s fingers clenched as he imagined wringing the bastard’s throat… but thought that maybe Kevin would appreciate being put out of his misery just then. “Why are you here? Why do you want to see me?”

The room was quiet for a moment, and then Kevin let out a slow breath. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Riko… Riko did this to me.” He motioned at his hand. “We… we played against each other and… and he won. Then he just….” Kevin closed his eyes and shook his head.

Andrew knew that Neil considered Kevin as the better striker between the two, and he had to say that he agreed with his friend. Had Riko’s jealousy won out over their differing talents? There were a lot of comments being made these days about Kevin being the better player, about Riko overshadowing Kevin’s talent as the ‘presumed’ number one…. Andrew was well aware of Riko’s mental instability and inferiority complex. Yet Kevin didn’t say anything about it, he just implied that Riko had ‘snapped’.

Someone was a coward, Andrew was willing to bet, and he had no use for cowards. “So what, your Exy brother just got angry one day and crossed a line? Sorry, I’m not buying that, and it doesn’t explain why you wanted to see me.”

“But… you… you and Nathaniel.” Kevin flinched when Andrew glared at him for using that name. “Uhm, I mean, Neil. He prefers Neil, I guess.” Kevin took a shuddering breath. “You’re the only one I know who stands up to him the way you do. You’re protecting Na-Neil.”

Oh, now this truly was pathetic. “And you expect me to do the same for you? To stand up for you when Riko figures out where you are and comes to haul your sorry ass back?” He scoffed at that. “I have a deal with Neil, who provides me with something of value for all of my efforts.” Nothing that Kevin would understand, but it was true just the same. “A coward like you has nothing to offer me.” He slashed his right hand through the air when Kevin went to say something. “No. I’ve heard enough. I suggest you keep your mouth shut about the Moriyamas while you’re here, however long Wymack’s willing to put up with you, because I will be very upset if you bring their wrath down on these people with your stupidity and your cowardice, do you understand?” He fixed Kevin with a cold stare until the coward nodded. “Great, then we’re done here.”

He stalked out of the room, the door slammed shut behind him. Well, that had been a waste of his time. On the other hand, now he could gather up Neil and head off to Columbia to join Aaron and Nicky, since it didn’t seem worth the effort to remain on campus any longer. Kevin had done something to piss off Riko, but was too much of the man’s lapdog and probably would go crawling back soon enough. How boring. And to think that Andrew had held out a glimmer of hope there – he really should have known better.

Ah well, at least this whole mess with Kevin should distract Riko for a little bit.

*******

Neil and Andrew made it back home not too long after a late lunch, and had just unloaded the Nissan when Neil noticed the text on his phone. “I’m going to head out for a little bit,” he told Andrew.

Andrew frowned upon hearing that, so Neil handed over his phone. “I won’t be long, but let’s get this over with, okay?” He wasn’t looking forward to what he had to do, so the sooner it was done with, the better.

Even so, Andrew didn’t appear pleased with the prospect of getting the chore finished. “I find it suspicious, that he’s in the area like this when shit’s going down. Maybe I should come with you.”

Neil was about to say ‘no’, but took one look at the stubborn set to Andrew’s jaw and sighed. “Don’t interfere, all right? I get the impression that Uncle Stuart doesn’t like you too much.” And by ‘too much’, Neil meant ‘at all’.

“What’s not to like,” Andrew scoffed, and Neil chose to wisely not say anything as they went back out to the car.

Uncle Stuart had picked a coffee house not too far away from where they lived, which probably was his way of subtly hinting at just how much he knew about Neil’s current situation. Andrew got one of his disgustingly sweet mochas and sat in a booth in the back where he could see everything, while Neil got one closer to the door, and was about halfway through his coffee when his uncle sat down, a mug of tea in his right hand.

“Dammit, can’t get used to how much you’ve grown. You look good, kiddo.”

Neil smiled a little at the now usual refrain from his uncle. “Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself.” Uncle Stuart appeared a little more casual today, with a dark blue blazer with jeans and a white dress shirt.

“Was doing some traveling when I got your text.” He checked the tea he’d bought and pulled out the tea bag, which he set on a folded napkin. “Got the idea that it was important, so switched flights.” Despite the slight smile on his face, his pale eyes were solemn as he gazed at Neil over the rim of his mug as he blew on the tea to cool it.

“Yeah.” Neil did a quick check to make sure no one was around; the coffee shop was quiet that time of day, but just to be safe, he switched to French, which he knew his uncle spoke. “I thought that Ichiro and Kengo would want to know that Kevin Day has currently sought refuge with David Wymack.”

He and Andrew had debated if he should report that bit of information to his uncle as soon as they’d left Abby’s house, and while the last thing Neil wanted was to get the woman in trouble, they had decided the risk was too much if the Moriyamas believed that he’d withheld information from them. Plus, this way he could ‘spin’ the situation to prevent their friends from getting into any trouble.

The only sign of surprise was the way that Uncle Stuart’s eyes widened a little and he set down his mug with a distinct ‘thud’. “Well, that explains why I got called back a day early,” was all he said. “And now I won’t get questioned for the detour.”

Neil felt a bit of surprise himself over how his uncle had risked his ‘employers’ possible wrath to check in on him. “From what we know, he approached Wymack last night, when the Foxes were at their district’s Christmas banquet. Wymack has explicitly told the team to keep quiet about Day seeking him out for help, and he hasn’t told them anything other than that Day’s left hand has been broken.”

Uncle Stuart nodded to show that he was following along as he pulled out his phone. “Any reason for the silence?”

“Because Wymack doesn’t want the press to descend upon the players or the school,” Neil explained. “He knows how popular Day is and that this will put them into a frenzy, Day injured, possibly to the point of losing his career, and seeking help outside of the Nest.”

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.” Uncle Stuart gave Neil an assessing look, then glanced back at where Andrew was sitting. “You think he’s there because of you?”

Neil shrugged. “Andrew talked to him for a minute or two earlier, enough to confirm that Riko broke his hand.” He paused while his uncle swore. “That’s not common knowledge, though. Andrew said that Kevin mentioned something about Andrew standing up to Riko, but Andrew left him at that point. I also know that Coach Wymack had trained with his mother, so he’s probably hoping for the man to help him out because of that old bond.”

“It’s a cluster fuck, I think we can agree on that, and it’s a good thing you reached out to me. Last thing you want is for the higher ups to think that you helped hide the poor bastard.”

Neil paused to drink some coffee. “So do they own him, too?” Kevin and Riko had acted like brothers, when he’d known them as children.

Uncle Stuart shrugged and set down his phone. “As much as I can figure out? Not so much, but he’s a definite investment and a possible loose end. But I’ll be the first to admit that I know more about the main branch and not the side. I’ll pass this information on up the line, but in the end, he’s Tetsuji’s mess.” At Neil’s confused look at that statement, Stuart grinned. “Important thing is that the main branch isn’t caught being unaware – or seeming to be caught unaware.”

“Face is everything,” Neil said, remembering his father’s rage at his mother’s ‘betrayal’.

“Yep, pretty much. I imagine the side branch is going to be smarting over Day’s defection, while the main branch sits back and watches to see who this affects and how – and how they can twist this to their best gain.” Stuart appeared rather nonchalant about that prospect while he sipped his tea.

Meanwhile, Neil took that as a good sign for Abby and the others – hopefully they wouldn’t be caught up in the fall-out over Kevin deciding to run to the Foxes for protection. “I won’t complain if it means Riko loses face in the end.”

“Hmm, didn’t think you would.” Stuart gave him an assessing look while he set his mug down again. “Just watch out for yourself during all of this, all right? Last thing you need is to give that bastard an excuse to make a play on you while people are tearing into him over Day.”

“I won’t,” Neil promised. “And I’m sure Andrew will help to make sure I won’t even if I mess up.”

Mention of Neil’s friend made his uncle’s mouth twist as if he’d just tasted something bitter. “Yeah, the little prick. Look, you really sold on him or what? Because there’s McCormick’s younger son, a fun kid. Not bad looking, bright and really into you, he’s seen pictures. McCormick’s a good family, been in the business for generations but they’re diversifying, got some legit stuff going on. It would be a good match. Better than some midget bastard, yeah?”

This was not happening. Neil pushed his coffee aside and rested his elbows on the table so he could jerk both hands through his hair. “Please tell me that you’re not trying to set me up with someone – especially with someone from another crime family.” This had to be a nightmare or something, maybe he’d fallen asleep on the drive back home.

Uncle Stuart gave Neil an innocent look. “What? I’m just thinking about you, I know it’s difficult to meet young people who can ‘get’ you.”

“I already have someone who can ‘get’ me,” Neil reminded the man with a bit of heat. “He ‘gets’ me just fine, and I don’t want anyone else. I’ve never wanted anyone else.” Did his uncle really think that an arranged relationship was the way to go, considering the mess that was his parents’ marriage? “Please never, *ever* bring up this topic again.”

Now Uncle Stuart appeared rather disgruntled. “Just think you can do a little better, is all I’m saying. You’re still young, don’t be so set on the first person you come across just because he doesn’t mind the nasty stuff.”

“But maybe Neil knows I’m a keeper because I don’t mind the ‘nasty’ stuff.”

Why wasn’t Neil surprised that Andrew had left his table to sneak up on them to overhear this discussion? He sighed as he looked over at his friend, at the too bright smile on Andrew’s face, and just shook his head. “Is there anything else?” he asked his uncle as he switched back into English.

“No,” Uncle Stuart said, now a bit churlish. “Will get a present or two out to you, look for them in the next week or so.”

“Thank you, pass on my appreciation to the rest of the family.”

“Yes, please do, we so enjoyed the tea and Christmas puddings last year,” Andrew said, his voice still much too cheerful just then.

“I still think you’re an annoying little twat,” Uncle Stuart told Andrew as he got up from the table. “But keep looking after him.”

“Oh, always.” Andrew took to waving at Stuart as he left. “Toodles!”

Neil groaned as he buried his face in his hands. “How much did you hear?”

Andrew’s hand was heavy as it carded through his hair. “Neil McCormick, such a *lovely* ring to it, don’t you think? Will I be invited to the wedding?” He gave a quick tug at that last part.

“I told him ‘no’,” Neil mumbled as he refused to look up.

“Ah, and so it’s confirmed that you know the word.” Andrew’s hand slid along Neil’s head to rest on the back of his neck. “We’ll bury your uncle right next to Nicky in the back yard. It’ll be quaint.”

“You mean it’ll be psychotic,” Neil said as he looked up.

“Eh, same difference.” Andrew shrugged and used his grip on Neil to drag him from the booth. “Now come on, time to go home.”

Neil allowed himself to be ‘led’ out to the car, and noticed the odd looks they received when what looked to be a mother and her teenaged daughter passed them to enter the coffee shop. He had to wonder what it was like, to have a ‘normal’ family – a father who wasn’t a murderer, an uncle who wasn’t a hitman and didn’t try to fix you up with someone from another crime family or arranged hits with your… your ‘friend’. “Why is everything so messed up?”

“Hmm?” Andrew gave him a curious look as he unlocked the car. “Messed up how? Don’t tell me something else has happened, I thought things had just quieted down.”

“I meant in a general sense,” Neil said as he got into the car. “Don’t you ever wish that things were more normal or something?”

Andrew snorted at that. “Define ‘normal’.”

Neil frowned as he gave that some thought. “Uhm… no crazy stalkers or family members who work for crime syndicates?”

“I’ll give you the stalker thing, but your prick of an uncle comes in handy. I’ll take him over Luther any day.”

“Ouch, yeah, good point.” Neil winced at that reminder. “Okay, forget I said anything.”

“Thought so.” There was a slight smile on Andrew’s lips as he lit a cigarette before starting the car. “Though I’m serious about burying him in the back yard if he tries that matchmaking shit again.”

“Wait until after he sends the presents, all right? I’m looking forward to those Christmas puddings, too.” Neil smiled as he got ash flicked on him, but Andrew didn’t say ‘no’.

*******

The holiday break was… well, it was what it was. Erik was as obnoxiously happy and loud as he’d been the previous year, much to Andrew’s disgust, and Nicky just as excited and hyper. There was another tree, only this time bigger and decorated in orange and white (Neil prevented Andrew from setting it on fire, proclaiming that he would be *very*, *very* upset about losing the house to arson since it wasn’t covered by their insurance. And no, he didn’t believe Andrew when he claimed that he could fake a convincing ‘accident’). There were mornings spent sleeping in, some of them even with Neil still in bed, nights at the club and out back in the yard, huddled by the fire pit. There were presents and Chinese food and red wine once again, and New Year’s Eve with a tipsy Neil and Nicky having to be carried back home by Erik. There was Aaron *smiling*, of all things, then insisting that it had been Nicky’s imagination and why was the man bothering him, and why did Nicky have to make out on the couch - decent people sat on the thing and now it would have to be dragged outside and burned.

There were also the texts from Riko, reminding them about who was back in Clemson and what lay in store for Neil in the next few months, and Andrew found it interesting that there was no ‘breaking’ news story about Kevin having left the Ravens or that someone hadn’t figured out yet where the striker had gone. That the main branch was indeed staying neutral, as Stuart had mused that day. Was Kengo and Ichiro leaving Tetsuji and Riko enough rope to hang themselves? Or did they just want to see how Tetsuji handled the mess? Was it a test of sorts? If so, was there anything Andrew could use to leverage against Riko?

He was intent to find out when the four of them went back to campus, Nicky and Aaron taking the GS straight to the Tower while Andrew and Neil went to Abby’s in the Nissan. He was a bit surprised to find the nurse as the only obvious person in the house, and stood there impatiently while she hugged a surprised and slightly uncomfortable Neil. “It’s so good to have you back,” she said, and she smiled at Andrew once she was done torturing Neil. “Did you have a nice holiday?”

“Neil wouldn’t let me kill Nicky,” Andrew complained. “Other than that, it was all right.”

“Well, I’m sure David will appreciate your self-restraint,” Abby said. “He’d hate to lose a team member and all of that.” She motioned for them to join her in the kitchen.

“Is it just you? Did Day wuss up and go back to Edgar Allen or what?” Andrew was getting tired of trying to figure out if Kevin was still there or not.

Abby, in the process of putting on a pot of coffee, paused in filling up the pot with fresh water. “Ah, not exactly.” She gave Andrew a slight frown and shook her head. “He’s at David’s for now – we didn’t think it was a good idea to have him here while Juan and Dwayne were staying.”

Neil glanced at Andrew then looked over at Abby. “So is he planning on staying?” he asked as he took to toying with the cuffs of his sweater.

“It seems that way.” She focused on fixing the coffee then sighed. “Look, I know that you two seem to have a problem with the Ravens and don’t want to talk about it, but please try not to take it out on him, okay? He’s still not saying much, at least not to me, but it’s clear that he’s having a really hard time.”

Andrew rose up from the table with a cold smile on his face. “You’re right, you don’t know much about it. I think I’ll be going now.” He ignored Abby’s displeased look and pushed down on Neil’s left shoulder. “You stay here, and you *will* let me know if he shows up at all, do you understand?” he said in German. “You’re not to be alone with him.”

Neil’s lower jaw jutted out for a moment, probably at the thought that he couldn’t look after himself, and then he gave a slight nod. “Don’t do anything that’ll get you into trouble, all right?” Then he reached out to pull on the front of Andrew’s shirt. “Or else,” he murmured as he brushed his lips against Andrew’s.

“Or else what?”

“Or else I’ll ask Renee very nicely to kick your ass.”

Andrew’s lips twitched as he pushed his hand at Neil’s smiling face. “Very funny.” Still, he felt in a lighter mood as he left Abby’s house with a hint of a smile on his lips, and drove over to Wymack’s apartment. He’d been there once before, back when he and the others had come in June so Nicky could get some early practice in, and it looked as if the man still had the seventh floor to himself.

Andrew kept knocking on the door until it was opened, certain that Wymack was there since he’d seen the man’s car parked outside. Wymack opened the door, dressed in ratty sweats and a wife beater, stubble on his chin and a cigarette dangling from his lips. “Wow, so, like, you dress *up* when you come to work? My mind is blown.”

“Minyard.” Wymack rubbed at his eyes as if trying to wipe away the sight of something terrible. “Why the hell are you bothering me at home? It’s bad enough, what I put up with when I get paid.”

“Consider me an angel of mercy, bestowing a visit on those in need.” Andrew put his solid mass to good use and muscled his way into the apartment; just because he was short didn’t mean he couldn’t move things around. Wymack shouted in protest at that, but by then he was inside and caught sight of an equally scruffy Kevin Day sitting on the couch in what was definitely a ‘bachelor’s pad’ of an apartment, considering the stacks of magazines scattered about, the take-out containers and empty mugs all over the place. “Ah, and there he is, the Exy prodigal.”

Kevin backed up at his sudden appearance, his casted left hand held clutched to his chest. “Andrew?”

“What, you think Aaron is going to bother with you?” Andrew perched on the far edge of the couch and stared at Kevin, took in the stubble and the sweats, took in the various bottles of alcohol on the table. “What are you still doing here? Why aren’t you back at Edgar Allen by now?”

“I’m not going back there,” Kevin told him, his voice hoarse and expression haggard. “I’m never going back there.”

Andrew scoffed at that. “You don’t know anything other than being a Raven, don’t tell me such lies. So Riko smacked you around once, big deal.” As he spoke, Wymack came around and glared at him. “I saw you with him, remember? You were a good little lackey, you didn’t dare get out of line.”

“Andrew-“

“NO,” Andrew told Wymack. “This is between me and Kevin, the cowardly Raven. I want to understand, you see. I want to know why he’s here and why he’s putting everyone in danger.” Why he was putting Neil in danger.

“He told me about the Moriyamas,” Wymack said in a grave tone, which made Andrew whip his head around. “He told me about Tetsuji and Kengo… and Neil.”

Oh, not only was Kevin the cowardly Raven, but he was a stupid one as well. “Oh you damn fool,” Andrew hissed back at Kevin. “Neil assured them that you were being quiet.” There was no point of secrets now, was there, not when Kevin had flapped that damn mouth of his.

Kevin looked as if he’d just been stabbed in the stomach, his eyes wide with shock and face drained of blood. “He – he told Riko?” Off to the side, Wymack took to cursing beneath his breath.

“Of course not,” Andrew scoffed. “He let the main branch know – did you even bother to think about the situation you put him in, coming here?” Andrew jumped onto his feet so he could loom over the couch to scowl at Kevin. “What they’d do to him if they thought he was holding back something important from them? He did what he had to in order to protect himself and everyone else here, and guess what? The main branch doesn’t seem to give a shit – at least, they didn’t as long as you weren’t going around airing their dirty laundry.”

Kevin went to snatch up a bottle of whiskey amid all the empties, but Andrew beat him to it and tucked it against his side. “Ah, ah, no you don’t. Not now. I want to know what all you told our dear Coach about Neil. Start talking or I’ll break your other damn hand.” He’d do it to, would do it and smile.

Wymack shoved his way forward to block Andrew’s view of Kevin. “Now that’s enough! I’m not going to let you threaten him!”

“And I’m not going to let him fuck up everything I’m trying to do here,” Andrew warned the man as he stroked a banded forearm. “You do *not* want to get in my way, believe me.” Something on his face or in his tone made Wymack take a step back.

“All he told me is that Tetsuji and Riko are after Neil, that they feel like Neil is their property, all right? And that so far, you’ve kept that from happening.”

Well, Neil had some ‘small’ part in that as well, but Andrew wasn’t about to argue right now. “If you’ve any idea what the Moriyamas are like, then why the hell are you letting him crash on your couch?”

Wymack just gave him a shrug and refused to look away. “Because he’s the son of an old friend. Because he’s a kid in need. Because. I wouldn’t turn away any of you if the situation was this dire, so I refuse to do the same to him.”

“He’s not a Fox,” Andrew gritted out. “Senseless charity is going to get you dead.”

“He’s not quite a Fox, but close enough. I offered him a job and he’s going to take it, soon as he’s recovered enough.” Wymack grinned, the expression only slightly amused, as he looked over his shoulder at Kevin.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed when he heard that. “What do you mean, a job?” Was the cripple going to mop the floors or something?

Kevin swallowed, the sound audible in the small room, and scooted forward a little. “I’m not going back,” he insisted. “I’m not giving Riko a chance to finish the job. Abby thinks… she thinks maybe the hand isn’t as bad as it looked, at first.” He cradled his left hand to his chest and shook his head. “But even if it isn’t… Exy is all I know. So I’m going to help out Wy-Wymack as an assistant coach.”

Kevin Day, one of the best strikers – if not the best strikers – in Exy was going to coach the Foxes. Andrew stared at him for several seconds before he spoke again, in French. “You’re going to coach the Foxes.” So not only was Kevin a coward and a fool, but he was insane, too.

Kevin started at the statement, then nodded as he answered in the same language. “Yes, I’m going to coach you.” He seemed to grow more confident as he talked about Exy. “Your team is crap, it’s disorganized, there’s no cohesion, no functioning as a real team. It’s a miracle that you managed to get to the championships at all with your utter lack of discipline.”

Well, someone certainly had a strong opinion of things, didn’t they? “And you think you can make them better?”  Oh ho, this was going to interesting indeed. What were the pain pills Abby had given the fool? Andrew wanted some.

“What are the two of you-“ Andrew cut off Wymack by holding up his hand. “Fine!” Wymack threw his hands up in the air and stalked off into the kitchen. “No bloodshed, dammit!”

“I can only make things better,” Kevin asserted as he straightened up. “There’s a reason why the Ravens are the best team in Class I.”

Oh, someone was going to be in for a rude awakening once they stepped on the Foxes’ court, weren’t they? “So what, you’re going to be a coach now that Riko gave you that boo-boo?” Andrew gestured to Kevin’s injured hand.

That made Kevin lose some of his arrogance, but just for a few seconds. “I’m not giving up,” he said. “If my hand doesn’t heal… I’ll play with my right.” He stared at Andrew as if challenging him to argue.

If it was anyone else, Andrew would laugh in their face, but this was Kevin Day, was someone raised on Exy. Like Neil had said, it had always been Riko and Kevin, had been the two of them for as long as even Andrew could remember, growing up on the Exy court. The fool probably didn’t know what to do with himself unless there was a racquet in his hand. “And will you go back to the Ravens then?”

Kevin shuddered at the question. “No, not as long as Riko is there.” He gave a bitter laugh. “So never.”

Yeah, good answer. “So what, look around for a team that’ll take you on?”

“I already found one.” Kevin actually found the spine to look him in the eye and glared, just the tiniest amount. “The Foxes.”

Oh, Wymack had been making promises, hadn’t he? But this had potential, yes it did. Because the Foxes, such as they were… they were nothing. But the Foxes, trained by Kevin Day and with Kevin in their line-up? *That* was bargaining material right there, Andrew was thinking. That was something that might, just might, sway a certain ‘little lord’.

Still, Andrew masked his thoughts so as not to give anything away. “Do you think I’m going to allow a coward on the same team as my brother that easy, hmm?” He leaned toward Kevin again with a sharp smile on his face. “You’re a threat, and I don’t like threats.”

Kevin flinched but he didn’t look away. “Wymack said-“

“Wymack can’t protect you if I decide that you have to go,” Andrew informed him, and smiled some more when Kevin shuddered. “However, I believe that we can be of use to each other.”

“We what-“ Kevin sucked in a deep breath. “How can we-“ His eyes went wide. “Is it about Nath-Neil?”

Andrew tapped his right forefinger against his lips. “This is how it’s going to work out, okay? I’ll grant you the protection that you wanted, I’ll stand between you and Riko. And in return? You get better. You do whatever you have to in order to get back on court.”

At first Kevin appeared a bit dubious, and then his expression grew determined. “I’ll do it. I’m not going to let Riko win.”

“Then we’re in agreement, yes? So nice, when these things work out.” Andrew smiled, and in a sudden blur, he had one of his knives out and at Kevin’s throat; oh yes, those practice sessions with Renee were turning out to be so helpful. “Just know that if you don’t hold up your end of it? You’re of no use to me. And if this is all some sort of trick? Some grand scheme of Riko’s or if you decide to go running back to him? I will be very, *very* disappointed in you. I don’t think you’ll want that to happen, no?”

“Nuh-no,” Kevin stuttered out.

“Then we have a deal, I believe.” Andrew’s face went blank as he stepped away and slipped the knife back in its place. “I’ll hold up my end, you hold up yours and it’ll all be fine.”

“Fuck,” Kevin mumbled, so Andrew handed over the alcohol, which the other teen latched on as if it was vital to his wellbeing.

“Well, so fun, talking to you.” Andrew gave him a two-fingered salute before he turned around to leave. “Try to keep a few brain cells alive, think you’ll need them when you deal with the rest of the Foxes once you’re ready.”

Kevin just gave him the finger, which Andrew considered to be fair enough.

It took a little bit of explaining, some more than others, to let people know that they were now stuck with one ex-Raven. Andrew told Aaron and Nicky the truth since he didn’t want them to be caught out on anything. To Neil… that was a bit trickier, because he didn’t want Neil to get his hopes up too early just in case Kevin proved too much of a coward or a failure. If that was the case… Andrew figured at the least, he would get the satisfaction of thwarting Riko up until that point.

He waited until Renee returned to the dorm the night before classes started to seek her out – they didn’t have a formal deal per se, but it was an understanding of sorts so she deserved a head’s up. He went over to her dorm room and knocked on the door, and gave Reynolds a too wide grin when she opened the door. “Can Renee come out to play?”

Reynolds gave him a sour look. “Well, I just got my night ruined.” She stepped back while holding her hand up to keep him from entering the room. “Renee, your pet monster is here.”

“What?” Renee leaned out of the kitchen area and smiled when she saw Andrew. “Oh! Welcome back. One minute.” She did something and then stepped out into the living area. “You could invite him in, you know.”

“I’m not about to have him in my room,” Reynolds insisted.

“I put up with Seth all the time,” Renee argued, a slight frown on her face even as she slipped on a pair of flats. When she took in Andrew’s coat, she grabbed hers as well, and then they were out in the hallway and headed upstairs to the roof. “Did you have a nice Christmas?”

“Neil didn’t get me the cufflinks, so I couldn’t throw them at him.” He managed a fake pout he entered the stairwell.

“Oh I’m so sorry. What did he get you instead?”

Andrew pushed back the jacket and the sleeve of the black sweater beneath it to show off the new black arm guard; his old ones had been rather worn, but these ones fit him perfectly. Renee nodded in approval and told him a little about her holiday with her foster mother and Dan, until they settled up on the roof.

“So, I don’t think you wanted me to tell you about my presents,” she said as she sat down on the ledge a foot or so away from him.

“No.” He paused to light a cigarette, his hands cupped around the tip to protect the flame from the wind. “I want you to know that Kevin Day will be staying here.”

“Ah.” Renee seemed to think about that for a moment then nodded. “Everyone’s been wondering, especially since there hasn’t been any news yet.”

“Don’t say anything, since Wymack hasn’t made the announcement official. But he’s staying and I’m protecting him.”

Renee gave him an arched look at that. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“One could say that.” Because she was Renee and they had an understanding, Andrew gave her a rough breakdown of the Moriyamas’, of the two branches and how Kevin fell under the side branch, about Riko and Tetsuji. He didn’t say anything about Neil… but he was sure that Renee could do some fancy math in her head and figure out a few important things.

“*Riko* is going to be a problem,” he said. “Kevin is sure about that, and I have to agree.”

She nodded as if to show that she understood.

“It’s not just that he’s an asset to them, but it’s that he knows things, having been raised by Tetsuji all these years. So there’s the loss of face, and the potential of him telling tales. That makes him a liability twice over.”

“Yet you’re going to protect him,” Renee said as she sat there, huddled in her jacket.

“Yes, I’m going to protect him – him, and mine.” Because Kevin could give him something he needed, when it came down to it. Kevin better give him what he needed, or else their deal was finished. “However, I will *not* protect the rest of the Foxes, do you understand?”

Renee nodded. “Yes, I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Thank me by being in the room downstairs the same time as usual come Sunday,” he told her with a slight sneer.

That taken care of, Andrew went back to his dorm room and got ready for the next day, when it would be back to practice and classes and the old boring routine.

Kevin didn’t show up for any of the practices leading up to their first game, and it was clear that the Foxes were still curious about him, about if he’d gone back to the Ravens or moved on to somewhere else; Renee had kept quiet about him, and Wymack as well as Abby weren’t saying a word. The break didn’t seem to do the team any favors, either, because they lost their first game of the championship, though not by too many points – but it was still a loss. Dan took it rather hard, but Andrew figured that the sooner they wiped out of the damn thing, the sooner he was done for the season.

Though he had to admit, Riko’s taunting text annoyed the hell out of him.

And it didn’t help that the following Monday, Kevin Day finally showed up, appearing at the afternoon practice in the Foxes’ locker room. He must have spent the whole weekend putting shit together on the Foxes’ last game, since the one table was covered with graphs and reports on their last game and a bunch of other worthless sacrifices of precious trees, as well as files on all of the players. Everyone but Andrew, Aaron, Nicky and Renee stood there in shock – at least until Kevin started to tear into them about what lousy players they were in his ‘expert’ opinion.

Apparently, he’d watched their game and been ‘shamed’ by their pathetic performance, shamed to even belong to the same sport as them. Andrew stood there as he started calling out individual players and demanded answers for their various mistakes – yet didn’t even give them time to answer – and then yawned at the whole fuckery of it all and turned to go wash off so he could return to his room and maybe see if Neil wanted to get something to eat for dinner. He had only taken a few steps when he heard Kevin call out his name.

“Andrew? Where the hell are you going? You’re not exempt from this, you’re the worst offender on the damn team.”

Obviously the fool hadn’t seen Duncan play, had he?

“Tell it to someone who cares,” Andrew told him with a wave of his hand as he continued on the way to the showers. Oh, Neil was so going to buy him dinner for this.

The rest of the week didn’t get any better than that; Kevin the cowardly Raven turned into Kevin the tyrant on the field, and Andrew had to remember their deal in order not to kill the bastard. He needed Kevin alive in order to thwart Riko, end of story. *Dammit*. But oh, did he want to throttle him at the end of each practice session, after being called lazy and undisciplined and a slacker – among other things. So did the rest of the team. They had gone to Wymack to complain, but the man just smiled at them and told them to suck it up. Andrew really, really wanted to throttle him. Especially after he found out that Kevin had told Wymack to reach out to Tetsuji to inform the man that he was at Palmetto State and would be staying there, feeling rather daring since he had Andrew’s ‘protection’ and a new job.

Needless to say that, Riko was not happy, and he was venting that unhappiness on Neil. Hence, Andrew was not happy. The only good thing about the situation was that Riko hadn’t played in the Ravens’ game, so Andrew had to wonder if Riko had taken flak for his little ‘snap’ back in December – except that Riko was seeking to take out some of his foul mood on Neil.

As for the Foxes, they won the next game. Kevin wasn’t impressed. Bastard. Andrew insisted that Neil make it up to him over the weekend, which served as a distraction for them both, and things got a little better.

At least for a while, but Andrew had to deal with Neil doing his best to hold up under Riko’s onslaught (they were going through phones at an unprecedented rate) while pushing the Mustangs’ onward to the district championship and keeping the Foxes from revolting against Kevin (if anyone was going to kill Day, it would be him and him alone). Right before the death-match they’d qualified for thanks to winning their third game, Kevin managed to get on Andrew’s last nerve with his constant harping about Andrew’s ‘lazy’ goalkeeping, even daring to walk onto the court during a live practice game and nearly getting beaned in the head by a ball while not wearing any gear. He walked right up to Andrew and grabbed Andrew’s racquet before throwing it aside while yelling at him, then turned and walked away.

Tired of the insults and the lack of respect from the fool he was protecting, Andrew lowered his head and stomped toward Kevin until he rammed into him and knocked him onto the ground, then kept going, intent on getting off the court and leaving, done with practice for the day.

Kevin sputtered in shock and then yelled at him to get back into his goal.

“Fuck off,” Andrew shouted back.

“We’re not done for the day,” Kevin insisted.

“I *am*,” Andrew yelled as he jerked off his helmet. “And if you touch me again?” He gave Kevin a cruel smile he’d learned from Neil. “I’ll rethink my decision about letting you stay here, understand? Now go *away*. Go play with your safe little toys, I’m not in the mood to deal with you anymore.”

That said, Andrew held Kevin’s eyes long enough for Kevin to huff and look away, and then he got off the court and slammed the door shut behind him. Wymack was there waiting for him, expression furious.

“What the hell are you doing? Did you just threaten Kevin?”

“Don’t even start on me,” he warned the man. “I have had it with the fucking tyrant.”

“He’s trying to make you all better!”

“He’s not going to do it by screaming at us,” Andrew insisted. “That’s only going to get him-“ he stopped when an Exy ball hit the Plexiglas near where he was standing. He turned to see a furious Kevin glaring at him, and threw his helmet at the barrier as well while making a slicing motion across his throat. “He keeps this up, he won’t have to worry about Riko,” Andrew warned before stalking past Wymack.

“Andrew,” Wymack called out. “There’s going to be an announcement tonight. Just… give him a break, all right?”

Andrew just threw an obscene gesture over his shoulder as he made his way to showers, and when he was done, he texted Neil to come to the dorms after practice. Nicky and Aaron picked up some Chinese food when they finished for the day, and all four of them were eating when they caught the ‘announcement’ that Wymack had referenced earlier on the news.

While Tetsuji had released a story a short while ago about Kevin injuring his hand while on a skiing trip, the news had just ‘broke’ that Kevin’s injury was assumed to be irreparable and that he’d never play again, either with the Ravens or any of the other teams he’d been on. Because of that, the Ravens had released him from his contract. Shortly after the announcement, Neil received a text from Riko saying that soon the news would be about him taking Day’s old position.

Renee and Nicky, the Christian morons that they were, felt a bit of pity for Kevin for his fall from ‘grace’, but Aaron had nothing but snide comments over the situation, and the rest of the Foxes weren’t exactly a sympathetic bunch, either. They’d struggled to get where they were, hadn’t had a single thing handed to them their entire lives and while they didn’t know what went on behind the scenes at the Nest, they saw Kevin as someone who had lost a promising career and who now was making their lives miserable because they could still play. As for Andrew, he could admit he still nursed a grudge against Kevin for bringing Riko into his and Neil’s lives, and for the fact that if Riko hadn’t broken the striker’s hands, that Kevin would be mostly safe and sound at the Nest and Neil? If Riko ever got a hold on Neil, Neil wouldn’t be so lucky. Neil could only hope that Riko broke his hand at some point and allowed him out of that contract.

So when it came time to return back to practice, Andrew suited up and everything, but he refused to step foot on the court while Kevin was there – he would protect the man, but he wouldn’t train with him, end of story. He wouldn’t touch his racquet because if he picked it up and Kevin was within reach? Oooh, he would start swinging and wouldn’t stop until something was broken into pieces. Hmm, maybe Kevin should make another deal, one to protect himself from Andrew.

Wymack pulled him aside when he noticed Andrew’s refusal to practice. “What the hell is going on with you? You agreed to let him stay, so why aren’t you out there practicing?”

Andrew gave him a cold smile. “Because for the first one to work, the second one has to take place.” His smile faded away as he stared out at Kevin yelling at Arnolds and Reyes. “Believe me when I say this that it is not in your best interest to push this issue, Coach. Not unless you want things to get very, *very* messy.”

Wymack swore beneath his breath as he rubbed at his temples. “Why the hell do you have to be such a pain in my ass? Look, I know he’s a bit rough, but-“

“No, this is not about him being ‘rough’.” Andrew glared at the moron. “I can handle ‘rough’. He is arrogant and entitled and has no fucking clue how to deal with any of us – he has lived Exy all his life because he was raised with it, was able to walk out onto his own private stadium whenever he wanted and had tutors who worked around his practices.” Neil had told him about that, about what he’d seen when Riko and Kevin had been kids. “None of us are going to live up to that, and none of us are going to be as good as he wants in a couple of weeks. Screaming at us isn’t going to help. He has no idea whatsoever how to be a coach.”

Wymack gave him an assessing look for several seconds. “You sure know a lot about being a Raven, about… well, about everything that went on at Edgar Allen. You and Neil.”

“What do I keep telling you about Neil,” Andrew warned as he folded his arms across his chest, his fingers stroking along the arm guards. “Do not go there, especially right now.”

“Dammit, I’m trying to help Kevin, and believe it or not, I’m trying to help you and Neil, too.” Wymack’s expression just then was one of pure frustration. “He’s trying to find his feet right now, and he is trying to help out the team. So his style sucks – like you said, he was raised in the Nest, it’s all he knows. He’ll get better, just give him a chance.”

“He needs to live to get better,” Andrew pointed out. “And he won’t do that if he keeps screaming at me. Hence, I’m not giving him the chance. See how that works out?” He smiled at Wymack with too much false cheer. “I’m being helpful, Coach!”

“Oh, you’re being something, all right,” Wymack muttered. “Fine, but you’re still showing up for practice. You can do laps and the weight training.”

“Aw, I knew it, you like me, you really like me.” Andrew clutched at his chest while Wymack gave him the finger and stalked away.

He wasn’t surprised when Renee cornered him during the break later; she had been watching his interaction between Wymack with great interest and there was probably some damn bet going on over the outcome of their argument. “So you’re not going to practice? Are you that upset with Kevin? You’re not the type to hold grudges – you usually just beat the person up and move on.”

“Ha ha, very funny. Maybe I’ve turned over a new leaf,” he told her, and managed a slight smile when she gave him a flat look in return.

“Is it really that bad, putting up with him for the sake of practice? He just wants you to get better.”

He reached up to pat her on the head. “Ever the optimist, aren’t you.” His hand dropped to his side as he glared over at Kevin. “I need him alive for the sake of our agreement, so I’ll keep him alive. For that alone, I’ll let him scream and throw these tantrums and be a drama queen on court, but that doesn’t mean I have to suffer along with everyone. There’s only so much I can take. Only so much I *will* take.”

She seemed to think about that for a few seconds. “Even if it means you’ll get better along with everyone else? That’s why he’s doing it. Might not be the best way to get his point across, but his intentions are to make us a better team… and I’d think you’d want that.” She gave a pointed look at his new arm guards while she spoke.

Andrew narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you honestly think I’m not doing enough right now?” He’d joined the Foxes, a truly pathetic Exy team, because of Aaron, and he’d managed to get the damn team to the championships for Neil. He was protecting Kevin, one of the most aggravating souls alive, for Neil. How much more did he have to give up?

“I think you’re the only one who can answer that,” was all Renee said before she turned around and walked away.

Andrew was looking forward to their next Sunday practice session, oh yes he was.

Before that, however, was their death-match game against Penn State; Andrew found some irony in going against the school he’d almost signed with, if it hadn’t been for Riko. Against the school Neil was still holding out the faintest bit of hope for, if they could figure out a way around Tetsuji’s lie. It was easy to see why, after the way the Foxes were obliterated by the team from the very moment they stepped onto the field, not even managing to score a point. Andrew felt a tiny bit impressed by their total defeat even as the rest of the Foxes slinked back home, crushed by the ignoble end to their best season ever. For himself, he was just happy to be done with Exy for a short while, since they would have February off with no practice – that and Arnolds and Reyes hadn’t signed up for a fifth season, and Duncan would be graduating.

His first season as a Fox over and done with – well, other than the end of the semester practicing, Andrew could now focus on ensuring that Neil didn’t end up as a Raven in the next few months, especially since the end of January saw the arrival in the mail of a contract from Edgar Allen.

*******

Neil watched as the paper curled from the flames and bits of it broke off to fly away into the night sky; beside him, Andrew glared at the burning contract, lighter still held in his hand and flames reflected in his hazel eyes.

It wasn’t the most mature thing to do, burning the Ravens’ contract, and it didn’t solve anything, not really. Tetsuji would just send another one, and another one… would just keep sending them until Neil signed in the end, if no other university stepped up to offer him an alternative. In the end, there wasn’t any other recourse since Neil had to be signed to a Class I university – he had improved a lot, these last three years, but there was no way in hell any pro team was going to draft a kid like him out of high school.

Since it was cold and looked about to rain at any moment, Neil tugged on Andrew’s left sleeve. “Come on, let’s go.” He wasn’t in the mood to stand out here and watch the ashes smolder all night.

Andrew started at that and turned his gaze up to look at Neil, then tucked the lighter away into the pocket of his coat. However, he didn’t move to leave, instead he pulled Neil toward him. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Neil answered; Andrew was the only one he did without any reservations.

“Good. Then just forget about this shit, all right?” Andrew motioned at the remains of the contract in the fire pit with his left hand, his right curled around the nape of Neil’s neck. “It’s nothing.”

“Well, it’s not *nothing*,” Neil argued. It wasn’t going to go away, and… and…. He closed his eyes, ducked his head and drew in a shaky breath even as he felt Andrew’s hand give his nape a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. Just trust me, okay?” Warm, chapped lips brushed against his forehead. “Give me a little more time and you’ll see.”

“I wasn’t kidding, when I said that I’d be upset if you turn out to be a crime lord,” he murmured.

“’Mildly upset’,” Andrew reminded him. “And it’s not coming to that, exactly, even though you’re so going to owe me when it all works out.”

“Hmm.” Neil shuffled a little closer until he could enjoy Andrew’s warmth better. “You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas how I could go about that, would you?”

He felt Andrew’s huff of breath against his left ear while Andrew’s fingers slid through his hair. “I may be compiling a list. A very long list.”

Neil smiled and slid his arms around Andrew’s waist, the embrace loose. “Well, I’ll consider myself warned. Sounds like I’ll be making it up to you for a very long time.” Andrew’s fingers tightened in his hair and an arm slid around his shoulders, so they stood there like that, just holding onto each other in silence, until the first raindrops fell and they had to go inside.

While the Foxes were done with their games for the season, Neil and the Mustangs were still playing, and had been assured with a spot in the district championships with their record so far for the year. Practices were becoming more intense, attendance at the games were climbing, and he had to wonder if Tetsuji hadn’t sent the contract now because the university recruiters would start showing up at the games. He had to hope that someone would take the risk that the rumor about him already being signed to the Ravens was false and extend an offer.

It was the start of the second week of February, and the Mustangs’ had just finished a win on the road the previous Friday. Neil had received a text from Andrew that he was checking up on something and so would be busy that afternoon, so Neil figured it would be a good night to have dinner with Abby and get as much of his homework done for the upcoming week that he could. Despite the Foxes’ being on a break for the month, Andrew still had something going on, something he was being cagey about with Neil. Anytime Neil asked about it, he was told to ‘not worry about it’, which was infuriating to say the least. However, Neil trusted Andrew – well, he trusted Andrew not to get caught, since he still had a year left to his probation – so he let the matter drop. For now.

Tris and Kelly waved as they left the locker room, along with Bobby, another backliner, so Neil headed into the showers now that they were empty enough for him to wash off. He didn’t spend too much time in there, and soon enough was out in the parking lot. There were still a few cars out there since it looked as if the lacrosse and indoor soccer practices were running late, and pulled out the keys to the Nissan, which should be parked behind a large van.

He skirted around the vehicle, which looked to be a maintenance van of some sort, and jumped when he noticed two guys standing on the other side. Warning bells went off in his head, seeing the two men – two large men - and he immediately altered his path to head to another vehicle as he avoided their eyes.

He sped up when he heard their footsteps behind him, and had just broken into a run when something jabbed into the back of his leg and then searing pain jolted into him and he was falling, was falling down and into darkness.

When he came back to, everything ached, his entire body, especially his head, the right side of his face and his right shoulder. His thoughts were muddled and confused, and it took what seemed forever to realize that he was in an enclosed space, in something with round sides and that felt to be vibrating… was it a car? A… a… van. There had been a van?

He tried to move, to sit up, to do *something*, but his body… his body couldn’t. Panic set in as all he could do was twitch his fingers a little and barely blink his eyes, as he struggled to swallow. A small sound escaped him, and then there was the sound of hollow thuds before he was grabbed by his hands – his hands were tied behind his back – and pulled up off of the floor.

“Hey, I think he’s ready for you,” the guy called out. Neil caught a glimpse of dark clothes and a hat pulled low, of a broad chest and large hands, and then he was shoved on some sort of chair. He let out another muffled cry as his shoulders protested the position, his arms still trapped behind his back, and then another man, smaller and thinner than the one holding him in the chair by his shoulders, stepped forward.

“Keep him still for this.” His voice sounded accented, and Neil tried to make out his face, but his vision was blurry and the lights overhead shown directly in his eyes. He felt something wet be swiped along his left cheek, and then there was a whirring sound, something high and sharp, right before hands grasped his forehead and jaw.

It felt almost like a burning, rasping sensation on his cheek, as if something sharp was being drawn over his skin again and again. He tried to yell at the person to stop, to leave him the fuck alone, but whatever they’d done to him left him unable to move, to do anything but just suffer through it. It wasn’t so much the pain, which was bearable considering some of the other things that had been done to him, but the fact that he couldn’t do anything at all as… oh hell, the guy was tattooing him, it finally caught up to his addled brain.

It only took a few minutes and the guy stepped back with a slight nod before he wiped at Neil’s now marked cheek. Something thick was spread across the new tattoo and then a bandage placed over it, and the entire time Neil could just managed some sort of choked moan. The man removed his plastic gloves and reached off to the side for something that another person handed him, and held it up to Neil’s right ear.

Neil tried to flinch away from it, but between whatever they’d doped him up with – taser, it had to have been a taser that had taken him down earlier, he recognized the way his body ached, now that his thoughts were slowly clearing up, and it wouldn’t account for the paralysis – still kept his body locked up. The item turned out to be a phone and he recognized Riko’s pleased laugh on the other end. “Having a nice time?”

All that Neil could produce just then was another low, strangled moan.

The humor was gone from Riko’s voice when he spoke next. “You haven’t signed the contract yet. Bad Nathaniel, very bad. I know how you think, I know how your mutt thinks. Do you believe that another school is going to step forward? They’re not. Oh no, they’re not, especially once they see you now.” Neil moaned again, having a feeling what had just been inked on his face. “You’ve resisted for too long, Nathaniel, and come this summer, you’re going to assume your proper place. Thank your mutt for this early lesson. This is what happens when you push my patience too far.”

With that, Riko hung up on Neil, and then Neil found himself yanked out of the chair by one of the men. He didn’t need to see them to know what was coming next and was actually happy for the drug at that point – it kept his body from tensing up, kept him loose because if he couldn’t fight back then at least that way it limited the damage somewhat. A part of his mind noticed that they weren’t going for any real damage, that they avoided his kidneys and didn’t break anything… but fuck, did it hurt. It *hurt*.

He was crumbled on the floor when they were finished with him, wheezing for breath and struggling not to pass out, the voices above him fading in and out, the vibration of the van’s motion too much for his battered body to take, when he wondered idly if Andrew was going to blame him for this. That masochistic streak, eh? For once, he hadn’t run fast enough….

The van came to a stop, and Neil flinched at the thought that there would be more coming, more pain and Riko’s shit and… and… he had just realized that he could move, just a little, when those large hands grabbed him and yanked him back up. He attempted to struggle but his body was too done in by then, had been through too much abuse so all he could manage was to twist about a little, and then he was falling again, twisting through the air and landed on something hard, his back and head striking against it in a blinding flash of pain before his body decided that he’d been through enough and the darkness took over again.

*******

Andrew sat in the stands as he watched Kevin struggle to play right handed, as he fumbled to even strike the damn ball in front of him. If he managed to hit it one time in four, it was a miracle… but he was hitting the ball now. As much as Andrew could loathe the coward at times, he had to admit, Kevin was not short on determination.

And speaking of stubborn idiots… he reached for his phone for what had to be about the fifth time to see if Neil had texted him yet to say that he’d gotten out of practice. Andrew knew that the Mustangs were staying later now that they were headed for the district championships, but still, Neil usually was done by now. After getting an ‘undelivered’ message when he tried texting the idiot, Andrew frowned and decided to call Abby just in case Neil hadn’t realized that his phone had died. At least, that had better be the reason for it being turned off.

“Andrew! How are things going?

“It goes.” Why did she have to sound so chipper all of the time? “I’m currently watching Kevin fail at life,” Andrew told her. “Is Neil home yet?”

“Uhm, no, I thought he was with you.” There was a noise in the background as if she set something down. “I haven’t seen him since this morning.”

“Well, tell him to give me a call if he shows up.” Andrew stared out across the court as he hung up on her, cutting off whatever she had to say, then called Aaron. It was the same thing with his twin, who was hanging out at the dorm doing homework – no sign at all at all of Neil.

The next thing Andrew did was pull up the tracking app on his phone to see where Neil had been; according to the last time Neil’s phone had been on, it was at the school and almost an hour ago. Color him paranoid, but Andrew was beginning to suspect that Neil hadn’t gotten it into his head to turn off his phone and go running around – not when he knew Andrew was very serious about that knife training threat. Not with Kevin in town.

Dammit, why hadn’t Andrew asked Nicky to pick up Neil? Because it seemed as if Tetsuji had accepted Kevin staying here, as long as nothing was said about Riko? Because it looked as if Riko had been punished for what he’d done to Kevin? So fucking foolish….

Andrew pulled up the last text from Riko and placed a call to it, his left hand clenched in a fist as he waited for it to go through. As soon as it picked up, he started in on the asshole. “Where the fuck is he?” If Riko had taken Neil, Andrew was on his way to Charleston, knives and all.

“Did you misplace something important?” Riko had the audacity to sound amused. “Such a bad mutt.”

“Let’s see you make jokes when I cut out your tongue and force you to eat it,” Andrew said in a calm manner even as he imagined doing just that. “Where the fuck is he?”

“You’ll find him soon enough. Enjoy your time with dear Nathaniel, it’s coming to an end very soon.” Riko disconnected the call after that.

Andrew stared at his phone for a moment and nearly threw it onto the concrete steps in front of him before he realized that he might need it, that he couldn’t destroy it just yet. Then he let out a low growl of stymied rage as he shoved it into his coat’s pocket and then tore down the steps, fumbled with the latch of the door to the court then yanked it open, and was stomping toward Kevin.

Wymack saw him first and yelled at him about coming out onto the court like that when someone was practicing, but Andrew ignored him and headed straight to Kevin, so he could rip the racquet from the teen’s weak grip and throw it aside before fisting his hands in Kevin’s jersey. “Tell me you don’t know before I break your fucking skull,” he screamed while he yanked Kevin off of his feet and spun him around; Kevin sputtered as he fell onto his knees. “Tell me now, you fucking coward!”

“Andrew, what the fuck? Did you finally snap or what?” Wymack attempted to wrestle him off of Kevin, but Andrew shoved a hard elbow into the man’s sternum.

“Where the hell is he?” Andrew got in Kevin’s stunned face and shook him hard before a gasping Wymack managed to pull him away. “Where the hell is Neil?”

“Oh my god,” Kevin groaned. “Is he….”

“Riko fucking took him!” Andrew shouted as he fought against Wymack. “What do you know?”

“Fucking hell.” Wymack’s arms tightened around Andrew, but he didn’t think they were to hold him back anymore. All the same, Andrew fought to get free, unwilling to let anyone restrain him like that. “Minyard - *Andrew*. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I want to know,” he ground out while staring at Kevin. The other teen looked as if he was going to throw up, looked in shock – dammit, Andrew didn’t think he was faking that.

“Riko… you don’t want him to get his hands on Neil,” Kevin said as he fumbled off his helmet. “Oh god, did he really take him? But Neil needs to graduate first.”

“I just fucking know that Neil’s gone and Riko had something to do with it.”

Wymack came to stand between the two of them, his hands held out as if that would prevent Andrew from tearing into Kevin. “Andrew, he’s been with me all day, I swear to you that he had nothing to do with Neil’s disappearance.” He gave Andrew a beseeching look. “What can we do to help?”

“Nothing,” Andrew spat out as he stepped away. “It’s because of Kevin there we’re in this fucking mess in the first place,” he threw out, and bared his teeth when Kevin flinched at the accusation. “Still think I should have signed that contract, huh? That I would have done any good to protect Neil in the Nest?”

Kevin shook his head in a pathetic attempt a denial. “I don’t… that… I’m sorry, all right? But it’s Riko. He’s going… he always gets what he wants.” He raised his scarred left hand and grimaced.

“Not this fucking time,” Andrew snapped as he struggled not to waste any precious time tearing the coward apart when he had better things to do. “Not Neil.” Not while Andrew still drew breath. Done dealing with Kevin and his… his everything, Andrew turned around to leave.

“Wait a minute, don’t you want us to help you?”

Andrew waved aside Wymack’s offer. “Stay here and help the coward practice, if you want to do anything.” That was the best thing either of them could do for him just then.

“What?”

“He’s right,” Andrew heard Kevin say as he left the court.

Andrew had just pulled up to the Fox Tower to collect his brother and cousin when his phone rang. Scrambling in his haste to pull it out of his pocket, he stared in surprise when he noticed that it was Neil’s number calling, and felt a rush of both relief and anger as he raised it to the side of his face. “Where the fuck are you?”

There was no response, just very faint noise on the other end to prove that the line wasn’t dead. Andrew cursed as he jerked his left hand through his hair and debated if he should end the call or not. “If you can hear me, I’m coming, all right? I’m coming.” Then he hung up and pulled up the tracking app.

It took him over ten minutes to get there, during which he ignored the calls from Nicky, Aaron and Abby. Whoever the hell Riko had arranged to grab Neil, they’d taken him to some dirt field off of what looked to be a processing plant of some kind, far enough away from passing traffic that no one would notice them dumping a body or a person lying on the side of the road. It took him another couple of minutes of driving along slowly to finally spot Neil’s crumbled form.

They’d left him in his jeans and hooded long-sleeved t-shirt, his bag tossed near him; he was unconscious and bruised from a hell of a beating, the right side of his face scraped up and a bandage on his left cheek. Andrew hesitated to move him, especially when he saw the dark bruise on Neil’s right temple, but in the end, it was freezing outside and there was no way in hell he was going to call an ambulance, not when the Moriyamas were involved.

Neil stirred when Andrew bent down to pick him up, a hand behind his head to be careful with his neck, his blue eyes dilated with a sure sign of a concussion and reactions slow. He attempted to push Andrew away, until Andrew repeated his name a few times. “Neil. *Neil*. Neil, it’s me. Calm the fuck down, all right?”

His friend drew in a ragged breath, almost like a sob, and then made a weak grab at the front of Andrew’s coat. “’drew.”

“Yeah, it’s me. Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Neil was little more than a dead weight, but his lean form was manageable, so it didn’t take too much effort to get him into the front seat of the GS and then go back for the bag. Andrew draped his coat over Neil, who was cold to the touch and shivering, and cranked up the heat as he sped back to Abby’s house. As he drove, he did his best to push down the all the anger and hate he felt inside, to tamp down the emotions so he could control himself and not do something that would end up hurting Neil and playing into Riko’s hands.

Of course Abby freaked when he dragged Neil inside, wanting him to go to the hospital – especially once she saw his bruised face. Andrew told her no fucking way and that if she could treat Kevin, she could handle Neil. Between them, they got Neil stretched out on his bed… and Abby had another minor freak-out after she peeled off Neil’s shirt to check out the rest of him.

“Oh my god, what happened to you?” She stared at all of the scars in obvious horror with tears in her eyes, while Neil closed his eyes and turned his head to the side.

“Not relevant,” Andrew snapped as he removed Neil’s remaining sneaker so he could get the torn and filthy jeans off; for once he was grateful that they were so baggy, since they slid right off. Noticing how Abby was gently tracing some of the more ragged scars on Neil’s left arm – yeah, those were Andrew’s ‘learning curve’ right there – he scowled. “A bit of focus here!”

Both Neil and Abby flinched at the sharp tone of Andrew’s voice, but it got Abby to forget about damn scars and check out Neil’s battered abdomen, which prompted a low moan of pain from him. She made a quiet sound of comfort as she prodded and thumped, then gave Andrew a reassuring smile. “I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding.”

“Good.” By that point, Andrew was sitting on the edge of the bed near the top of and combing his fingers through Neil’s tangled hair; Neil’s lashes fluttered at the touch, and he attempted to turn his head in Andrew’s direction. Andrew once again noticed the bandage on his cheek and frowned, reaching for it before he gave it much thought.

Neil hissed a little as the adhesive tugged at his skin, then moaned as Andrew’s fingers clenched in his hair while Andrew stared down at the black ‘4’ tattooed on Neil’s cheek in the same spot as Kevin’s ‘2’ – as Riko’s ‘1’. For a moment there was an overwhelming impulse to pull out one of his knives and carve the damn thing off of Neil’s cheek, to remove it and send it back to Riko… and then he realized what he’d be doing to Neil.

“Andrew, let me check out- oh!” Abby gasped as she stood on the other side of the bed, her gloved right hand covering her mouth. “Is that- is that what I think it is?”

He forced himself to let go of Neil’s hair. “A Raven’s number,” Andrew said, his voice cold with fury.

“R’ko,” Neil slurred. His right hand flopped on the bed for a moment and then lifted toward his face; Andrew caught it before he hurt himself. “Sahd….” He opened his eyes and seemed to stare at nothing. “Less’n.”

Andrew looked at Abby, who shooed him away from Neil so she could pull out a pen light and check his eyes. “It’s probably the concussion that’s making him sound like that, and it looks like taser marks on his leg. That can affect him, too.”

Neil flinched as the light hit his eyes. “Doppehd. Sumthen. Cuudn’ moooove.” His right hand flopped a little more.

Now it was anger marring Abby’s face. “Just who the hell are these people?”

“People who are going to be very sorry,” Andrew insisted as he let Abby take care of Neil, and pulled out his phone instead. There were several furious texts from Nicky and Aaron at being ignored, which he deleted before he sent Aaron one telling him that he was at Abby’s with an injured Neil. Next, he sent a text to Wymack, since he needed to talk to the man. That done, he put his phone on mute, not wanting to deal with the resulting mess.

Abby still wasn’t pleased with them not taking Neil to the ER, but she said that she didn’t see any obvious warning signs that Neil needed to go to the hospital – she thought the worst effects were probably because of whatever they’d shot into Neil. Andrew took over helping to clean up Neil and got him into an old hooded sweatshirt of Andrew’s that he’d left there for the times when he spent the night, and a pair of Wymack’s sweatpants since they were so loose. Being a nurse practitioner, Abby called in some pain meds for Neil, which she didn’t want him to take right away because of the concussion and the shit that Riko’s men had pumped in him, but he should be able to take in a couple of hours.

By then, the ‘cavalry’ had arrived, in the form of a glowering Aaron and an anxious, almost hysterical Nicky. Nicky wanted to rush into Neil’s bedroom to confirm that he was fine, while Aaron flat out asked Andrew if there were any bodies to hide.

“Not yet,” Andrew told his twin. “Neil didn’t get a good look at them, they tased him and doped him up.”

“Huh.” Aaron looked at him for a few seconds. “You’re taking this rather well, considering that your ‘friend’ just got beat up.”

Andrew pushed away from the kitchen counter. “Don’t,” he warned, voice tight from the strain of keeping a hold on everthing. “Just don’t, not right now.” He wasn’t going to put up with Aaron’s warped sense of humor tonight.

He got the slightest of smiles in return. “Ready to admit yet that he’s more than that?”

“Why does it matter to you?” Aaron tolerated Neil, but that was it. Andrew didn’t understand why Aaron kept pushing on this matter, other than to annoy the hell out of him. And right now? So not a good idea to annoy him.

Something almost like uncertainty flashed across Aaron’s face just then. “Because…. Because.” The emotion was quickly hidden away. “Because I want to know if he’s that important to you.”

Over by the doorway, Nicky made an almost pained sound. “Aaron… god, can’t you figure that out already?”

That made Aaron glare. “No, I want him to say it, because then I’ll know where he stands.”

Andrew so didn’t need this, not right then. “And *I* want you two to go get the Nissan before someone questions why it’s still at the school. Then come back here because we need to pack up Neil’s shit.”

Nicky stopped wringing his hands to give Andrew a confused look while Aaron was back to that defiant stare. “Eh? Where’s Neil going?”

“He’s coming back with us.” Andrew glared at Aaron. “What?”

“You just can’t say it, can you?”

“Will it get you to fucking move?” Andrew gritted out. When Aaron grinned, he clenched his hands into fists and wondered why the hell he couldn’t have been an only child. “Then fine, he’s more than my friend, are you happy?”

“Delirious.” Aaron smirked at Nicky. “Come on, let’s go get Andrew’s boyfriend’s car.”

Andrew just barely kept himself for reaching for Aaron’s throat as his twin walked past, and Nicky made a comment about Aaron living the dangerous life. They were barely out the door when Wymack came rushing in. “What the hell kind of text is ‘get your ass to Abby’s so you can finally be of help’?” Behind him was Kevin, appearing as if he’d been dragged out of the shower with barely any time to dry off.

“An accurate one, seeing that you’re here, Coach.” Andrew wasn’t in the mood for his usual jerking around so he just waved Wymack aside as he grabbed the bottle of water that he’d fetched for Neil and went back to the bedroom.

“Where’s Abby?”

“She just left to pick up some meds.” Andrew could tell when they caught sight of Neil by the way their steps faltered. “For some reason, she thinks Neil needs something stronger than an aspirin.”

Appearing as if he’d drifted off a little, Neil opened his eyes when Andrew approached the bed. “Huh, good stuff?”

“Not just yet.” Andrew twisted off the cap and handed the bottle to Neil, making sure his idiot could hold it before he let go. When Andrew turned around, he found Kevin staring with eyes wide at the exposed tattoo on Neil’s cheek. “Think there’s any doubt that Riko was behind this?” There was some grim satisfaction in seeing the guilt on Kevin’s face just then.

He waited until Neil drank about half the water before he motioned for Neil to hand it over to him. “Be back in a minute, okay?”

“Hmm.” Neil went to rub at his face and remembered in time about black eyes and scrapes. “Wha’ happened to the medicinal stuff?”

“Now you want to drink.” Andrew gave Neil’s bangs a slight tug before he turned away and motioned for Wymack and Kevin to follow him into the kitchen.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell is Riko doing?” Wymack went straight to the one cabinet where Abby kept her alcohol and pulled down a bottle of whiskey, then he grabbed two glasses – at least until Andrew cleared his throat and then a third one was added. “He beat up Neil?” Kevin flinched at that and rushed to grab his glass.

“Not personally, but yes, he had some people do it for him.” Andrew picked up his own glass and studied it for a moment before he tossed back the contents. “Neil’s memory is a bit fucked up, drugs and hits to the head’ll do it to you, but he remembers talking to Riko. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the asshole is making it that much more difficult for Neil to deny that he’s going to be a Raven come fall.” Andrew looked at the empty glass in his hand and then threw it onto the floor. “Oops, it slipped.” It didn’t do much to sate the rage inside of him, but at the moment, every tiny bit helped.

Wymack stared at him while Kevin nearly jumped in his own skin. “And what do you want me to do about it? Why the hell didn’t you take him to the hospital or something, report or….” He sighed when he noticed the pitying looks that both Andrew and Kevin were giving him. “Really? That damn powerful?”

“Now you’re getting it,” Andrew said as he toed aside the broken glass so he could fetch himself another one and have more whiskey. “There would be some very unhappy people if Neil filed a report about what happened tonight, even if it made trouble for Riko. No, best to just handle it ourselves.” He gave Kevin a pointed look as a reminder about their deal.

“So I still don’t get what you want from me.”

“Oh Coach, here’s your chance to be helpful at long last.” Andrew summoned a wan smile as he held the new glass between his hands. “To show that you can do something for once!” He ignored Wymack’s dark look. “Tonight has shown me that dividing my attention leaves an opening for Riko, so that’s not going to happen anymore.”

Kevin flinched again. “Wait, that’s… you promised me!” He appeared a few seconds away from a panic attack.

“Hmm, and I’m not breaking our deal, not yet.” Kevin was doing what he could to play Exy again, so Andrew was going to keep that promise. “However, it’s not working out, Neil living here anymore.” He gave Wymack a flat look. “I don’t care what you do, but Neil’s coming back to the dorm with us. That or we’re all moving in here with him, but I would think you’d much prefer him out of the fair Abigal’s house if Riko’s upping his petty antics.” Not that Andrew gave a shit, as long as his people were protected.

Wymack met his gaze for several seconds before he looked away to drain his own glass of whiskey, then refilled it and drained it again. “He’s not a registered student.”

“Did you not hear me say ‘I don’t care’?” Andrew made a point of setting his empty glass down on the counter, then pushed it onto the floor where it broke as well while he stared at Wymack, his gaze the same blank one that had unnerved so many people before in the past. “We’ll pay a full semester’s room and board. Tell them it’s a donation for some poor student or something. Tell them that you’ve heard that the rumor about Neil signing to the Ravens isn’t true and that you’re trying to convince him that it’ll be better to sign with the same school as his friends. I *don’t* *care*. But I know he’s leaving with us tonight, and I’m not giving Riko another shot like this again.” He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Kevin glanced back and forth between them then shook his head. “Is that even going to be enough? I told you, Riko… he’s determined. I don’t know why, but he, he thinks that Neil belongs to him.”

Andrew turned toward Kevin and gave him a cruel parody of a smile. “He also thinks that he broke you. Do you really want to start proving him right?”

“Enough of that talk,” Wymack insisted in a rough voice as he set his own glass down. “The little shit is going to be wrong on both counts, okay?” He scrubbed his right hand over his hair as he let out a slow breath. “Do what you gotta do to keep Neil safe, all right? Just keep the shit away from the rest of the Foxes and I’ll… I’ll figure out a way to keep anyone bitching about Neil being in the dorms.”

“As much as possible while dealing with a psycho. Nice doing business with you, Coach.” Andrew nodded once before he turned around to leave.

“Wait a minute, you damn midget, get back in here and clean up this mess!”

“Hmm, what’s that Neil? You need something? Sorry, Coach, gotta go take care of that,” Andrew called out as he went to Neil’s room to begin packing up his idiot’s stuff.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> So yeah, that's Andrew's deal with Kevin. I think you're seeing where things are going on that front. :-)
> 
> As always, the kudos and the comments are so greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have it! Hmm, I think this takes us into canon stuff now? Reworking it, sure, big time, but yeah. Should be hitting the book plots big time in the next chapter or two....  
> *******

*******

It was late evening by the time that they got Neil to the dorms; Abby was upset about Neil moving out, especially in his condition, but Wymack pulled her aside to have a talk with her and Andrew arranged to bring Neil to the stadium in a day or two for a check-up. Somehow, he doubted that Neil would be attending class anytime soon, and Abby promised to call the high school to cover for his absence. The drama taken care of for the moment, they packed the Nissan with Neil’s belongings (not much) and Andrew got Neil out into the GS (a little less effort than it had taken to get him into Abby’s house), then off they went.

Andrew half carried him into the Tower, the hood of the sweatshirt pulled up over Neil’s head, with Aaron and Nicky in front to run interference. They took the elevators since there was no way Neil could handle the steps, and managed to get to the room without too many curious stares directed their way, in part thanks to Renee (Andrew had texted her before they’d left, and she’d arranged for a few of the Foxes to hang out for dinner and a movie, those who weren’t out for the night).

“Aren’t you going to carry him across the threshold?”

Andrew glared at his brother while Nicky got the door to their rooms unlocked. “What makes you think that now is a good time to piss me off?” he asked in a too-even tone of voice.

“Maybe the fact that you’ve got your hands full with your boyfriend?” That was definitely a smirk on Aaron’s face just now.

“Ooh, I think I need to go back to Abby’s, I’m hearing things,” Neil mumbled as he slumped even more against Andrew.

“No, you’re not.” Andrew hiked Neil up a bit higher with one arm while he used his free hand to give his twin the finger. “And I can always kill you later.”

“Sure you can.” Aaron turned the smirk on to Neil. “So, you going to take his last name or what?”

Neil gave a slow blink. “Huh?”

“Oh for crying out loud, not the time!” Nicky sounded frantic as he shoved the door open and then reached over to latch onto Aaron’s right shoulder then pulled him into the room; Andrew never thought there would come a day when he’d be thankful for the pain in the ass. He hauled a thoroughly confused Neil inside as well and headed straight for the bedroom.

Once there, Andrew undressed Neil yet again that evening, mindful of the bruises which had darkened even more, and got him tucked into bed. “I’ll be back.” It should be all right to give Neil some of the pain meds so he went to fetch a glass of water and returned with it and one of the pills. Neil grumbled about having to sit up enough to drink, having just gotten comfortable in the bed, so Andrew figured that someone was going to crash and crash hard, especially once the medicine kicked in. He sat there with Neil until his… his… damn, Aaron, until his boyfriend fell asleep, his fingers combing through Neil’s tangled hair, and then he got up and left the room.

He shook his head when Nicky gave him an expectant look, not willing to talk with him or Aaron – especially not Aaron – just then, made sure he had his phone and keys on him, then went out the door and down the hall to knock on the door to Renee’s room. It was Dan who opened the door, and she was smarter than Reynolds because after giving him a look, she just let out a breath and shouted for Renee.

Renee was waiting for him, because she told Dan that she’d be back soon and stepped outside, dressed for practice in sweats with her hair pulled back from her face and a small bag hung over her left shoulder. She looked as if she was about to say something and then just let out a low sigh instead, and they made their way downstairs in silence.

It was a brutal session that night, with neither giving ground for the longest time. Renee won, because Andrew had too much anger in him, too much rage for him to think logically, for him to do anything but try to beat her down. However, even with that it was close, and Renee’s hand trembled when she finally managed to pin him against the wall with a blade to his throat.

“Is Neil all right?” she asked when they broke apart – somehow she knew better than to ask about him.

He accepted the bottle of water she handed to him and shrugged. “Physically? He’ll need a few days to bounce back.” Either Riko hadn’t wanted anyone breaking his toy but him, or he had just enough sense in not permanently damaging the main branch’s property – maybe both.

But they both knew that the physical part was often the easiest one to recover from, in the long run. “He’ll have you there, which is good,” Renee said as she stared at her own bottle of water. “He’s strong, he’s a survivor.”

“It shouldn’t have happened,” Andrew snapped, giving voice to the awful, churning emotion inside of him. He’d relied too much on Riko wanting to hurt Neil himself, on waiting until Neil got to Castle Evermore. What was that saying about assuming?

“Andrew… the thing about madmen is that you can’t predict them. So much grief would be prevented if you could.” Renee reached out as if to touch him, then seemed to think better of it.

“He can’t do anything to Neil if he’s dead,” Andrew argued.

“I get the impression that would have rather serious implications, his death,” Renee argued back. “Neil might not appreciate them, especially if it costs him you.”

Andrew let out a harsh breath as he threw the bottle of water away from him; dammit, he should have brought his cigarettes down as well. “We can’t always get what we want.”

“No, but he seems rather happy with what he has at the moment.”

“What do you know?” Still, Andrew remembered that night before the holiday break, back when he’d burnt the Ravens’ jacket and Neil had insisted that he had what he wanted. “You’re just a silly Christian Girl.”

Renee hummed a little as she spun her half-finished bottle of water about. “Hmm, of course.” She looked up to smile at him with her bruised face. “Why do you even bother to put up with me?”

“I don’t know, especially when you fight like a girl.” He dabbed at his own bruised bottom lip.

“Oh yes, completely.”

Still, Renee’s foolish talk aside, he felt a lot better after fighting her, felt as if some of the anger had been burned out of him. Enough so, that he went up to the roof even though he hadn’t brought his jacket and called the ‘Limey prick’.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, what did you do now?”

Why did he get that all of the time? “Hello to you, too,” Andrew said as he huddled close to the door. “Figured you’d want to know that Riko just had some people beat the shit out of your nephew.”

“What?” There was some muffled cursing on the end of the phone for a few seconds. “The little shit! And where the hell were you?”

“Taking care of some business.” Andrew wasn’t about to admit any part of his plan to Stuart, not when the man answered up to Ichiro and Kengo. “I can’t be with Neil 24/7.”

“Then you’re not much good to him, are you?”

Andrew gritted his teeth together before he said something that he’d regret – well, not really. “Can we focus on the fact that Riko sent goons to kidnap Neil on school property, possibly in front of witnesses, doped him up with something and then tattooed his face? There’s also the fact that they beat up him enough that he won’t be able to attend school for a few days and won’t heal for at least a week.”

Stuart let out a weary sigh. “What the hell do you expect me to do about it? Come down there and give Neil a kiss on the worst boo-boo? Tell him he’ll feel better soon?”

Okay, so much for taking out the anger on Renee. “I don’t know, maybe I thought the ‘little lord’ would want to know about all the shit his brother is up to and all.”

There was a long pause and another weary sigh. “Kid? I’m willing to bet you anything you want that the little lord already knows. I told you that there’s someone watching over Neil, and him dropping off the radar like that? Especially after Riko sends out some muscle? And Day disappearing? Yeah, if the higher ups don’t already know, then there’s something seriously wrong with our intel, and that just doesn’t happen around here.”

That wasn’t what Andrew needed to hear right now. “So they just let an investment like him get roughed up for the hell of it?”

“Is he injured enough to not be able to play?”

“No,” Andrew admitted as he stared at the edge of one of his arm guards. “Not after a few days or so.” And Neil’s next game was almost two weeks away.

“Then there you go.” Stuart paused as if he guessed the direction of Andrew’s thoughts. “Look, I told you before – I get the impression that the little lord is playing the long game here. His father… well, the little lord isn’t going to stay little forever, you understand? Right now he’s getting the lay of the land, and I think Riko’s one of the things he’s sizing up.”

“By letting him do whatever he wants?” Yeah, that made perfect sense.

“He stepped in with that old buddy of yours,” Stuart reminded him. “So keep me informed of any other shite Riko pulls, and if it’s a direct enough threat, we can get something done.”

Great, wasn’t it so nice to know that someone else got to decide just how much Neil suffered until then? “Yeah, whatever. Thanks for the help.” Andrew hung up on the prick and went back downstairs, having had enough of the cold and the uselessness of it all.

By then, Aaron was busy with homework and Nicky was playing a game, so Andrew decided he was done for the night and took a shower before getting ready for bed. He had a cigarette to help calm his nerves, tucked into the windowsill so he could blow out the smoke, his gaze focused on Neil sleeping in his bed across the room and the couple of bags stacked near his dresser. Once he was done, he went over and carefully climbed over Neil’s still figure so his back was against the wall, which only stirred a low murmur from his idiot; when he was under the covers, he draped his right arm over Neil’s hips and closed his eyes.

Andrew felt as if he barely got any sleep by the time that his alarm went off, which was more or less true; he’d worried all night long about falling into a nightmare, about jerking awake and lashing out at Neil since the bed was so small and Neil… yeah, the last thing Neil needed was another hit, another punch or being knocked onto the floor. As it was, Neil moaned in a pitiful manner when Andrew crawled over him to get out, huddled beneath the sheets with his face an even more spectacular mess than it had been the night before.

“Come on,” Andrew snarled as he tugged on the idiot’s – well, his - t-shirt.

Neil mumbled something that was probably a ‘no’ in English. Probably.

“Yes,” he insisted. “There’s pain meds if you do.”

Neil’s eyes fluttered open at that, and a baleful glare was directed his way. “Hate you,” Neil slurred as he slowly began to move.

“Oh, really?” Despite it all, Andrew smiled a little at that bit of fire.

“Nooo, hate R’ko.” Neil nearly toppled out of the bed, but Andrew caught him in time. “Really, really hate R’ko.”

“That’s the spirit.” He managed to get Neil to the bathroom, with Neil steadying more or less after a few steps. “Feel like going for a run today?”

“Not funny.” Neil could barely stand straight thanks to the beating his torso had taken, and he still seemed a bit dizzy because of either the meds or concussion, but between the two of them, he was able to take a piss and they checked to make sure nothing had worsened during the night. Neil still wasn’t in the mood to eat anything, which he’d need to do at some point because he hadn’t had anything since lunch the day before, but Andrew wasn’t going to push at the moment. Instead, he got Neil back into bed and went to fetch a sports drink and the pain pills.

Aaron was eating a bowl of cereal and Nicky nursing a cup of coffee in the kitchen when he entered.

“How’s the boyfriend?”

Andrew ignored his twin in favor of pouring himself a cup of coffee for himself since it was too early to commit fratricide. “Try to get him to eat something when you’re here on break,” he told Nicky, who only had two morning classes and then came back to the room to hang out before his last class of the day.

Nicky perked up. “Yeah, I can manage that, maybe some eggs or something.” He winced a little. “I remember how things were back… well, last year.” He rubbed at his jaw. “Nothing too difficult to chew.”

Coffee fixed, Andrew grabbed a pill and the drink, then went back to the bedroom to find Neil pressing fingers against the new tattoo. “Don’t do that,” Andrew snapped. “Don’t fuck it up.” They’d have to put something on it, he should have some lotion in the bathroom.

“So what?” Neil appeared a bit sullen then. “Let it.”

“Because it’s your damn face, idiot.” Andrew was all for getting the thing removed, but he was not going to let Riko fuck up Neil’s face in the process – fuck up Neil at all. He handed over the pills and the bottle. “Drink all of it,” he ordered, then went back into the bathroom to fetch a clean washcloth and the lotion.

Neil hissed a little as the tattoo was cleaned, and seemed to stare off at nothing when Andrew put a thin coat of Aquaphor on it. “You know, in Japanese… you can say ‘shi’ or ‘yon’ for four… and ‘shi’ can also mean death.” He reached out to catch at Andrew’s right hand. “That’s what Riko meant, by saying four was a good number for me.” He shivered a little and leaned against Andrew as he let go of Andrew’s hand. “For a Wesninski.”

Andrew went to thread his fingers through Neil’s hair before he remembered to wipe them clean first on the washcloth. “But you’re not a Wesninski anymore.”

That wrung a faint laugh from Neil before he winced and hunched over a little. “As if it’s that easy.” He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Andrew’s shoulder. “I can’t ever seem to get away from it.”

“It’s no use talking to you when you’re like this. Just shut up and go back to sleep.” He combed back Neil’s bangs and brushed his lips against Neil’s forehead, for a moment neither of them moving, before he pushed Neil away. “Too many blows to that thick head of yours.”

“Hmm.” Neil grimaced as he had to force his sore body to move. “Mention yet that I hate Riko?”

“Once or twice already, but go ahead and do it some more, I’ll never tire of hearing about it.” Andrew sipped his coffee while he watched Neil settle back on the bed, then returned to the kitchen for his own breakfast since Nicky had snagged the bathroom.

The meds had knocked Neil back out by the time Andrew was done with his own shower, so he was off to class and then the stadium to check in with Kevin just in case Riko decided to get clever on that front. He found the striker in the gym working out, with Wymack watching over the teen.

“Thought you might like to know that the school will be delivering an extra bed this afternoon,” Wymack told him. “Took a lot of arguing with the board and I basically told them that he stays or they risk losing three Foxes, but they gave in.” The man crossed his arms over his chest. “Needless to say, he’s your responsibility. Make sure he doesn’t break any rules or hurt himself while he’s on campus, because he’s a huge potential liability.”

Andrew narrowed his eyes while he picked up a small hand weight. “Defeats the purpose of everything, don’t you think?”

Wymack merely grunted at that. “Let’s put our cards on the table here – it’s obvious that the last thing you want is Neil to sign with the Ravens. What is it going to take for him to be a Fox?”

Off to the side, Kevin paused in the arm curls he was doing with his right hand to stare at the two of them, his expression carefully blank. Andrew gave him a warning look before he turned back to Wymack and smiled, something that was more teeth than emotion. “What makes you think that he’d want to play on such a crappy team?”

Wymack didn’t seem to take the insult to heart. “Because you’re on it, you and your family. The same reason he came here instead of staying in Columbia. Same reason he didn’t stay in Racine… or wherever he was before he met with you.”

Andrew raised his left hand to his mouth, forefinger extended and pressed against his lip. “What did I say about minding your business?”

“It stopped not being my business when Abby patched him up last night, and I spent four hours arguing for him to spend the rest of the semester in your dorm. It started being my business when he might bring trouble on the rest of the Foxes,” Wymack insisted.

“And yet you still have our buddy over there, don’t you?” Andrew pointed at the very quiet Kevin, who was standing still as if hoping he would be forgotten.

“It’s not the same.” Wymack seemed to reconsider what he was saying and sighed, the sound long and drawn out. “Just answer the question, dammit, without the usual crap and mental torture for once. Surprise me.”

Andrew let the weight drop onto the ground and smiled when Wymack jumped back, out of its way. “Fine, just this once. As it stands, there’s no chance of Neil playing with the Foxes, not when he has to play with a team as good as the Ravens.” When it looked as if Wymack was going to speak or ask a question, he shook his head with his finger once more pressed against his lips. “Ah, ah, I didn’t say you got to ask questions, did I? No, the Foxes just aren’t good enough… now.” He shot a significant look Kevin’s way.

While Andrew had quite a long list of Wymack’s faults, he had to give it to the man, he could be quick to pick up things at certain times. Wymack stared at Kevin and the weight the teen held in his right hand, and appeared to put things together. “So you’re saying that if-“

“I’m saying that there’s a chance,” Andrew reiterated. “It’s not up to Neil alone.” That came out through gritted teeth.

Even with that, Wymack smiled. “A chance is fine – a chance gives me something to work with – look how far all you Foxes have come on just a ‘chance’. I’ve got another striker I’m eyeing for next season, but it won’t be a bad thing, if we end up having four on the roster.” He smiled over at Kevin. “Not a bad thing at all.”

Andrew didn’t think that the man was listening to him. “Don’t make assumptions,” he warned. “And don’t go saying things you shouldn’t.”

“Not saying anything.” Wymack waved him aside. “Now are you just going to stand around or are you going to do something about that bad attitude of yours?” He pointed to the weights behind Andrew before he motioned to the one in Kevin’s hand. “That’s not doing you any good unless you use it, you know.”

Kevin flushed at the reprimand while Andrew muttered beneath his breath and went to change so he could work out some of his frustration.

*******

The sound of dishes clattering and Nicky’s voice as he sang some German song woke Neil up from… there had been something about a beach and needles and… yeah, waking up was good. He went to rub at his face and winced at the pain, then winced again when he attempted to sit up. Everything hurt, *everything*. Why did it always have to hurt worse the next day? It wasn’t fair – it hurt so much getting beaten up, and then for the pain to increase the next day before it got better….

Oh yeah, pain pills. There should be more pain pills somewhere. Neil was able to swing his legs over the side of the bed on the second try, his left leg aching more than the right, and after stumbling around the first couple of steps, managed to get upright more or less and through the door.

“Neil!” Nicky beamed at him from the stove. “I was going to wake you up in a few minutes. How are you doing?”

Neil wavered about as he stared at his friend, until Nicky hurried over to lead him to one of the chairs. “Uhm, pills?” That came out a bit raspy, since Neil’s throat was dry.

“I’ll look for them in a minute, but right now I think you need some food in you. When was the last time you ate?”

“Uhm….” Nicky fixed Neil with a stern look and pushed his chair closer to the table.

“Yeah, you’re eating. Now.” He left to go to the small fridge and pulled out a carton of milk, which he poured into a mug that he handed to Neil. “I’m making some of my special eggs for you, and you’ll eat them, all right?”

Neil didn’t think he had a choice in the matter, so he just nodded. “Okay.”

“Smart boy.” Nicky went to pat him on the head then seemed to think better of it and returned to the stove instead. “So, you remember much about last night?” Nicky seemed to think about that, too, and blanched. “I mean, after Andrew found you. Not… well, you know.” He gestured with the spatula in his right hand.

Neil went to rub at his eyes and stopped just in time; dammit, couldn’t they have just punched him in the stomach a few times and have been done with it? But then, he supposed it wouldn’t have been much of a ‘lesson’. “I’m living here now, right?” He didn’t know how Andrew had swung that, but he knew better than to argue when Andrew got that look on his face.

“Yep!” Nicky sounded rather happy about it. “It’ll be like old times, right?” He grabbed a plate and scooped some eggs onto it, then sprinkled cheese on top before he handed it to Neil, along with a fork. “Now eat up.”

Neil looked at the scrambled eggs with habanero sauce and chorizo sausage mixed in, and thought about the cuts in his mouth from the punches, along with his split upper lip. Instead, all he did was give Nicky a slight smile and nodded. “Thanks.” He picked up a forkful and smoothed out his expression as he ate a bite, and managed to swallow it without chewing too much; it only burned his mouth a little, that way.

While he choked down a few more bites, there was a knock on the door, which made Nicky frown in confusion. “Huh, that’s odd.” He motioned for Neil to stay there, as if Neil was in any condition to get up and move unless it was for his pills or to kill a certain Raven. “Be right back.”

“Great.” Well, maybe Neil could get up to throw out the rest of the eggs, if he thought Nicky wouldn’t notice; as it was, he drank down the rest of the milk to cool his poor mouth, and hoped that Nicky would be satisfied with the few bites he’d eaten.

He heard Nicky’s voice raised in surprise, followed by some lower, murmured ones, and the next thing he knew, Renee and Dan followed Nicky into the kitchen. Neil blinked in surprise at them, at the platter covered in a towel of some sort in Renee’s hands and the tremulous smile on her bruised face, to the outright indignation on Dan’s.

“Who the he-“

“Not now,” Renee told Dan as she tugged on her friend’s arm, giving her a slight frown before she smiled back at Neil, the expression a bit more certain now. “We figured we’d stop by to see how you were doing, and I made muffins.” She held up the platter before she set it down on the table, and seemed to realize what was in front of him. “Oh, that won’t do.” She clicked her tongue while coming over to grab the plate of eggs; if she noticed Neil’s slight flinch, she didn’t give any reaction.

“Hey, he’s eating that,” Nicky said.

“He needs something without all the hot stuff in it, look at his face,” Renee chided, and Neil winced at the crestfallen expression on Nicky’s face, especially when Nicky looked his way.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You went through the trouble of making it,” Neil mumbled, and Nicky sighed as he picked up Neil’s empty mug so he could refill it with more milk.

“Have a muffin if you’re still hungry,” Renee urged. “There’s apple cinnamon and some chocolate ones for Andrew. Dan even helped make them.”

Dan laughed at that. “If you call handing her the utensils and then cleaning up afterward helping.” Her expression softened as she looked at Neil. “I’m sure if we offered Andrew anything he’d turn us down, so we’re doing this while he’s not here.” Nicky started at that, almost dropping the mug as he handed it to Neil. “I’m also sure none of you are going to tell us what’s going on,” and she included Renee in that with a quick glance, “but know that we’re here for you, okay? You need anything, just ask. Me and Renee and Matt, just ask us.” She stared at Neil as she spoke. “If these guys are busy, call us for a ride or whatever.”

Neil didn’t even know Dan at all, not really; there had been the one night out in Columbia and that time when she’d mistakenly thought that Andrew had been mistreating him when he’d yelled at her, but that was about the sum of their interaction. He glanced aside at Renee and wondered what the other girl had told her friend, and only got a reassuring smile in return. “Ah, okay, thank you.” What else was he supposed to say? What had Renee told her friend? Why had Renee told her friend anything?

Dan continued to stare at him for a few more seconds and then sighed. “I’m serious, you know. Just keep us in mind, you’re like an honorary Fox now, living here and all. Gives us some time to sway you away from the dark side.”

Neil pondered about what that meant, and then he remembered about the new tattoo on his cheek. He pushed away from the table in a rush and stumbled back to the bedroom, his hand cupping the left side of his face as he slid against the wall.

He heard Nicky saying something to Dan, but he just… he just didn’t want to think of anything right then, and fell onto Andrew’s bed, his body curled up as much as possible with all of the aches. So when Renee followed him into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, he wasn’t that happy. “I’d rather you went away,” he told her.

“I’m sorry.” She stared at her hands instead of looking at him. “Dan didn’t mean anything by that. It was a compliment to her, she doesn’t take people in lightly.”

“I don’t want to talk,” Neil tried again. He just wanted those pills so he could go back to sleep and pretend that yesterday hadn’t happened, just for a few more hours.

“All right.” Yet when Renee stood up, she didn’t walk away. “I know it looks bad, but you have people who care about you, more than you know.”

He had Andrew. When all Neil did was stare across the room in silence for several seconds, Renee sighed. “Please remember that, and know that Dan wasn’t lying, that we’re here for you if you need anything. I hope you’re better soon.”

There was a sense of relief when she finally left, a sense of quiet, and then Nicky crept in after a minute. “Here.” He sat down and handed Neil a glass of water and two pills. “I’m sorry about the eggs.”

Neil summoned up a smile. “I like your eggs,” he admitted as he palmed the pills. “Just not….”

“Yeah, just not today.” Nicky gave him a weak smile in return. “I’ll make them again when you’re better, how about that?”

“Okay.” Neil used the water to wash the pills down. “Sure Aaron will be happy with the leftovers.”

“Great, at least someone will be happy today,” Nicky muttered. “Get some rest.”

Neil nodded before he stretched out on the bed, sore face nestled in the pillow that smelled like cigarettes because of Andrew, and closed his eyes.

*******

Andrew was less than impressed with Renee’s interference when he found out about it that afternoon. He had to wait to do anything about it until after the new bed was delivered to the dorm room; a very sleepy and disgruntled Neil was relocated to the couch while the maintenance workers brought in the furniture, wearing one of Andrew’s hoodies to hide his bruised face and nibbling on one of Renee’s muffins (Andrew was also rather disgruntled to learn that the idiot had barely eaten that day). They settled the issue of sleeping arrangements by pushing two of the beds together to make one large one and piling a newly purchased feather bed on top along with new sheets that more or less fit. Neil looked at the bed with a good bit of longing, but Andrew grabbed his idiot and some clean clothes before going into the bathroom. “We’re cleaning you off first.”

“Wanna sleep.”

“You’ve been doing that all day.” Andrew locked the door behind him and dropped the clothes to the floor. “No bed until you’re clean.”

Neil managed a weak glare and went to run his hands through his hair, which was tangled between him sleeping so much and what had happened yesterday. “Fine.” He attempted to pull off the sweatshirt, but couldn’t lift both his arms up that much.

Andrew allowed him to struggle for a few seconds and then gave him a hand; As soon as Neil was naked, he reached over to start the water running then stripped off his own clothes. Once that was done, he herded Neil beneath the now warm water so they both could wash off.

Neil seemed to wake up a bit more as he was washed off, turning a little beneath Andrew’s hands to help rinse off, and Andrew felt a spark of desire as always at the sight of that lean, nude form – desire which was tempered by the fresh bruises and the dull haze to Neil’s blue eyes. Unlike a lot of their showers together, there was no ‘yes or no’, there were no lingering kisses, though Neil did give Andrew a slow nuzzle to the left temple when he turned around so Andrew could wash his hair.

As soon as they were both clean, Andrew threw a towel at Neil and watched him more or less dry off, and did a better job of it once he took care of himself. He may have been a bit rough rubbing the towel over Neil’s mop of hair, and clicked his tongue as he combed his fingers through it. “No more meds for you until later tonight.”

That brought back the sullen expression. “But-“

“No. I’ve seen you take how many stitches with nothing in you but a couple shots of vodka, I think you can manage a few more hours without being doped up out of your skull.” Andrew did some glaring of his own as he handed Neil some boxer-briefs and a t-shirt of his own. “What’s going on?”

Neil had trouble pulling on the shorts without some help because of his balance, and took to slumping against Andrew once he was dressed. “Just… don’t really want to think right now,” he mumbled. “Too much.”

Andrew sighed as he left the mess behind them and steered Neil out of the bathroom back to the bedroom; when Neil curled up on the bed, he pulled Andrew down with him. “Know there’s too much shit going on, but right now?” Neil waited until Andrew was lying next to him and tucked his face against Andrew’s chest. “Don’t wanna think.”

Well, it wasn’t like Neil could go out and run, his preferred method of handling stress, and there was no way Andrew was going to let him get drunk with all the crap that was in his veins at the moment on top of the concussion. “It’s going to get better.” Who would have thought that he’d be the voice of reason and hope.

The tension slowly left Neil’s body as Andrew’s fingers carded through his hair. “I know.”

“You better. That list just keeps getting longer.”

“Hmm.” Neil skimmed his left hand along Andrew’s side before letting it curl up in the slight space between them. “This rate, never gonna end.”

“Probably not.” And would that be such a bad thing, Neil sticking around forever to pay Andrew back? But did Andrew want to get him that way? What if it ended up like that, Neil sticking around as a sense of obligation between them? He lay there for a while with those thoughts spiraling in his head as Neil fell asleep, and when he went to get up, didn’t realize that Neil had at some point latched on to the front of his shirt as if to keep him there.

Why was he so fucked up as to take that as a sign of hope?

Andrew grabbed his cigarettes, phone and coat and went up to roof, and once there called Renee to join him. He could tell by her wary expression and the tension in her body that she knew he wasn’t pleased with her and cut right to the chase. “Why the fuck are you interfering?”

She sighed as she tucked the ends of her hair behind her ears. “You’re protecting yours, and I’m protecting mine.” When he scoffed and flicked the butt of his cigarette at her, she scowled, just the slightest bit, and shook her head. “I am, and I’m helping you out, too. By telling them only a portion of the truth – that Neil is in trouble – it has them on the lookout for him and in doing so, more alert for themselves and each other.”

“I don’t need help from your or those useless rejects,” he insisted.

“There’s only one of you,” she said in that quiet, annoying ways of hers. “And you’re now looking after four people. It’s not much, but accept this tiny amount of help, Andrew.”

He was on his feet in an instant. “Do you doubt that I can protect Neil? Or any of the others?”

Renee didn’t back down, but she bowed her head the slightest bit. “I believe you’ll do anything to protect him and the others. I also know that were I in your place, I would accept this offer – there’s no strings attached and no harm intended.”

Andrew scoffed and shoved his hands into his pockets before he did something that might ruffle Renee’s precious calm. “He doesn’t even trust you, you know. You think he’s going to call you for help when he doesn’t trust you?”

“No, but he knows that you do. And he trusts you more than anything.” She blinked when he grabbed the front of her coat and used it to pull her forward. “I’m sorry, did I say something to offend you?”

“Don’t,” he warned her as he gave her a harsh shake. “Don’t ever use Neil to – just *don’t* use him for anything to do with me, do you understand?”

Renee nodded once as she sighed. “I truly am sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I really wanted to help out.”

Part of him understood that, and part of him wanted to punch her for grasping how important Neil was to him. For figuring out that weak point. “Next time you have any big plans for Neil, come to me first,” he said as he let go of her coat.

“Okay.” She smiled as if relieved. “I’ll do that. But Dan and Matt are genuine with their offer, as am I. If you need us to help out, to pick him up or make sure he’s not alone, we’ll help.”

Great, he now had a babysitting brigade for his idiot – he almost was willing to inflict Neil on them to teach them a lesson. “I’ll keep you in mind the next time he feels like running around a track for three hours.”

“Hmm, Dan or Matt might be up for that, especially if it’s their cardio day.”

“Renee? Go away now.”

She smiled at him again, one too amused for him to stomach, and waved as she walked away. Andrew remained up on the roof long enough to smoke another cigarette, then decided to go downstairs and pilfer one of Neil’s muscle relaxers then join his idiot in their ‘new’ bed.

Neil woke up a bit better the next day, woke up with more of the usual fire in him – woke up more annoying. As Renee would say, he was ‘recovering’, so Andrew left him at the dorm with only half doses of the meds in him then came back to fetch him after classes were done so he could drop him off at the stadium for Abby to fuss over and give him a check-up while Andrew went to his weekly appointment with Bee.

Of course Bee picked up right away that he was upset about something, and even narrowed in on what it was. “So Abby told me that Neil has moved out of her house.”

“I thought we weren’t talking about him,” Andrew snapped.

“Talking about him at all or talking about the two of you being in a relationship?” She handed him a mug of hot chocolate and then sat down in her chair. “You never specified.”

“Does it matter?” Andrew frowned before he blew on the hot beverage.

Bee sighed and set her mug aside. “Andrew… it sounds as if something important happened this week, something that impacted your relationship if it made you change your living arrangement. The point of these sessions is to help you figure out things and to get better – and as I keep saying, *you* define what is better for you. But that’s not going to happen if you deny things, especially important things, and I get the feeling that your relationship with Neil is important.”

“What relationship?” he muttered as he stared into the mug.

“Now that’s an interesting remark. Why do you feel like saying that? From what I’ve seen and heard, you have quite the relationship. He’s living with you, correct?”

Andrew knew he should just shut up and make Bee pick another topic, but really, she was asking for it. “He’s just going to figure out one of these days that there’s so many better people out there than a mess like me, all right? Hell, even his uncle is trying to set him up with someone else.” He glared as he set the mug aside, no longer in the mood for it. “So yes, what relationship? I’m just waiting for him to walk away.”

Bee gave him a puzzled look for a few seconds. “Has he given you any indication that he’s going to leave you? Said anything? Refused to make long term plans?”

This was when this shit got annoying. “No, but I know how these things work.”

The room became quiet after that, with Bee giving him that puzzled look again, her brows slightly furrowed behind her rimmed glasses. “All right, how do you know they work that way?” she asked after a minute or two. “From past relationships? Did it happen like that with your other boyfriends?”

“No,” Andrew gritted out. “I haven’t… no.”

Bee sighed and reached for her mug. “Andrew… you’re not perfect, but then again, no one is. What I see before me? You’ve had your troubles, and yes, you have issues. But then again, so do I.” She smiled a little as she motioned toward the shelves with all their carefully organized knickknacks. “You’re intelligent, you’re attractive, you’re devoted. Why can’t you focus on the good instead of the bad?”

“Because it doesn’t work that way,” he told her.

“Says who?” Bee smiled as she held her mug beneath her chin. “I’m surprised that someone as stubborn and independent as you would let anyone or anything get in the way of what you want. If it ‘doesn’t work that way’… make it. Yes?”

Andrew gave her a narrowed look as he bent down to pick up his own mug. “If this leads to Neil chained to a wall and mass homicide, you know I’m going to blame you, right?”

Bee sighed into her mug. “All right, I see we’ve got some more work cut out for us here. Never claimed that it was a quick and easy process.”

******

Neil went back to school the following Monday, with the story that he had been picked up by friends and gotten into a car accident; it explained the lingering bruises and why he took it easy the first couple of practices, and the bandage on his cheek. The bandage which would have to remain, because Riko had texted him that if he attempted to remove the tattoo, it wouldn’t be just a beating that Nicky got this time… and it wouldn’t just be Nicky. Neil was beginning to feel sorry for Renee, who once again helped Andrew vent his frustration after Neil’s phone had once more been broken.

It didn’t help that while Neil was recovering that people seemed to figure out that Kevin Day was on the Palmetto campus – Neil had found out when Andrew took him to the stadium for his check-up with Abby that Kevin was beginning to practice Exy once again in some hope of regaining his career, and now venturing out of Wymack’s apartment on a regular basis. The Ravens’ fans… they didn’t take the news well, one of their idols no longer being a Raven and now living outside of the ‘Nest’, and working for another Class I team on top of that (though why anyone would consider the Foxes a rival…). Neil winced at the rampant vandalism he witnessed as either Andrew, Nicky or Aaron escorted him each day to and from the high school or around the campus – there was an actual *riot* on Thursday, of all things.

So he didn’t think much of anything beside the craziness of Kevin’s situation and winning their upcoming game against Florence on Friday, along with the possibility of recruiters being present, when he walked into the locker room and immediately had to backpedal when Tris seemed about to attack him.

“What the hell?”

“Dude, congratulations!” Tris’ grin seemed to take up half his face, while behind him, Kelly, Bobby and the rest of the Mustangs cheered and Coach Lee clapped.

Neil felt as if his heart was about to burst from his chest. “Uhm, okay, congratulations about what?”

Tris held up his phone. “The Ravens just announced it! You made their Perfect Court! You don’t have to hide it anymore, Number Four!”

It felt as if ice had replaced Neil’s blood just then, as if something so cold and sharp had hollowed him out from the center and tore through every part of him. “I….”

“Yeah, it’s all over the forums and everything! Riko posted about it, said you’re still a bit raw but he’s certain that after working with you over the summer, you’ll impress the fans come fall,” Kelly told him over Tris’ shoulder.

There was only one thing Neil could do; he turned around and fled, went running outside then forced himself to stop – he couldn’t be stupid, couldn’t do something that would… *dammit*. Rage, potent, burning rage filled him at how Riko continued to box him in, to cut away at everything that was good in his life. Why? Because Riko didn’t have the things he wanted? Fame and adoration wasn’t enough?

“Hey, you all right? Was, uhm, was that a bit too much back there?”

Neil looked up to see Tris and Kelly hovering near the door leading back to the locker room, anxious expressions on their faces – for two such disparate people, they were so remarkably similar just then that he found a slight smile tugging on his lips.

“Maybe,” he admitted. “Just a little.”

Relief flashed across Tris’ broad face. “Okay, so, like, we’ll hide the cake and cancel the party. But still, we’re happy for you.”

The words tasted bitter in his mouth, but Neil forced himself to say them. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come back in when you’re ready – just don’t take forever, because we have Warrior butt to kick.”

“Yeah,” Kelly agreed. “But I’m gonna eat the cake, just so you know.”

Neil’s smile widened, just a little more. “I’m fine with that.”

Kelly hesitated in the door and gave him a concerned look. “You meant the cake, right?”

“Just eat the damn thing,” Neil told him as he pulled out his phone. Once they were gone, he called Andrew.

“You better not be freaking out, Josten,” Andrew said as soon as he answered it.

Neil breathed out a sigh of relief. “Maybe, just a little, but it’s better now.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. “So you’ve heard.”

It sounded as if Andrew was lighting a cigarette just then. “Figured out something was going on, we got a special package today. New contract and a plane ticket – day after you graduate.” There was a sharp, exhaled breath. “Three guesses what happened to them and the first two don’t count.”

“Hope you didn’t set off the fire alarm.”

There was a loud scoff. “Told you, I know how to get around that shit.”

“Hmm.” Neil tugged at his bangs, his thumb brushing along the bandage on his cheek – a bandage that was basically unnecessary now, thanks to Riko’s latest… well, it was unnecessary. “There definitely won’t be any other offers now, he’s made sure to declare me as a Raven.” Maybe Neil could find a way to drag out heading to Edgar Allen, but there was no more doubt now. There was just a numb acceptance to it all now… it was like back when his mother had died, back when he was cut up and hurting and so tired. When his father’s people had been so near to closing in. All he’d thought about was getting another few days, was getting out of California before the end…. Just another couple of months now. Just a little longer with Andrew.

There was another sharp exhale. “Listen, you fucking idiot, I told you, I’m working on something. Do you believe me? Do you *trust* me?”

The obvious anger in Andrew’s voice shook Neil from his spiraling thoughts. “I… yes, I do.” The words came out in a faint rasp, but they came out. “I do,” he repeated a bit stronger.

“Then get your ass back to practice and don’t fuck up the game. We’ll be there later to watch you and make sure you don’t do something stupid like go off with strangers again.”

Neil found himself smiling at that despite himself. “Yeah, because they offer me the best candy. What was I thinking?”

That earned him another scoff. “That’s just it – you and thinking, two completely foreign concepts. Get your ass in gear, don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Why do I get the impression that you believe that you’re the one in charge in this relationship?”

“Josten….”

“I’m going! See you later.” Mood better now, Neil smiled as he hung up and tucked away his phone, then braced himself to go back into the locker room.

*******

Andrew watched as the Foxes – the ones who bothered to show up for the rest of the year’s practices – returned into the lounge and split up into new groups; his own – him, Aaron and Nicky – had taken over one of the couches since the seniors were gone (and good riddance to them), and stared in shock at Kevin being there with a racquet in hand.

Thanks to Riko’s fuckery rising to new levels, Andrew’s group had only gone back to Columbia for a long weekend and had spent the rest of the spring break on campus, in part so Andrew could watch over Kevin and also so Neil could work off some nervous energy on court. Now that Neil knew that Kevin was practicing Exy again, Andrew had decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and have both idiots on the court at the same time to make watching over them easier. And, well, it was amusing, to see the two of them clash.

Kevin saw the raw potential Neil had, the ability he’d spotted two years ago which had started the whole mess and had only improved since then – ability he was determined to drag out by any means necessary. Neil wanted to learn, wanted to improve in the worst way… but he also had authority issues, and didn’t take being yelled at any better than Andrew did. Still, Neil pushed past the anger somehow, probably because he figured that if he was going to survive at the Nest, he needed everything that Kevin could teach him.

Andrew wasn’t going to let that happen, Riko snatching Neil away.

Other than providing Andrew a break from having to worry about allowing Riko two potential targets and the amusement of seeing Neil frustrate the shit out of Kevin and Neil doing his best not to flip out, there was the benefit of the fact that the two Exy junkies pushed each other to improve. Neil was learning the Raven drills at an impressive rate, and seeing Neil pick up things like that drove Kevin even harder to master playing with his right hand.

So now Kevin sat there in the lounge clear-eyed and showed no weaknesses when Gordon looked at him and gave a sneer. “What’s that?”

Wymack gave the asshole a cool look in return. “We can’t scrimmage with just one striker,” he replied with a slowness which implied that Gordon was an idiot.

“Yeah, but he’s left-handed,” Reynolds snapped. Hmm, seemed that someone was back ‘on’ with the loser that week.

“He was,” Wymack informed her with the same amount of condescending patience. “While you lot were drinking your way through your break, he was down here practicing with me pretty much every day. Now that everyone’s here, let’s get moving. There’s a lot to get through today.” He clapped his hands and pointed them toward the locker room.

“Oh, this is gonna be *rich*,” Gordon muttered as he got up from the chair. “Seeing Mr. High and Mighty over there fail.”

The asshole was only partially right – Kevin was still working on his control when it came to his aim, but he had regained a surprising amount of skill at catching and carrying, and he wasn’t afraid to get physical on the court. He took on Matt without any hesitation and challenged Nicky and Aaron on the defensive side, it was just that he had no potential to get the ball into the goal as of yet.

Gordon was quick to point out that the latter fact made him useless as a striker and that they had enough backliners, so what was the use of him being on the court? Kevin fired back that Gordon wasn’t that great as a striker who *could* score a point, while Andrew just stood back and enjoyed the squabbling and Wymack ignored it all. It went on all week, until that Friday when Kevin managed to score a goal against Renee.

The rest of the team just scoffed and claimed it was a fluke, but Andrew had noticed the determination on Kevin’s face, the same emotion he’d seen for the past month. When they went to the showers at the end of practice, Kevin stopped near him and told him to bring Neil again on Sunday for another joint session.

“The clock’s ticking,” Andrew reminded him. “Renee’s nothing – she’s good, but she’s not the best. Show me some real improvement soon if you want our deal to continue.”

Kevin’s jaw clenched as he swiped back his dark, sweat-soaked bangs. “Just bring Neil on Sunday, okay? And you know, you could always help out, too.”

“You’re not ready for me yet,” Andrew taunted before he walked away so he could take his shower and get ready for their weekend back home.

Andrew watched the way that Kevin threw himself into the practice that Sunday, and on Monday, finally returned back to court, which earned him shocked looks from everyone but Aaron, Renee and Nicky. Wymack nodded as if in satisfaction and Kevin merely looked as if he’d been given a task he had to complete or else; he became quiet and utterly focused, gave up on the useless taunting and mostly ignored Gordon from then on.

As Andrew had said, the clock was ticking. Every few days a new contract for Neil arrived, along with a reissued plane ticket; Andrew had a feeling that on the day after graduation, there would be armed Moriyama men outside of their dorm room waiting to ‘escort’ Neil onto the plane to make sure he left for Charleston, where he would be forced to sign that damn contract at last. So before then, Ichiro would have to be presented with an alternative to block Riko.

So yes, Kevin didn’t have much longer to come through with his end of the deal. Neil was wrapping up the season with his high school team and narrowing in on the district championships, all the while dodging the news teams eager to interview the ‘Ravens-bound’ player. Gordon and his groupies were giving him shit about being a ‘filthy crow’ every time they caught him in the hallway, so much so that Dan hadn’t said a thing when she caught Andrew slamming Gordon into the wall and Aaron tripping Arnolds when he went to help his buddy.

Nothing much happened the first two weeks, with Kevin doing little more than staring after Andrew and steadily increasing his goals on Renee, and on the third week he finally started facing off against Andrew in the goal. It was so pathetic at first that Andrew was beginning to think that their deal was hopeless, that he had better prepare Neil to cut and run… and toward the end of the week, the impossible happened. Andrew went to block a shot and it didn’t go where he thought it would, it hit at an improbable angle and he stood there, bemused, as everyone else stopped what they were doing as his goal lit up to register the shot. Kevin merely gave him a slight, satisfied grin while Andrew tapped his racquet in growing excitement, torn between believing that it had been a lucky shot and that Kevin might, just *might*, be living up to his end of the agreement.

Andrew went back to stand in front of the goal while Kevin lined up more shots, and at first he thought that yes, it *had* been a damn fluke as the shot went wide and hit the top of the goal line. Except the next went wide, too… and hit too low. When the next hit on the right, and when the fourth hit on the left, he knew that Kevin was being a jack-ass and marking the damn goal in the cross-hairs. Before Andrew knew it, the fifth shot came across too fast to be blocked and slammed into the goal.

Then the smart-ass managed another goal again, and again – Andrew would want to kill him, except he felt an odd, trilling emotion bubbling in his chest. He felt the strongest urge to text Riko just then, to call him up and laugh… and tamped it down. Soon, he promised himself.

Meanwhile, Matt was laughing enough for him. “Dude, you going to let him show you up like that?”

For an answer, Andrew snatched up the ball with his racquet and fired it at Matt, who wasn’t anywhere near as good at catching or dodging them as a certain idiot. Hmm, that stopped the laughing, didn’t it? Now glowering, Matt picked up the ball and threw it back at him, so Andrew caught it and swung it at Kevin, who snagged it, tossed it into the air and then threw it right at Andrew’s face. Looked like someone might be working off a bit of aggression there – what, he hadn’t appreciated working under pressure? It seemed to have motivated him, hadn’t it? Andrew caught the ball with his glove and stared at the teen while he gave the slightest of nods, and Kevin stared right back at him.

They remained like that for about a minute, until Kevin finally spoke. “Let’s play.”

Andrew allowed himself a slight, pleased smile. “You’re obnoxious, you know.”

“*I* am?” Kevin sounded a bit offended at that.

Andrew kept the slight smile on his face as he shrugged, then he threw the ball at Dan. She seemed surprised at that, then grinned and shouted at everyone to get moving, to keep practicing, and served the ball to start a game. When the ball ended up with Kevin again, Andrew was prepared and blocked the goal, along with the next several shots. Kevin did end up scoring again in the end, and Andrew felt another rare, genuine smile creep across his face, a bit of a sneer but still genuine and not a show for other people.

He could imagine it now, could imagine playing next year with Aaron and Nicky standing in front of him, with Neil running around with that mouth of his set loose and flashing a smile Andrew’s way. Could even imagine lobbing balls at Kevin’s head. Yes. It finally seemed possible.

The next day, Wymack pulled each of the Foxes aside to talk to them about signing Kevin to the team – after all the grief that the Ravens fans had given the school in February, Wymack wanted them to know what they were getting into and the decision to be unanimous. Andrew, Aaron and Nicky each said ‘yes’ – they knew what it meant for Neil, for Kevin to be a Fox. Renee agreed, too, without any reservation. From what Andrew heard, Gordon was a bit of an ass, but after spitting venom for a while he signed off, as well. The rest of the girls agreed, as did Matt.

Kevin signed the contract on Friday, but not without a few regrets, it seemed. Andrew didn’t care if it was a long way down from the Ravens and the Court and all that other shit, it was a chance for him to play Exy again and they had an agreement.

Nicky grabbed onto Kevin as soon as practice was over and gave him a quick one-armed hug. “This calls for a celebration, yes! We’re gonna take you out to Columbia tonight, you hear?  We’re headed there as soon as Neil wins his game tonight, so get ready!” Then he glanced at Kevin as if looking at him for the first time. “Eh, you do have something decent to wear, yeah? Oh, don’t worry about it, we’ll grab something for you before we pick you up!”

During the whole spiel, Renee sidled up to Andrew with a slight frown on her face. “Do you think Coach will allow that?”

“Coach knows Kevin doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to,” Andrew told her with a shrug before he looked at her and grinned. “If I didn’t already have a drinking problem, Kevin’s numerous issues would give me one. So say a prayer and maybe next year Coach will recruit a quiet child who won’t create any problems for us.”

She smiled at that. “I don’t think I have that much pull, sorry. Besides, then it would boring, wouldn’t it?”

He pretended to think about it a little. “Hmm, you’re right. I take it all back.”

She gave him a quick, gentle pat on the arm. “Have a good weekend with Neil. Maybe this will cheer him up a little.”

It better. Andrew followed Aaron out to the car and thought about finally telling Neil what was going on, now that Kevin had signed.

*******

Neil eyed the way that Kevin snatched up two double shots from the large tray of drinks Andrew had bought and frowned; he still didn’t know why the older teen was here – everyone had been very quiet about the topic since they’d picked him up from the game earlier, though they all seemed in a good mood. “So, what are we celebrating?”

“Well, there’s the Mustangs officially making it into the district championships, right?” Nicky beamed at him as he held up the shot in his hand. “Go Mustangs!”

Because of their spotless record for the season, the Mustangs had a slot in the championships after their win tonight even if they lost the next game or two. “Thanks.” Neil’s frown deepened as Andrew handed him what had to be at least a double shot of what looked to be vodka. “What?”

“Drink this first.”

Oh, that was *never* a good sigh. Sighing since he knew he could rarely out-stubborn his friend, Neil decided to just get it over with and tossed back the shot. He spluttered a little after he swallowed it, because that had *not* been vodka. “Fuck, what was that?”

“Never mind.” Andrew handed him a glass of water so he could help wash away the burning sensation in his throat. “The second thing we’re celebrating is Kevin signing with the Foxes.” When Neil stared at Andrew in shock, Andrew handed him another tumbler of alcohol; Neil tossed it back without question, while Kevin kept on drinking as if someone was going to take away the shots at any second.

“Wha- oh hell, that was just as bad,” Neil mumbled. “What? The Foxes?” He’d known that Kevin was getting better, was getting good enough to play Exy again with his right hand, but the *Foxes*? “Why?”

Kevin flinched a little at that and finally stopped drinking. “There’s a lot of potential on the team. They’ve got the ability to go far, to go all the way, it just needs to be brought out.” A muscle in his jaw flexed as he stared at Andrew. “It *can* be brought out.”

“Oh, not that same old song again.” Andrew gave him a mocking smile. “If Kevin is starting at the bottom himself, he might as well start from the bottom all the way, right?”

“We’re not that bad,” Nicky grumbled as he set an empty glass down on the table. “We made it to the championships.”

“And you failed there,” Kevin reminded him with a sneer. “But yes, you’re not that bad. Next year….” For some reason, he was giving Neil a pointed stare.

“Drink up, everyone,” Andrew said as he banged on the table, which startled Neil. The others didn’t have to be told twice, especially Kevin.

After a few minutes, Aaron, Nicky and Kevin were out on the dance floor, and Neil found Andrew regarding him with a heavy gaze; he fidgeted with one of the empty glasses, the alcohol from before already a warm buzz in his veins. “So, Kevin’s a Fox now. Riko’s not going to be happy about that.”

“No, I imagine he’s not. Ask me if I care?” Andrew reached over to latch on to one of the belt loops on Neil’s jeans and tugged him closer.

“I know you don’t,” Neil sighed. “But… it’ll be trouble for the Foxes.” A part of him whispered that it might be good for him, in the end. Anything to distract Riko from him.

“Again, ask me if I care about anything that inconveniences that asshole.” There was a sharp bite to Andrew’s voice just then, a flatness to his hazel eyes.

Neil shook his head as he slipped his arms around his friend’s waist. “Okay, no more talking about him.”

“No, not quite yet.” Andrew pulled Neil even closer, and his right hand lifted to tap against the bandage still covering Neil’s tattoo. “What do you think is going to happen now, hmm?” At Neil’s confused look, Andrew’s finger pressed against his left cheekbone. “Do you think I’m just going to let you get on that plane in a few weeks?”

Neil shook his head again. “I… I don’t think there’s anything else to be done about it at this point,” he admitted, his voice ragged as his fingers clutched at Andrew’s hipbones.

Anger flashed across Andrew’s handsome face, and the finger pressed hard enough to hurt, just for a second. “I told you, I was working on something. And I did.” He stared at Neil as if waiting for an answer.

But… what? “I….” Neil frowned at Andrew as he attempted to figure it out, and then his eyes widened. “Kevin? Is that what this is about?”

Andrew’s right hand slipped from Neil’s cheek to cup along the back of his neck. “Kevin’s a Fox now. The best striker in the league has officially signed with the Foxes. Don’t you think that’s important?”

“But… but they’re still… you said it yourself, they’re still lower ranked.”

Fingers tightened in his hair. “They made it to the championship without Kevin Day. How far will they… will we make it with him? Call your uncle tomorrow and tell him that. Tell him Kevin Day signed with the Foxes, tell him that Day is going to drag them up through the ranks… and how much notice it’ll get you if you’re at his side when he does it.”

Neil wet his lips as he met Andrew’s heavy gaze, unable to look away as he thought about what Andrew had just proposed, about the chances of it working. “Okay,” he said after a slight pause. “You know that Riko… it’ll only set him off even more, if Ichiro agrees.” Not that he cared for himself, but Riko knew other ways to hurt him now.

Andrew’s fingers tightened for a moment, then pulled Neil’s head in closer. “He’ll just find out how much of a vicious mutt I really am, then won’t he?”

Yes, he would, but what if Riko attempted to retaliate? But… as if Neil would allow Riko to take Andrew away from him – Andrew or the others. He closed his eyes as their lips met, a faint brush at first and then something more definite, something more demanding. He parted his lips and moaned when Andrew’s tongue swiped inside, at the sharp bite of whiskey and the feel of Andrew’s fingers rubbing against his scalp.

They broke apart when someone bumped into their table, Andrew’s expression murderous and Neil feeling his face heat up from embarrassment. “So, uhm… you won’t be getting rid of me of me just yet, if I’m a Fox.”

Andrew sighed as he let go of Neil to reach for another shot for each of them. “Seems to be a curse, being stuck with you.”

“I feel so special.” Neil grimaced as he accepted the shot of what seemed to be rubbing alcohol or something like it. “What *is* this stuff?” He grimaced some more after he tossed it back.

“Roland got his hands on some moonshine.” Andrew smirked when Neil took to choking. “Potent, isn’t it?” He handed over the water.

“Am I supposed to be able to walk out of here tonight?” Neil was definitely feeling a buzz.

“Oh hush, I’m not going to make you drink all of it. Just don’t want you to be freaking out all night and thinking too much.” The smirk was gone now, replaced by a sour twist of the lips as Andrew pulled Neil closer as if to keep an eye on him. “Besides, I have a feeling it’ll be Kevin we’ll be carrying out of here.”

Andrew’s words turned out to be close to the truth, as Kevin seemed determined to drink as much alcohol as possible before closing time; if only the Ravens fans could see their idol now, completely inebriated and barely able to get back in their car. Andrew managed to get them all home, and after making Nicky half-carry Kevin into the house, Andrew and Neil retreated to their own room for the night.

Neil barely got any sleep after the first couple of hours, not with all the thoughts in his head, the possibility of denying Riko what he wanted and being able to remain with Andrew at Palmetto. So when Andrew finally woke up in the morning, Neil was sitting propped up against the headboard with his phone held in his hands, his eyes a bit bleary and stomach tied in knots.

Andrew took one look at him and scrubbed at his face. “I didn’t mean to do it first thing in the morning.”

“It’s after ten,” Neil told him.

“Fine.” Andrew sounded a little bitter about that. “Text him.” He rolled onto his side and watched while Neil did just that, his hands shaking somewhat so he had to delete and retype a few times.

After that it was an anxious few minutes until Uncle Stuart called him. “What’s up, kiddo? You dump the little prick yet?”

Despite himself, Neil smiled a little, especially since Andrew was close enough to hear that. “No, not yet.”

“One can hold out hope.” Uncle Stuart clicked his tongue a couple of times. “So what’s going on? What did Riko do this time?”

“It’s not him, exactly.” Neil took a deep breath before he continued. “Kevin Day just signed a contract with the Palmetto State Foxes, he’ll be a striker on the team as of June.”

Uncle Stuart was quiet for a moment. “Okay, I think a few people will want to know that. Things are going to get interesting down there.”

“I know.” Neil glanced at Andrew for a moment. “When you pass on the message about Kevin, there’s something I want you to ask Ichiro for me, if you could.”

There was the sound of a cigarette lighter being struck on the other end, probably one of the clove ones Stuart favored. “And that is?”

“I want to play for the Foxes.” Neil closed his eyes as he spoke, half afraid that his uncle would refuse or tell him that he was being crazy. “The agreement I made was that I had to play on a team that would give me a shot at Court one day. I can learn a lot from Kevin Day, and he’s going to drag the Foxes to the top of the Class I division one way or another. That’ll reflect well on my future career if I help him do it.”

His uncle inhaled on the cigarette and blew out a slow exhale. “You know that’s going to bring a lot of pain your way if you do that, kiddo. Not sure the little prick can fend off that much grief.”

“Fuck off, you limey bastard,” Andrew muttered.

“But I’ll pass on the message,” Uncle Stuart, his voice raised to be heard over Andrew’s insult. “Seems to me it’s better than you going to Edgar Allen.”

“Yeah, me too,” Neil agreed. “And thank you.”

“Mary would have my head if I didn’t try this for you,” Stuart mumbled. “I’ll call you back as soon as I get an answer.”

Neil let out a shuddering breath as he set the phone aside. “So now we wait.” However long it took for Ichiro to decide his fate, for him to stay with Andrew or for him to be handed over to Riko.

He reached up to tug on his bangs when Andrew caught his hand. “Yes or no,” his friend asked, and Neil was breathing out ‘yes’ even as he pulled Andrew closer, as he sought oblivion with Andrew’s hands and mouth and… and… as he let Andrew take everything away except pleasure for a short while.

They were fresh out of the shower and in the kitchen, Andrew busy glaring at the coffee machine as it slowly dripped a fresh pot and Neil busy making some bacon for a very late breakfast/lunch, when his phone rang again. Jumping a bit at the sound, he went to answer it and let Nicky take over the cooking, his hands trembling when he saw that it was Uncle Stuart.

“Yes?” He held it away from his ear an inch or so when Andrew came over.

“So, I have to say, the little lord’s convinced that you’re either certifiable or that you’ve got quite the set of balls on you, can’t quite tell with him. Do I have to remind you that neither of those things can be good in the long run if you push too hard?”

Neil ran his left hand over his hair. “So is that a yes or a no about the Foxes?”

Uncle Stuart snorted. “It’s a yes, but I don’t think it’s an unconditional one, mind you. You better be right about Day, for your own sake, kiddo. And watch your back, because you’re still on your own… and Riko’s not going to be pleased when he finds out.”

Neil realized that Andrew’s arm was around his waist just then, which was all that kept him from sliding to the floor, and the phone was out of his hand. “We’ll handle Riko,” Andrew snapped. Neil thought he heard Uncle Stuart say something else, but Andrew just hung up and threw the phone back onto the counter. “So, you’re a Fox now,” he said as he hauled Neil up a little higher.

Nicky, who had been quiet during the call, grinned and let out a loud yell. “Yay! You’re a Fox!” He waved the spatula in the air and went to hug them both, but a glare from Andrew made him pout and reach over to pat Neil on the head. “Later, when the killjoy isn’t around.”

“I still have to get an offer from Wymack,” Neil reminded them both as he rubbed at the back of his neck, in a bit of shock at it all. Just yesterday he’d been resigned to being Riko’s chewtoy, and now….

Andrew gave him a considering look then let him go to grab a mug. “Right, I’m sure he’s had it written up for the last few weeks. All we have to do is call him to say that you’re free of the Ravens and he’ll probably drive out here today to have you sign it.”

Neil stared at his friend. “Just how long have you been working on this? Was I really the last to know?”

He got a slight smirk before Andrew grabbed the pot of coffee. “Of course. You worry too much.”

Oh for- Neil took to glaring at the smug bastard while a surly Aaron walked into the room, looking as if he’d just got out of bed. “Why is everyone so loud?”

“Neil’s a Fox!” Nicky declared from the stove, where he was finishing with the bacon.

Aaron gave Neil a blank look for a few seconds. “Looks like he got mauled by one. Surprised that Day slept through that last night.”

The glare directed Andrew’s way went up a notch as Neil rubbed at his bruised neck. “I’m just realizing what I’m signing up for if I stick around for five more years.”

Andrew took a long sip of his coffee then set it down before reaching out for Neil and slowly pulling him in close, giving Neil time to pull away. Then, while Nicky made a loud whooping noise, he damn near kissed Neil breathless for about a minute or two. “Yeah, your life, so hard,” he said when he pulled away while flicking Neil on the forehead then picked up his mug again, while Neil tried to figure out if he should feel offended, amused or surprised. Maybe all three?

“I don’t know who I hate more right now, the two of you or Day for being able to sleep through all of *this*,” Aaron muttered as he fetched his own mug of coffee.

“Kevin drank the last of the whiskey when he got home last night,” Andrew said as he sat down at the table, clearly ready to be served something to eat.

“Okay, then I hate Day right now.” Aaron glared in the direction of the den, where Kevin was passed out or something, from what Neil could tell. “What are we doing tonight?”

“Having a party to celebrate Neil being a Fox, d’uh.” Nicky began to plate up the bacon while Neil put on some toast then started setting the table. “I’ll hit the liquor store later.”

Aaron made a pleased sound upon hearing that. “Just order some pizzas then, or use the fire pit?”

“Oooh, fire pit!” Nicky grinned as he worked on the eggs. “I’ll pick up the groceries we need, and some more wood, too. You wanna come shopping with me, Aaron?”

“I suppose, it’ll give the boyfriends some more time to celebrate the good news,” he said as he finished adding milk to his coffee.

Neil nearly dropped the stack of plates in his hands just then, but Andrew caught them and gave him a narrowed look as if displeased; he still wasn’t used to Aaron saying things like that around him, and definitely not used to Andrew just letting it slide. “Ah….”

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“A little?” Neil scowled at Andrew. “Hey, you’re not the one having to worry about the junior crime boss deciding if you have to go live with his psychotic little brother or not.”

“You’re the idiot who made the deal with said junior crime boss,” Andrew reminded him with a too-sweet tone of voice.

“As opposed to you, who would have what, tried to off him in front of the armed security and started a crime war before being killed?” Neil gritted out as he slammed a plate in front of his moronic, suicidal, homicidal… *whatever*. Friend. Boyfriend. *Moron*. “That would have worked out so well.”

Andrew glared at him as he straightened the plate on the table. “Says the idiot who taunts said ‘psychotic little brother’ all the time. *Idiot*.”

“Aw, isn’t so cute when they fight like that?” Nicky cooed. “Adorable.”

Aaron made a gagging sound. “All of you need your heads examined. *All of you*.”

“Where is the damn food?” There was a dangerous note to Andrew’s voice just then, so Neil went to grab some toast.

“Here.” He dropped the pieces onto Andrew’s plate then went to fetch the bacon as well, and sat down next to him. “I’m not an idiot.”

“You are, too,” Andrew argued even as he buttered the toasted bread, one of which he tossed onto Neil’s plate – the buttered side landing down, of course.

“Let’s just settle this before it drags on all day.” Aaron joined them at the table with his mug of coffee. “You’re *both* idiots. See?” He smiled as he sat down with the mug held between his hands. “Now everyone’s happy.”

Nicky joined them at that point with a large platter of scrambled eggs. “Has anyone thought to check on Kevin to see if he’s still alive?”

Andrew stopped glaring at Aaron long enough to consider the question and then smiled, the expression one of pure malevolence. “Good idea.” He picked up his toast and a couple of pieces of bacon and, while munching on them, went to fill another mug with water and even a couple of ice cubes. That done, he then left the kitchen, seemingly in a much better mood.

Oh, the next few years were going to be such fun, Neil could tell as he picked up his toast and began to eat it, the sound of a loud, startled yell eventually filling the house.

*******

The text from Wymack came through when they were on their way back to campus; Andrew stared at his phone with some annoyance before looking over at Neil. “Go straight to the stadium instead of dropping Kevin off at Wymack’s.”

“All right.” He gnawed at his bottom lip for a moment. “Is everything all right?”

“He didn’t say, just that he wants us all there.” Andrew reached for his pack of cigarettes and huffed when he noticed the new tension in Neil’s shoulders. “He’s not going to rescind the offer, you idiot. Man’s been trying to sign you for a year now.”

“I know, I….” Neil gave a slight shake to his head. “I’ll feel better when it’s all done.”

Nicky leaned forward to pat Neil’s curls, quick to withdraw when Andrew gave him a warning look. “He won’t mess with you, not when he knows he has to put up with all of us.”

“Is he going to make the whole team vote again?”

Andrew twisted back to glare at his twin. “He didn’t make everyone vote for that other striker, why would he make them vote on Neil?”

“Maybe because Neil has a psycho hot for his ass?” Aaron noticed the way that Andrew and Nicky were glaring at him and shrugged. “Look, you know my vote on this, I’m just saying. We had to vote on Kevin because of the Ravens shit, I’m just wondering if Wymack is going to feel the same way about Neil.”

The tension was back in Neil’s body. “Wait, I have to be voted in? Seriously?”

“There’s been no mention of it,” Kevin said, speaking up for the first time since they’d left Columbia – probably because he was still hungover and annoyed at being dragged from his bed. “You’ll be fine, you’re so much better than Gordon or Smalls.”

Yeah, like Gordon would be pleased to know that Wymack had recruited another striker better than him. Still, Andrew didn’t say anything, he just handed Neil a cigarette and watched while his… boyfriend (still getting used to that idea, and judging from Neil’s reaction yesterday, he wasn’t the only one) accepted it with a tremulous smile and inhaled the curls of smoke with an almost desperate need.

Nicky attempted to make small-talk, but Kevin was surly, Aaron seemed to realize he’d fucked up and so withdrew into sullen silence, and Neil was too tense to give more than brief answers. Andrew spoke a little, but he just wanted to get back to campus and find out what Wymack wanted, also, so the last fifteen minutes or so passed in silence, with everyone appearing almost grateful when they reached the stadium.

He grabbed the back of Neil’s neck once they were out of the GS and gave it a quick squeeze, just enough to ease some of the tension in those narrow shoulders, and then they followed Kevin into the stadium and down to the Fox’s area, where Wymack was waiting for them. As soon as they stepped into the lounge area, the coach came out of his office; he was dressed in jeans and an old concert t-shirt, and had a bit of stubble on his face.

“Good, nice to see you guys listened for once.” He seemed to perk up when he spotted Neil. “So, how did it go this weekend? Did you get things cleared up or what?”

“If you’re asking about Neil, the answer is yes,” Andrew told him. “Nothing’s stopping him from signing a contract now.”

“Thank fuck,” Wymack said as he rubbed at his eyes. “Because I just got word that Janie Smalls tried to kill herself last night and has been admitted for self-harm. There’s no way she’s going to make it this season.”

Behind Andrew, he could hear Nicky whisper ‘Janie who’ and Aaron answer back ‘the other striker, you idiot’, while beside him, Neil took to combing his hands through his hair and Kevin seemed to snap fully awake. “I’ve been fielding calls all damn morning long, because as of right now, I’ve only got two strikers signed to the team and not much time left to get a new one,” Wymack continued as he gazed at Neil. “The board’s after me to sign someone ASAP because two strikers aren’t enough. I told them I had someone in mind… so what about it? Is Andrew right? You’re good now?”

Neil drew in a shuddering breath. “As far as the main house is concerned… I was told ‘yes’, but warned that it might not be an unconditional one.” He glanced aside at Andrew while his lips twitched downward a little, as if apologizing for speaking the truth. “There might be trouble in the future if the Foxes don’t live up to how I built them to be.”

“There won’t be a problem.” That was from Kevin, his voice harsh with conviction. “This team isn’t going to fail.”

Wymack’s lips curved into a pleased grin. “Exactly what I was going to say. Just sign the contract, play your best and let me worry about that other stuff – me and Kevin and Dan. So do I have my third striker or what?”

Neil started to nod and then stopped. “What about the rest of the team? Don’t they have a say in me joining?”

“Not when it’s down to the wire like this, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to find someone as good as you out there right now. Do you want to sign or not?” Wymack was sounding a bit testy just then, and Andrew couldn’t blame him.

“Yes,” Neil said, and the tension left his body as he nodded. “Yes, I’ll sign.”

“*Finally*.” Wymack grinned while Nicky let out another loud yell. “Get your ass back here, the paperwork is on my desk.”

Andrew followed Neil into Wymack’s office, as did Kevin, and looked over his shoulder at the contract; it was the same as his, offering a five year scholarship as well as room and board in return for Neil to play for Palmetto State University. Andrew was certain that the Moriyamas’ lawyers could buy Neil out if push came to shove, but for the time being, it locked him into the Foxes. Neil scanned through it and signed at the bottom with no apparent hesitation; Andrew made sure to take a picture of it, which he would save for an appropriate time.

“We’ll keep quiet about this for as long as possible, until the season starts, even,” Wymack said as he set the document aside, his gaze lingering over Neil’s hidden tattoo. “I’m sure the Ravens and their fans aren’t going to be happy to find out they lost you, especially after Kevin.”

“I never said I was joining the Ravens.” The words came out fast and heated as Neil glared down at Wymack’s desk. “I never once confirmed those rumors. It’s all on Riko.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll still do what we can to limit the damage. It’ll be obvious to the board when Tetsuji can’t come after you with a signed contract, but the fans… that’ll be something else entirely.” Wymack sighed as he motioned to Neil’s face. “That thing doesn’t help, either.”

Neil flinched at the reminder of his tattoo; Andrew knocked over a half-filled mug of coffee and grinned when Wymack cursed and rushed to save a stack of folders. “How about I hold you down and force a tattoo on you, hmm?” he told the man.

Wymack gave him a sour look for a moment or two and then had the courtesy to look aside. “Okay, that was wrong of me, but it’s what people are going to be thinking.”

And once Andrew figured out a way to neutralize Riko’s threat about the damn thing, it would be gone. Until then…. “Well, I think we’re done here today, yes? You have a new striker, so all’s well that ends well. I think it’s time for us go now.” He grasped Neil’s left wrist to pull him out of the office.

Kevin stirred at that. “Wait, aren’t we going to practice today?”

Neil paused upon hearing that, but Andrew shook his head. “Not today, I’m declaring it a holiday. You can play with yourself for once, right? I’m sure you know how, considering that lovely personality of yours.” He bared his teeth as Kevin glared at him. “Have fun, and don’t do anything stupid.”

“Don’t break too many laws,” Wymack shot back as he finished mopping up his desk. “See you tomorrow, for practice.”

“I live for those moments, Coach.” Andrew gave him a salute by means of a wave ‘goodbye’ and went to collect Aaron and Nicky.

“So, it’s official, you’re a Fox now.” He let go of Neil, who fell in step beside him.

“Well, not until June, but close enough.” Neil smiled a little. “Not quite the same as Penn State, but a hell of a lot better than Edgar Allen.”

Andrew thought about that a little. “No ice cream for me, dammit.”

“Hmm, not until we go back home to Sweeties. Sorry.”

“I’ll find the will to live on, somehow.” Nicky and Aaron joined them as they headed to the car. “The pizza here isn’t that bad, after all.” Neil took to groaning. “Especially the veggie lovers,” Andrew said with a cruel grin.

“Why is it that’s the only time you eat the damn things, huh?” Neil folded his arms over his chest, his gorgeous face set in the most amusing pout.

“Because it’s entertaining as hell, watching you pick them off,” Andrew admitted. He could stomach them if it meant watching Neil’s expressions as he dealt with the things.

“Yeah, have to agree with him there,” Aaron said with a slight grin. “It’s pretty funny.”

Nicky gave a nervous chuckle when Neil glared at him. “Well… you know, anything that makes these two happy… I sorta have to agree with myself, it’s such a rare thing. Can’t you just, take one for the team?”

“All three of you can go to hell,” Neil mumbled as he stomped off to the car ahead of them.

“Aw, you know it’s not true,” Nicky shouted as he rushed after Neil. “You just signed up to four more years of us. Four. More. Years!” He laughed when Neil gave him the finger over his shoulders. “You love us! Come on, give me a big kiss to show me how much, baby bro!”

Andrew just realized the downside of Neil being with them for the next few years meant that there was someone around who would keep him from killing Nicky, dammit.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I just... not much to say. Way too hot out. We'll see if I get the next chapter out this weekend, but I'd be surprised (then again, I've said that before).
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the comments and the kudos! They are truly appreciated.  
> *******


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, this is one of those chapters where I'm just... hmm. It gets things there.  
> *******

*******

Andrew noticed the looks that the rest of the Foxes sent his group’s way as they entered the lounge Monday morning; he was seated on the couch with Kevin next to him and between Aaron, with Nicky at the far end, Kevin prattling on about the drills he wanted to start working on with Neil and various conditioning exercises. Renee sent Andrew a considering look and then a pleased smile, while Dan seemed surprised that Kevin was still alive.

Wymack waited until everyone had arrived and then clapped to get their attention. “All right, I’ve got two announcements today before we start practice. There’s been a change in the line-up for next year.” When that provoked a lot of murmuring, especially from Dan, Wymack held up his hands. “It was a last minute thing, and I had to act fast. Over the weekend, Janie Smalls… well, if you haven’t heard already, she had a relapse and tried to kill herself. She’s on lock down right now and won’t be able to make it for next season.” Oh, why didn’t the man just come out and say that she wouldn’t be attending Palmetto at all?

Renee made some sort of soft murmur, her face a proper mask of sympathy while Gordon gloated, the asshole, and Dan stared at Wymack with open expectation.

“So who’s our new striker?” She glanced aside at Andrew, which made him wonder if Wymack had been talking out of place.

Despite the seriousness of the previous topic, a slight grin came over Wymack’s face. “I think some of you know him already. I managed to sign Neil Josten yesterday.”

Dan let out a loud shout of excitement while Matt took to clapping and Renee grinned; for their part, Reynolds tapped her nails together with a thoughtful expression on her face and Gordon outright cursed. “You recruited another fag? What, did Minyard get on you to bring his boyfriend on the team so he could have someone to play with?”

The room went quiet after that; Kevin attempted to throw his arm in front of Andrew as if to keep him on the couch but Andrew pushed past it with ease as he stood up. “Would you care to repeat that?” he asked Gordon in a deceptively quiet tone while his right hand hovered over his left arm guard.

“What the hell, Seth?” Dan seethed as she gave him a look of utter disgust. “We manage to land one of the most sought after strikers out there, and you have to act like that? Really?”

Meanwhile, Wymack’s face flushed red with a rare display with anger. “Seth, go into my office, *now*.”

“But you didn’t even ask us if we-“

“I didn’t ask you because there’s not much time left to recruit anyone, and we sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten someone with Josten’s talent if we tried,” Wymack cut him off. “I’ve warned you before about this attitude, now get your ass into my office.”

Gordon shot Reynolds a look as if expecting her to back him up, but she just shook her head and held up her hands as if to indicate that he was on his own. His expression crumpled for a moment as if he realized that he was indeed on his own then – no more Reyes and Arnolds to back him up – and then stomped off towards the office.

Wymack gazed around the room. “Anyone else have a problem with Josten joining the team or how I run things?” He lingered on Reynolds as he spoke

She spoke up as she tapped her nails together again. “What about the Ravens? I thought he was signed with them – even has the fancy tattoo and everything.” She looked over at Kevin – at Kevin’s cheek – for a moment before her gaze settled back on Wymack. “Isn’t that going to be a problem?”

“There never was a contract,” Wymack assured her. “Anything you heard was the Ravens trying to lock him in and-“  Andrew made a loud sound as if clearing his throat. “Well, there never was a contract with them. He signed with us.”

Reynolds shifted her gaze over to Andrew for several seconds before she waved her right hand in the air. “Then all I care about is that the kid can play. Maybe try to dress him a little better, too, since half the time I see him looking like a bum or something.”

“I’m working on that,” Nicky said as he leaned forward. “Andrew won’t let me raid his closet and burn all those old things.”

Yes, because Nicky didn’t have to put up with Neil freaking out about buying new clothes and everything, did he?

“That’s not my problem at the moment,” Wymack insisted as he turned toward Dan, Matt and Renee. “I’m assuming you’re all fine with this?”

Dan gave him a thumb’s up sign. “I’m amazed you were finally able to land him! Thought you were going to have to knock him out or something to get him to sign.” She didn’t seem to notice Andrew glaring at her, but Renee did and shook her head at him.

“I feel bad about Janie, but wow, Kevin and Neil on our line next year? It’s going to be great,” Matt told Wymack with a huge grin.

Renee smiled and nodded. “I’m happy, too.”

Wymack grunted as he motioned to the locker room. “Wonderful. Then take your happy asses and get ready for practice.”

Andrew gave the man a significant look as he walked past him, then glanced down toward the office; he wasn’t going to put up with Gordon’s bad attitude for much longer, or allow the asshole to take potshots at Neil come June. Wymack sighed and shook his head, so he must have gotten the message.

Once they were on the track and doing laps to warm up, Kevin came up to Andrew. “You know, you might want to rethink your relationship with Neil somewhat.”

Andrew gave the older teen a cold look while Nicky muttered ‘oh shit’ and dropped back a few feet and Aaron took to smiling and sped up to be run alongside them. “’Rethink it’ how?” This better be something along the lines of ‘surprise your boyfriend with more fun dates’ or Kevin might suffer another ‘accident’.

Kevin seemed to struggle to find the words on how to answer that for several seconds. “It’s just… well, I plan on taking Neil to Court with me, he’s got that potential.” The look he gave Andrew just then made it clear that he believed Andrew had the potential, too, and was wasting it. “It’ll be a lot easier for him when he goes pro and is trying to make Court if it’s not out there that he’s gay.”

“He’s not gay, he’s ‘demi’,” Aaron murmured, which earned him a confused look from Kevin and a mildly irate look from Andrew.

“Uhm… okay. I’m just saying, your relationship-“

“Is none of your business,” Andrew snapped. “Neil is a big boy, he can decide what he wants to do.”

Kevin didn’t appear mollified by that. “But you-“

“Say another word on this topic, and you won’t be able to speak for at least the rest of the day, maybe longer,” Andrew told him in a bland tone of voice that masked just how ticked off he was at the moment. “Understand?”

“I’m just-“

“Do you think I’m bluffing?”

Kevin blanched at the expression on Andrew’s face and resumed staring forward. “Never mind.”

“I thought so.” On Andrew’s other side, Aaron took to snickering. “Amusing you, are we?”

“Always,” Aaron remarked after he ran a few steps. “Just wait until Neil hears about this, then my amusement doubles.”

“Go away,” Andrew told him. When all Aaron did was continue to run beside him, he huffed and sped up his pace to get away from the morons.

The rest of practice went… well, it went. Gordon was stuck doing laps because of his unenlightened attitude, and Renee came over to Andrew to congratulate him on the whole Neil thing. Despite Gordon and Kevin’s big mouths, there was a general excitement to the team, an eagerness for the upcoming season, which exhausted Andrew and made him grateful when he was done with them for the day.

He left to pick up Neil from his own practice, and noticed the way that Neil flung his back into the back of the GS with a bit more force than usual. “Someone being an asshole?”

“You could say that.” Neil pushed aside his bangs and held them there for a moment, his blue eyes blazing with anger and jaw set with the emotion. “Part of me wants to throw it in his face that he’s lost, but….”

“Not yet,” Andrew reminded him as he drove out of the parking lot; he didn’t want Riko to know until Neil was done with school and in Andrew’s sight all day.

“Yeah, I know that.” Neil let out a slow breath. “But it’s getting old, seeing that he thinks of me as nothing more than a punching bag, reading what fucked up thing he came up with for me now.”

Andrew didn’t need to look over to find the nape of Neil’s neck, the skin warm and slightly damp from the shower Neil had taken before leaving the locker room and the ends of his freshly washed hair; Andrew’s fingers curled around it and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He’s never going to touch you.”

“I know that. But fuck, I feel sorry for those Ravens stuck with him.” Neil shivered a little and shifted in the seat to lean toward Andrew. “Have to wonder a little, if my dad gave him lessons or something.”

Now wasn’t that a pleasant thought? Andrew stroked his thumb along the side of Neil’s neck and could feel the faint, steady pulse of blood flowing beneath the smooth skin. He glanced aside and felt a small bit of smugness at the sight of a fading bruise that he’d left there the other day. “Your dad got what was coming to him in the end.”

“Hmm, true.” Neil closed his eyes and smiled, as if he enjoyed the touch, the feel of Andrew’s fingers on him. “That your way of saying that you and Uncle Stuart are working on something?”

If it meant Riko going away for good, Andrew would do it, would make a deal with Stuart. “You don’t expect much from me, do you?”

That provoked a faint chuckle from Neil. “Well, you set the bar rather high, don’t you?” He opened his eyes and slanted a grateful grin at Andrew. “Your own fault.”

Andrew’s breath caught in his throat at that; how many people, his own family included, considered him a ‘monster’, a fuck-up, and here Neil looked at him like that, was the only one to have any sort of trust or faith in him.

“Someone has to look after an idiot like you,” was all he said once he felt as if he could trust his voice.

Neil grimaced at that. “I didn’t do half bad on my own.”

Andrew’s throat hurt, he scoffed so much at that bit of delusion. “If you consider getting carved up and arrested not ‘half bad’, then yeah, fine.”

“Found you, didn’t I?”

Andrew shoved his right hand into the idiot’s face. “Just hush, your pathetic attempt at logic gives me a headache.”

Neil laughed but didn’t say anything else until they parked the car. He then asked if anything was going on that evening and Andrew admitted that nothing was planned so they argued a bit about dinner (Mexican vs. Indian). It was in the hallway on the third floor when Dan spotted them and called out Andrew’s last name; he braced himself for her to complain about something when she came over and surprised him by actually smiling his way. “Hey, some of us are going out to dinner, why don’t you come along?”

He gave her a blank look. “Why?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know, maybe it would be nice?” She made an abortive motion in Neil’s direction; Wymack had warned everyone that they were keeping it under wraps, signing him. “Why don’t you try not to be a jerk for once and grab the others? Matt said it would be his treat.”

“We can pay for own food, no thanks.” He unlocked the door and waved for Neil to go inside; when the idiot didn’t move right away, he narrowed his eyes and Neil got the hint. “Have fun.”

Dan stepped a little closer. “Are you really going to be like that? We’ve got a great shot at next year, and you’re already splitting the team in half.” Her face became flushed with a strong emotion resembling either anger or passion. “Why can’t you give the rest of us a chance?”

He bared his teeth at her. “The rest of you includes Gordon, doesn’t it? Why don’t you go ask *him* how he feels about eating with a couple of ‘fags’.”

“That’s… fine, be that way for now, but this isn’t over.” Dan folded her arms over her chest, her expression stubborn. “I’m not giving up so easily, not over something so important.”

“Good luck with that.” Andrew waved his fingers at her as he slipped into his room, then closed the door in her face. “Some people, so annoying.”

“I’m sure you know nothing about that,” Aaron remarked from his spot on the couch, where he was reading one of his text books.

“Very funny,” Andrew said before he went off in search of Neil, who was in the kitchen trying to sway Nicky into choosing Indian for dinner, the sneaky bastard. And of course Nicky gave in after looking into those big blue eyes.

“Hey, we went with pizza last night,” Nicky argued as he attempted to hide behind Neil. “It’s only fair.”

“Come on,” Neil said as he tugged on the end of the sleeve of Andrew’s black t-shirt. “I’ll buy you ice cream after dinner to make up for it.”

“Damn right you will, and some to bring home, too.”

Neil sighed at that but didn’t argue, so Andrew took that to mean that he’d won and went to let Aaron know to get ready for dinner.

*******

Neil was working on his fourth of the Ravens’ precision drills and almost had it down pat when Kevin made a sound of disgust. “Come on, you can do better than this.”

Frustrated and exhausted, Neil was ready to feed the older teen his own racquet; he was headed toward finals, was in the district play-offs, was dealing with Riko *and* putting up with Kevin’s extra training sessions – there were days when he was so worn out, Andrew could barely get him through the door and onto their bed before he passed out. And Kevin thought he could do *better*? “So sorry that I’m not living up to your expectations, sir,” he drawled as he fired off the ball, and managed to knock over the cone on the rebound that time.

Kevin stopped leaning against the wall and came over to loom in front of Neil; there was a twitch at his presence, but Andrew was over on the bench so Neil wasn’t worried, not about Kevin.

“It’s your own damn potential you’re not living up to right now,” Kevin snarled. “You can do better, so *do*it! I don’t want to see you half-assing it when you’re a Fox and on my team.”

Neil almost threw his racquet at the asshole. “I’m not ‘half-assing’ it! If that was the case I wouldn’t even be on the court with you right now when I could be studying or even better, sleeping!” He felt so frustrated right then, so very frustrated and tired. “I don’t see any of the Foxes out here with you, putting up with your shitty attitude!”

“Because none of them are worth my time. If you want to continue being worth it, do the damn exercise, and do it right this time,” Kevin sneered.

Just as Neil was about to throw his racquet at him, and with as much force as he could muster, Andrew somehow appeared on court and got between the two of them. “Kevin, go fetch some water.”

“But-“

“Do it,” Andrew said, his voice quiet but a sharp gleam in his hazel eyes that made Kevin take a hasty step back. As soon as he turned around and left, Andrew reached out to hook his fingers in the mask of Neil’s helmet. “Do I need to put you in a time-out, hmm?”

Neil let out a slow breath. “He annoys me.”

“He annoys everyone, it’s his greatest talent other than playing Exy.”

The comment, as well as the utter dryness in which it had been said, made Neil smile just a little. “Okay, you may have a point.”

“I have several.” Andrew flicked his left wrist outward for a moment. “And I’ll use them on him if he steps out of line, but right now he’s just being pissy with you. Suck it up and do the drills so we can leave and get some sleep.”

“Is this you taking my side or what?” Neil winced when that got the top of his helmet smacked.

“You’re the one who’s the Exy junky,” Andrew remarked as he began to walk away. “If you don’t want this, just say so.”

Neil sighed as he lifted his mask so he could wipe at his face and then lowered it, determined to finish the practice so yes, they could go back to the dorms and sleep. So what if Kevin was an asshole and a lousy teacher? Well, he was good in that he had a wealth of information in his head, and Neil was learning a lot – already he had improved his precision and speed enough for it to be noticed by the Mustangs, to help that team in their championship games. Just one more to go so they could clinch the district title, and they already were the favored winner for that. But putting up with Kevin during those lessons? Yeah, not much fun.

Kevin was quiet as he sipped his drink and watched Neil get through the rest of the drill without making any mistakes, a smug look on his perfect, tattooed face at the end. “See? You can do it if you just apply yourself. Tomorrow we’ll move on to the next drill.”

Andrew stepped in again before Neil could throttle the bastard. “No, tomorrow he’s getting some sleep – it’s the last game the following day,” he reminded Kevin.

“But he’s finally got some momentum going on.” Kevin tried to out-stubborn Andrew and failed miserably. “Fine, but I expect him most of the day on Sunday.”

There were times when Neil felt like a bone of contention between the two of them, and stood there with an exhausted, bemused expression on his face as Andrew agreed. “Fine, it’ll keep him out of trouble.”

“I just… no words right now,” Neil mumbled as he pulled off his helmet and threw it Andrew, who of course caught it. “I’m going to wash off.”

His boyfriend was waiting for him in the locker room when he came out, hair still wet and mood still churlish. “So, you going to tell me why you’re mad or do I get to guess?” To top it off, Andrew blew smoke in his face.

Neil gave him a murderous look as he gathered his bag and slammed the locker shut. “Ever think that maybe I have plans of my own for Sunday?”

“Like what, to go over to Abby’s and bake? Or to sit around and dwell on what Riko’s going to do once you graduate?” When Neil’s steps faltered upon hearing that last bit, Andrew nodded. “Exactly, which is why you’ll be on the court Sunday, pissed off at Kevin and letting him wear you out too much to think.”

Just like that, Neil’s anger vanished. “Why can’t you just come out and say that in the first place?”

Andrew reached out to catch Neil’s chin and pulled him in slowly for a kiss, a knowing look on his face when they broke apart. “Because you’re much more fun when you’re all riled up.”

“Asshole,” Neil muttered as he followed Andrew out to the car, his mood much better than it had been.

He needed the break the next day, especially since the high school was whipped into a frenzy over the upcoming game and even held a pep rally for the team; he hated the attention of it, the stares and whispers directed his way. Tris and Kelly did their best to run interference, to divert the attention either their way or to the rest of the team, well aware by then how much Neil hated having it focused on him and especially how he didn’t want to talk about the Ravens; he got the feeling that they and the rest of the team didn’t understand it, but they were willing to deal with it since it meant that it refocused the attention on them and the team as a whole.

Thursday evening was Chinese food in the dorm and then crashing early, just spending time in his and Andrew’s bed, most of it asleep but some of it with Andrew stretched out beside him reading while Neil caught up on a bit of his homework. It helped to relax him, to put him in a better mood for the next day, when the team travelled to Athens, Georgia to play the Senators for the district title.

Andrew and Nicky had gotten permission to skip practice and miss a class or two in order to attend the game (Neil didn’t take it personally that Aaron stayed behind – he knew how serious Andrew’s twin was about his degree and Aaron actually bothered to wish him ‘good luck’ that morning, which was more than enough), so there was actually someone cheering him on in the stadium, and Agent Wolfe sent him a ‘good luck’ text as well (and mentioned that there might be some local agents attending the game – seriously, who knew that FBI agents were so into Exy? Also, it was a bit nerve-wracking, to think of Andrew and federal agents sitting together in a general area…. Neil begged Nicky to keep a close watch on him.).

The Senators were determined to win, being on their home court and having won two previous district championships – they didn’t want to lose to an ‘upstart’ team. However, the Mustangs were just as invested in the game, in proving themselves and going home with a win. After all of those practice sessions with Kevin and mindful of that ‘conditional’ approval from Ichiro, Neil wasn’t going to accept a loss – he was going to prove to everyone that he hadn’t wasted the last three years, that he was worth the faith that people had put in him so far.

It was one of the roughest games he’d played in the last three years, with the score going back and forth several times, but in the end, the Mustangs won by two points. He was exhausted and sore from being slammed into the walls more times than he wanted to count, but the Mustangs had won.

As soon as they exchanged handshakes with the Senators, Neil headed straight for the locker room; he ducked his head and kept it down, determined to avoid any and all news reporters while the rest of his team celebrated their victory. He’d done what he’d set out to do, he’d helped win the game – along with the rest of the Mustangs – and now the Moriyamas should be pleased to see their investment acting as it should.

He’d almost made it to the locker room when a broad figure in a black suit stepped away from the wall a couple of feet from the door, dressed in a black suit with black hair cropped close and an inscrutable face. “Riko sends his regards,” the man said in Japanese.

Neil came to a sudden halt, his heart thundering in his chest as he immediately glanced about to see if there were any other people milling about, any witnesses, anyone else about to close in on him. He fought the impulse to run and swallowed past a throat gone tight. “And?” he asked in the same language.

“You did well tonight, you showed everyone that you deserve the number you bear.” The man glanced at the bandage on Neil’s cheek, his eyes narrowed slightly in disproval. “However, your ongoing defiance is disappointing. So he is giving you one chance to avoid spending the summer in utmost agony -  come now willingly.”

Hysterical laugher bubbled up in Neil at the thought of the ridiculous offer – as if going now would spare him pain in the end. “Really? He’ll restrain himself if I go now?” Anger stamped down on the hysterics and Neil glared at the Japanese man. “Tell him he can go fuck himself, him and his ‘kind’ offer.”

The man took a step forward, his right hand moving to slide beneath his jacket. “Not a wise-“ He stopped, as another shadow broke apart to reveal itself as Andrew, the knife in his hand now pressed against the man’s throat and an equally sharp smile on his face.

“Ah, ah, a gentleman knows how to accept a ‘no’, and that sounded like a ‘no’ on Neil’s part, whatever was said.”

“It was,” Neil agreed, speaking English once more.

“So there you have it.” Andrew’s face grew blank as he pressed the knife hard enough to draw blood. “I’m going to assume Riko sent you, so why don’t you go crawling back to him, yes?” He watched while the man’s lips pressed into a thin line and sweat beaded down his face, along with several drops of blood down his neck. “Yes?”

“Yes!”

“Good.” Andrew removed the knife and watched as the man scurried away. “I’ve never met anyone who needed a babysitter more than you, Josten.”

“You say it like it’s my fault,” Neil grumbled as he hurried into the locker room; the team should be done out on court any minute now.

“Of course, you’re just this innocent babe in the woods, and all these nasty wolves circle around you just out of spite.” Andrew smiled at the finger Neil gave him and went off to the lockers while Neil headed straight to the showers instead; he figured the bastard was going for a clean set of clothes so he hurried to wash off in the few remaining minutes he had.

Andrew did show up with his change of clothes while Neil took a shower in record time, and had just pulled on his clothes when there was the loud echo of excited voices. Neil gathered up his bag, which Andrew had also collected, and stepped back into the locker room with Andrew at his side.

“Oh, there you went!” Tris blinked at seeing Andrew with Neil. “We wondered about you.”

“Yeah, something’s come up so we have to go.” Neil gestured to Andrew and then to the door. “Uhm, great game tonight.”

Kelly sighed and shook his head. “You gotta work on that enthusiasm, bro. But yeah, great game.” He grinned as he patted Neil on the shoulder, seemingly unaware of the displeased look Andrew was giving him. “We’ll handle the partying for you.”

“You do that,” Neil told him, and waved to the rest of the team who yelled out things to him on his way out. Coach Lee stopped him before he could make his escape to tell him that he did a great job and say that it would be nice if Neil could join the team in celebrating their victory since he’d worked so hard in helping them win it, but didn’t seem too surprised when Neil gave a weak excuse for leaving; Neil wondered if Wymack had said something to the man.

“So, that’s done now,” Andrew said as he shook a cigarette free once they were outside. “How does it feel to be a champion?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Neil just felt exhausted at the moment, and ready to move on. “I want to sleep all weekend.” He pulled the hood of his t-shirt over his head, just in case there were any reporters lurking around.

“Hmm.” Andrew drew in a sharp drag of smoke and then handed it over. “Mostly doable. So what did that prick back there have to say?”

Neil’s fingers shook a little as he held up the cigarette near his face; he put it down to being tired – tired from all the practices, tired from the challenging game, tired of… just tired. “Passing on a message from Riko.” At Andrew’s arched eyebrow, he sighed. “I’d get a reprieve if I went to Charleston tonight.” He didn’t think that he needed to explain a reprieve from ‘what’.

Ahead of them, Nicky waved from where he stood beside the GS. “It should go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway because I don’t want to have a conversation later after I drag your sorry ass out of the Nest with way too much effort on my part and where you go ‘but I thought that-‘.” Andrew paused to give Neil a flat look while he lit another cigarette for himself. “You do not go anywhere without me or someone I trust taking you there. You don’t leave the school at all, I don’t care if there’s a fucking fire alarm going off or what. You don’t give him an opening, do you understand?”

And to think that Neil considered his mother bad. “Yeah,” he said as he rubbed at his aching eyes. “Are you going to hold my hand when we cross the street, too?”

“Do you want me to treat this as a joke?”

“… no,” Neil admitted. “I just want Riko to drop dead as soon as possible, to be honest.”

Andrew’s lips twitched at that. “Miracles don’t happen, but yes, it would be nice.”

“What would be nice?” Nicky asked as they approached the GS. “A party to celebrate the win tonight?”

Neil groaned as he went to the passenger side of the car. “Not tonight, I just want to sleep.”

“Okay, then we party tomorrow!” Nicky grinned as he got behind the wheel of the car; Neil was a bit surprised by that, but Andrew motioned for him to curl up in the back, which Neil didn’t argue with since he was more than happy with the opportunity to stretch out and sleep. It seemed as if he had just closed his eyes when Andrew was shaking him awake, mindful of his reaction, so they could go into the house; Aaron and Kevin had already driven out earlier that evening.

Nicky did indeed throw Neil a party the next day, with hamburgers and corn on the cob and fireworks and jello shots (Kevin acted offended over them at first, but Neil lost count of how many he had) and… Neil was just grateful to be at home and surrounded by people he (mostly) enjoyed and could lock them out of his bedroom when he was tired of them.

“I’m trying to figure out what’s more annoying, Kevin on the court or Kevin when he’s not entirely shit-faced,” Neil said to Andrew as he stretched out on their bed. “Both have this utter lack of a filter that make you want to strangle them.”

“He does come up with the most infuriating things, doesn’t he?” Andrew took to skimming his fingers along Neil’s collar bones, the touch light enough to make Neil shiver. “He actually told me a while ago that our relationship would impact your chance at Court.” While Andrew’s tone was as light as his touch, there was that awful blankness to his expression just then.

Neil caught at his boyfriend’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Yeah, he said something to me one day during our practice sessions.”

“And?” Andrew twisted his hand around until it was holding Neil’s.

“I told him that if such a stupid thing would impact my chance at Court, then fuck it. I don’t care.”

Andrew frowned when he heard that, though he didn’t let go of Neil’s hand. “What about the Moriyamas?”

Neil gave a slight shrug. “What about them? There’s no proof to what Kevin is saying, is there? It’s just hearsay. And I’m not letting hearsay take away one of the best things that has ever happened to me.” It was a risk, saying something like that, being so honest… but he wasn’t going to deny what Andrew was to him, not after everything Andrew had done for him.

Andrew was still for several seconds, just staring at Neil with that blank expression to the point that Neil wondered if he’d messed up… and then he used his hold on Neil’s hand to yank him forward until their lips pressed together.

Neil wasn’t sure which one of them asked about ‘yes or no’ – maybe it was both, maybe it was in his head the same time Andrew murmured it against his neck… he didn’t know and didn’t care. The night ended with just the two of them and… whatever it was between them, growing undeniable as it was.

Which was good, because come Sunday, they had to return to campus and Neil had to practice with Kevin, had to turn back on his phone. The first was annoying as hell, the second… there might be something said for Andrew’s masochistic theory. Riko was less than pleased over Neil’s latest act of ‘defiance’.

“Seriously,” Neil asked in Japanese as he started on the fifth drill. “Hasn’t anyone ever told him ‘no’ before?”

Kevin gave him an odd look before he glanced up at where Andrew was sitting. “He’s Tetsuji’s heir, what do you think? Everyone looks at him as the continuation of Exy.”

“Yeah, but you’re Kayleigh Day’s son – she was right there with Tetsuji in creating the sport. Why was it decided that you had to be second-place? Because she was a woman?” Neil frowned at that as he executed the tricky maneuver of the drill.

“You know *that* world,” Kevin told him. “And the sport. Women are considered inferior.” He actually said that with a straight face. “It’s male-dominated.”

Neil scoffed as he fired off another ball. “All the women I’ve known have been strong as hell. None of them have been ‘inferior’.” He thought of his mother, of Lola, and shook his head. Hell, he thought of the Foxes, of Dan and Renee and even Reynolds, and wondered just how badly a man would fare if they dared to infer that any of those there were ‘inferior’. “If you think that’s true, then I believe you have a complex.”

“Whatever, it’s how it is. Tetsuji is the authority on Exy, and Riko is his heir. So what Riko says, goes.” Kevin appeared a bit upset just then. “So yes, Riko isn’t used to people telling him ‘no’.” He once more glanced up at Andrew for a couple of seconds before turning his gaze on Neil. “That’s why he’s more than a little upset with the two of you.”

“Good, let him be.” Neil paused in practicing to glare at Kevin. “He’s not going to get his way this time.”

Kevin toyed with the racquet in his hand for a moment, his gaze distant as if he was thinking of something. “You… you haven’t really seen him become determined. He’s been playing with you up ‘til now.”

Neil almost laughed at that – yeah, sending armed men after him to beat him and Nicky up, tattoo his face and try to drag him away by force was ‘playing’. “If that’s the case, why are you even here? Why haven’t you gone back yet?”

The question made Kevin twitch. “Because Andrew… Riko’s out of control, but not even he can anticipate Andrew.” He looked up at the stands again. “I’ve never seen anyone get under his skin like Andrew does, the way he blocked him and everything.”

Well, nice to know that Neil’s efforts had been for nothing. “Yeah, he’s one of a kind.” Neil’s lips curled in a slight smirk at that.

Kevin seemed to miss the joke. “So if anyone can stand up to Riko, I figured it would be him.”

Before Neil could tell the moron that maybe *he* should try to stand up for once, Andrew’s bored voice cut off their conversation. “More practicing, less chatting. I don’t want to be here all day because of your gossiping. And Josten? 248%.”

Neil sighed at the new percentage and shook his head, but he focused on the drill after that. It was a long, grueling practice but he thought he finally got the hang of the damn thing by the end of it – now to spend however many more sessions perfecting it to Kevin’s prissy satisfaction.

Andrew waited until they were alone to ask him about the discussion from earlier. “What was that about? And don’t talk in a language I can’t understand like that again.”

There was another sigh as Neil ran his fingers through his wet hair. “I was… I was just trying to wrap my head around Riko and thought Kevin might understand.” The texts were describing Neil’s punishments as soon as he got to Castle Evermore and… not good. Descriptive as fuck, but not good. “I asked him if anyone had ever told the prick ‘no’ before.”

Andrew scoffed at that. “That’s blaringly obvious, isn’t it? And you wonder why I call you an idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Neil shrugged as he accepted the insult that time. “I just don’t… I just don’t get it. Why he can’t let this go.” There was so much in Neil’s life that he’d never had, that he’d been denied. So much that had been handed over to Riko as if an afterthought – Neil wasn’t stupid enough to think that Riko’s life had been perfect, not when he knew about the Moriyamas. But somehow he doubted Riko had ever been through the constant abuse, the constant death threats and uncertainty of it all. Riko’s role was to take over Tetsuji’s position, so as long as he toed the line, he was assured a position – yes, it came with restrictions and limitations, but there had been days growing up when Neil would have done almost anything to trade places with the other boy. And how had Riko grown up? As a sadistic as fuck bastard who kept looking for a new toy to break.

Neil let out a slow breath when Andrew handed him a cigarette. “Some people you just write off, you just look at and know they have to be put down.” Andrew raised his lighter to the cigarette between his own full lips. “Riko is one of them.”

“He didn’t seem that way when he was a kid,” Neil… well, it wasn’t quite ‘argued’, it was more like mentioned. “He seemed all right back then.”

“Because what, you played with him a couple of times? Maybe he was eyeing you up even then, thinking about how much fun he’d have when you were handed over for good.” Andrew took a deep inhale on the cigarette and blew it out as he parked the GS. “Something like Riko doesn’t happen overnight.”

“I… yeah, you’re right.” Neil inhaled the curls of smoke from his own cigarette before he shook his head. “I just hate the fact that he’s involved in our lives. I want him gone.”

There was a predatory grin on Andrew’s face as he got out of the car. “Well, there’s an easy solution for that.”

“*No*,” Neil insisted. “Bodyguards with guns,” he reminded his boyfriend. “Lots of bodyguards with guns.”

“You’re no fun,” Andrew sulked as they made their way up to their room.

“Hmm, you figure out a way to become bullet-proof, then we’ll revisit the idea.”

For the following week, Neil got the pleasure of not only being escorted around by either Andrew, Nicky or Aaron when going outside anywhere, but he spent the afternoon practice at the stadium with the Foxes since his own Exy season was over. For the most part, the Foxes took his presence there in stride – except for Gordon. As soon as the striker saw him, he threw his hands up in the air and turned toward Wymack.

“What? You’re allowing Minyard’s *boyfriend* to sit in now? Are they going to- *ow*!” He glared at Reynolds, who had just smacked her racquet into his back. “What? That hurt!”

“Not as much as you running a damn marathon. Just shut up about it, all right?” She glared at him. “No one has a problem with the kid being here but you.”

“But-“

“No,” she insisted. “You’re going to be playing with him next year, so get used to it and stop acting like an ass.”

Gordon didn’t appear to appreciate the lecture. “I don’t have to get used to anyth-aw!” It was around then that a ball came flying out and nailed him in the left leg.

“Oops, I thought we were playing,” Andrew said, the face guard of his helmet up and a too-bland expression on his face. “Not yet?”

“What the fuck? He tried to cripple me!” Gordon wailed as he hopped around on his right foot.

“I didn’t see anything,” Dan told him in a sweet tone of voice.

Neil figured it would be a good time to attempt to get some studying done.

Which he did – well, enough to ensure that he’d be able to graduate (it was agreed upon that he wouldn’t go to the graduation ceremony, not a good idea to be out in a crowd thanks to Riko. Abby was disappointed, until a compromise was reached where she would have the four of them over for dinner that evening as a means to celebrate). But after the first two days, Wymack invited him down on the court so he could ‘learn a few things’ about his new team, and Neil got a better idea of how the Foxes worked together. Well, there was the fact that they didn’t, not really, not so much with Gordon on the court – he didn’t cooperate with Kevin as a striker or Aaron and Nicky as backliners. Neil learned that Matt was really, really good as a backliner, that Dan and Reynolds could more than hold their own against any of their male colleagues, and that Wymack was frustrated by Andrew’s haphazard approach to playing. It made Neil excited about joining them come June… excited and a bit apprehensive about how he would fit in.

Then it was finals, which put an end to the Foxes’ season until June, and as classes wrapped up at the university, the four of them moved back to Abby’s house since they would be staying most of the summer there because Kevin wanted to continue practicing at the court in order to continue improving his game. Andrew was a little put out over that, but there would still be weekends and occasional days at Columbia, and Nicky would once again be going back to Germany to visit Erik for a week or so.

Neil was set to graduate a few days after the move, and it was the day of his graduation that Andrew finally sent the text containing the picture of Neil’s contract with the Foxes to Riko. Neil watched him send it off while sitting on the bed beside his boyfriend, both relief and anxiety warring inside of him, then waited for Andrew to set aside the phone before pulling him in for a kiss. “He’s going to be just a bit upset about that, you know.”

“This is me caring about that.” Andrew pushed Neil onto the bed, his face set in a bland mask. “See, I’m very emotional right now.”

“Oh, I think I like this emotional side of you.” Neil smiled as he stretched out beneath Andrew. “You going to show me some more?”

“Is that a yes?” Andrew asked as his hands slipped beneath Neil’s white t-shirt.

“You better believe it,” Neil murmured against his boyfriend’s neck, and was quite happy to ignore the incoming chimes of his phone during Andrew’s ‘emotional’ display.

*******

As Neil had predicted (though really, it didn’t take many brain cells to come up with that conclusion), Riko had *not* been pleased to learn that he was being denied his new toy and, much like a spoiled brat, raised quite the fuss. He left vicious, insulting voicemails in both Japanese and English on Neil’s and Andrew’s phones, he sent texts promising pain and retribution, and there had even been the morning of them waking to find some poor, mangled dog left on the GS (Andrew had sent a picture of it to Stuart, along with a note that *this* time the remains were discretely disposed of before either their hostess or any neighbors seemed to notice, but animal abuse was a crime so tell a certain spoiled prick to back the fuck off).

Oh yes, Riko was *pissed*, but in the end, Ichiro had spoken so there was nothing the prick could do but seethe and accept it. Neil was a Fox, was staying with Andrew, and that was that. There was some internal gloating on Andrew’s part, he had to admit, a small flare of satisfaction when he read the texts of Riko losing his shit and looked over to watch Neil glare at Kevin during practice for being yelled at to ‘put in some more effort’ or something else like that.

At least, he had felt some satisfaction, until he got a garbled text from Kevin and had to go over to Wymack’s house to see what the hell had set off the coward. It was the latter part of May at that point, and Andrew was looking forward to a long weekend in Columbia with no damn Exy practice.

As soon as he got to Wymack’s apartment, he realized that something was wrong; Kevin wasn’t sober (well, not entirely unusual but not for that early in the day) and Wymack was trying to talk him down from something. “For fuck’s sake, why did you go ahead and call him? Did you actually think that’s a good idea?” he snapped at the teen after letting Andrew in.

Andrew folded his arms over his chest at that statement and gave them both a cold look. “All right, consider my curiosity peaked. What the fuck is going on here?”

Wymack raked his fingers through his hair; it looked like a rough morning so far, since he hadn’t shaved yet and he was dressed in sweatpants and an old t-shirt. “First you have to promise me something, all right?” He ignored Andrew’s flat stare. “No, you do. The last thing I need is you running off and doing something crazy – it’s the last thing *Neil* needs, all right?”

That got Andrew’s attention. “What the fuck is going on?” He straightened up and ran his right hand along the inside of his left arm guard. “Tell me know.”

Kevin shook his head and paused in his search for a bottle of alcohol. “Riko. Fuckin’ Riko.”

Wymack gave Kevin a displeased frown before sighing and turning back to Andrew. “I just found out today from the ERC that the Ravens put in a transfer request to change districts, and it’s been approved. As of this morning, they’re now a part of the southeastern district effective June 1st.” He stared at Andrew as if waiting for that to sink in.

Andrew’s fingers twitched with the need to pull a knife. “Are you shitting me?” he asked in a reasonable voice as the rage started to build. ‘Fucking Riko’ indeed.

“I wish I was.” The man sounded exhausted just then.

“How the fuck did he manage that? Isn’t it obvious to everyone that he’s doing this to fuck around with Kevin?” And Neil, of course Riko would only be too happy if it allowed him a shot at his ‘possession’ as well.

“It’s not obvious.” Wymack seemed bitter about that. “Edgar Allen’s the only NCAA Exy school in West Virginia so they’re already on the edge of the district, and Kevin transferring here has created a lot of interest in the sport. The ERC wants to capitalize on it, how better to do that than to put what people are going to see as two rivals against each other?”

Andrew threw a scathing look in Kevin’s direction; the striker had found another bottle of what looked to be a fifth of whiskey and was draining it as quickly as possible. “Oh yeah, it’s going to be scintillating, that face-off.”

“Yeah, he’s not talking it very well.” Wymack gave Kevin a pitying look. “Think Neil is going to take it any better?”

“Neil’s not going to find out any time soon,” Andrew vowed; Neil had calmed down on the whole Riko front and Andrew was going to have that last as long as possible. He gave Kevin a vicious look and hoped it cut through the haze of alcohol, because the striker would have an entirely new concern if he opened his mouth about the situation anytime soon. “Are they going public with it?”

“No, not just yet. I wasn’t going to announce it until the start of practice in June – word about it shouldn’t get out until then.”

“Good.” Andrew stalked over to Kevin and snatched the bottle out of his hand. “Calm the fuck down – this is Riko and Tetsuji fucking with us, plain and simple. So what if we have to play with them?”

“They’re gonna kill us on the court,” Kevin mumbled. “Gonna… gonna… don’ wanna face ‘em.” He shook his head and attempted to snatch back the bottle.

“We’re going to have to face them anyway if you want that shot at the championship, you coward. Now we have to face them sooner rather than later. Stop letting them control you so damn much!” He didn’t understand how Kevin could work so hard to rebuild his life yet crumble at the tiniest threat from the man who had done his best to destroy it. “Just stick to your end of our bargain and I’ll hold up mine. I won’t let Riko touch you.”

“But-“

“No buts, you either believe me or you don’t.” He held Kevin’s bleary gaze until Kevin finally gave him a slight nod. “Fine, then you hold your shit together, do you understand?” He waited for another, slightly more firm nod.

That said, he spun around to look at Wymack. “Tell me about any other shit like this they try to pull. I don’t want any surprises.”

“Long as you don’t so anything stupid – you’re no good to me locked up or kicked out of school,” Wymack warned.

“I won’t give the prick that satisfaction,” Andrew agreed, even though the urge to drive to West Virginia just then was oh so strong; someone didn’t know when to throw in the towel, to admit when he had lost. And dammit, there was no Renee around just then, to practice with and vent out the anger upon.

No, but there was Neil, waiting for him back at Abby’s and watching Aaron and Nicky play some stupid game; Andrew declared the day an impromptu holiday for the two of them with the excuse that Kevin wasn’t feeling well and that they were going to Columbia for the night; Nicky pouted a little at being left out but Aaron just waved them away.

It wasn’t often that it was just the two of them, especially in the house. They stopped to pick up some food, especially ice cream for Andrew, and Neil sat beside him as he ate a pint while out on the back porch. “So, Kevin going to be better soon?”

“Kevin’s never going to be better,” Andrew drawled before he scooped up another mouthful. “But he’ll be back to practicing soon enough.”

“Hmm.” Neil seemed to stare out at something along the far end of the wall. “You didn’t happen to snap and do something to get a break from the practices, did you?”

“If I did, it would be for more than just a day or so.” Andrew was a little offended that Neil thought he’d aim for something so little.

“Very true.” Neil smiled as he slanted a look in Andrew’s direction. “Broken foot? He’s proving resilient on the whole hand thing, after all.”

“Kneecap.” Andrew paused for another spoonful of double dark chocolate. “Hear they’re a bitch to mend.”

“Ah, the oldie but goody.”

“Classics are classics for a reason.”

Neil shrugged as he tucked back his bangs. “There’s always the hamstrings, but imagine that’s a bit harder to explain as an accident.”

Andrew gave the matter some thought. “I’m not above getting inventive, but simple is usually more effective. Less chance of something going wrong.”

That earned him a laugh as Neil lounged against him. “Do we need to work on our small talk?”

“Fuck no, it’s fine.” Andrew appreciated that he didn’t have to edit himself with Neil, that he could say whatever and it didn’t freak Neil out, didn’t scare him away. That Neil could say such things to him without fear of causing offense or making Andrew angry; violence had been too ingrained in their lives for them to ignore it, for them to pretend that it had never existed. They weren’t like Renee who could decide to become an entirely new person and embrace another way. They were what they were and with each other, at least, there were no need for masks or lies.

Andrew knew that Neil would be upset about him holding back on the ERC decision about the Ravens changing districts, but he also knew that Neil had accepted the fact that Andrew was going to do whatever Andrew thought was best to protect Neil from Riko. There’d probably some cursing and cold looks, but Neil realized that he could be his own worst enemy at times. Give him some room to calm down and he’d come around.

So Andrew finished his ice cream and set the container aside, then reached over to slide his arm around Neil’s waist; it only took a little urging to get Neil to straddle his lap. “Hmm, your hands are cold,” Neil said with a slight shiver as Andrew’s hands slipped beneath his t-shirt.

“It’s a hot day,” Andrew murmured along the side of the idiot’s neck. “Enjoy it.”

“And you’re wearing all black, as usual.” Neil made a tsk’ing sound as his fingers scratched along Andrew’s back. “One of these days you’re gonna pass out from the heat and I’m going to leave you lying wherever you drop.”

“That’s not nice.” Andrew nipped at Neil’s neck in retaliation, then began to suck on the spot beneath his jaw.

“Well I- ah! Been with you too long.” Neil arched his neck to the side. “Hmm, feels good.” He shivered a little more. “Mouth is cold, too.”

Andrew waited until he wrung a moan from his boyfriend and the hips pressed against his own began to rock forward. “Yes or no?”

“Oh god, yes but inside,” Neil breathed out, his eyes dark with passion and his fingers digging into Andrew’s shoulders.

Andrew, his hands now cupped around Neil’s ass, gave Neil a tiny, knowing smirk. “Picky, but doable. Hold on.” Neil let out a yelp as Andrew surged upright, a little off-balance from Neil’s weight, but the idiot figured things out and wrapped his long legs around Andrew’s waist and arms around Andrew’s shoulders; Neil laughed as he was carried back into the house and just made it through the door without being dropped.

********

The first day of official practice that June, Andrew arranged for the five of them to arrive early at the stadium. Wymack came out of his office when he heard Andrew and Nicky moving around the furniture, so that on one side there was a couch flanked by two chairs, leaving the two couches and the rest of the furniture scattered about. “Why am I not surprised to find your gang here already messing around with things?”

Andrew gave him a slight wave once the furniture was arranged to his preference. “Coach, if you keep saying things like that, you’re going to give me a complex.”

“Not going to happen – you’re indestructible,” Wymack complained as he reached into the front right pocket of his pants and pulled out a set of keys. “You’ll be happy to know that I arranged for the largest room on the third floor for the five of you.” He shook his head. “Good luck, try not to kill each other.”

Aaron directed a look of long-suffering toward Kevin. “Now you’ll know the joy of sharing living space with these two.” He motioned toward Andrew and Neil. “Word of advice, if the bedroom door is closed, don’t enter.”

Neil flushed with embarrassment at the memory of the time that they’d mistakenly thought that the damn lock had taken when it hadn’t. “That was one time, and yet you still haven’t learned to stop putting an empty milk carton back in the fridge.”

“I’m sorry, I fail to see how you’re traumatized from that, whereas I’m stuck with the memory of seeing the two of you jerk each other off for the rest of my life,” Aaron sneered.

“Oh god, I so don’t need to know about this,” Kevin said as he attempted to cover his ears. “New rule, no sex in the dorm, ever.”

Andrew gave a murderous look to both his twin and Kevin, while Nicky was grinning as if someone had just given him a wonderful present and Neil wanted to either vanish on the spot or throttle someone – preferably Aaron. “No, no new rule, and you,” he jabbed his right forefinger in Aaron’s direction, “shut the fuck up. Not like I didn’t listen to you jerk off how many times back in that shitty apartment, right?”

That wiped the smug look off of Aaron’s face, and Neil decided that he was officially done with the conversation while Nicky let out a loud crow of delight. “I think I’m living with Abby from now on,” Neil muttered as he edged away from the twins.

“I think I’ll be there with you,” Kevin said, and Neil was left with the uncomfortable realization that the two of them had actually agreed on something outside of Exy for once.

Fortunately, it was around then that the other Foxes started to show up, which prevented Andrew from committing fratricide; Matt Boyd, Renee Walker and Dan Wilds walked into the lounge as if they’d ridden together to the stadium. “Yo, Coach! We’re here!” Matt called out as he entered the room, a huge grin on his face and his left arm wrapped around Dan’s waist. Renee gave Neil and Andrew a small wave in ‘hello’ and a smile when she saw them, while Dan frowned at the new room’s arrangement.

Andrew came up to Neil and urged him to sit down on the couch; Andrew took one end, which left Neil in the middle and Kevin at the other end, Nicky grabbed the chair near Andrew and Aaron the chair by Kevin. Dan’s left eyebrow arched even higher at the seating arrangement before she looked away and shook her head, and seated herself on the couch with Renee and Matt.

Wymack came back out of his office, a disgruntled expression on his face as he threw a keychain at Matt. “Learn to use your inside voice, you heathen.” Matt yelped as the key bounced off of his head. “And good to see you, too.” His expression gentled as he gave a much friendlier toss to Dan.

“Why do you have to be so mean?” Matt grumbled. “Just got back and the abuse starts already?”

“Use some manners one of these days and maybe I’ll be nicer,” Wymack grumbled. He looked around the room and his eyes narrowed. “Where’s Allison and Seth?”

“Think Allison’s flight just arrived, so they’ll be here soon,” Dan explained.

“Great.” Wymack shook his head and went back into his office.

While they waited, Andrew divvied up the keys to their new dorm room and Aaron played on his phone while Nicky chatted about his upcoming classes; Neil had decided to major in Mathematical Sciences since math was one of his favorite subjects, outside of languages. He was finishing up Japanese as a language, and hoped that his subject load wouldn’t give him too much of a problem.

For some reason Kevin seemed rather anxious, was jittery and couldn’t sit still; Neil would expect him to be used to dealing with the Foxes now and that for Neil to be the nervous one, since this was his first time dealing with these people as an ‘equal’. He gave Kevin an odd look and then glanced at Andrew, who just shook his head as if he was unwilling to deal with Kevin’s moods just then. Neil shrugged at it and hoped that Reynolds and Gordon arrived soon – the first time he ever looked forward to Gordon’s presence – and then his phone chimed to alert him about a text.

He went to pull it out of his front pocket – maybe it was Anna or Kelci wishing him a good first day of practice – when Andrew caught his hand. “No, leave it be.” He didn’t look at Neil, just stared straight ahead and didn’t let go of Neil’s hand.

Okay, that wasn’t ominous at all. Neil glanced aside at Kevin again and began to tug at his bangs with his left hand, his thumb brushing against the scar along his forehead. “All right.”

Andrew let go of Neil’s hand, his arm rising up to slid along the top of the couch and drape across Neil’s shoulders. The weight of the limb help put Neil at ease, and he tilted a little to rest a bit of his weight against his boyfriend as he focused on Nicky’s rambling.

“So took the evening class this year. Hmm, yeah, I know, it’ll break your hearts to not have me there for dinner that night, but I’m so gonna love having that chance to nap after morning practice,” Nicky was saying.

“Maybe then you won’t be hogging the bathroom that morning,” Aaron said as he continued to play his game. “Considering there’s going to be five of us now.”

“Hey, all this beauty takes time.” Nicky made a circular motion around his face. “Don’t know what you’re worried about, anyone sees you they’re gonna mistake you for Andrew and go running in the opposite direction.”

Andrew gave his cousin the finger while Aaron called Nicky an asshole, and it was around then that Reynolds and Gordon finally arrived, Reynolds looking as if she’d just left a fashion shoot or something due to her expensive outfit and immaculate appearance, Gordon the complete opposite with his ripped jeans, wrinkled t-shirt and surly expression.

Gordon glared at everyone in the room, especially Neil, and flung himself in one of the two remaining chairs, while Reynolds took the time to greet Dan and Renee. She narrowed her eyes at Gordon before perching at the edge of the other couch, her long legs on display due to the shortness of her skirt; Neil glanced at her once and then ignored her.

Wymack must have heard the door close behind them because he came out of his office again, this time with Abby in attendance. “It’s about fucking time,” he told the two of them, his arms folded across his chest. “I’d like to get everything over with today.”

Reynolds ignored him to smile at Abby. “You survived spending the summer with the monsters! I’m impressed.”

“They have their moments, but we all pulled through.” Abby looked over to smile at Neil. Reynolds noticed that and gave Neil a thoughtful look for a moment.

“Hmm, can we speed things up? It was a long flight and I still have to move in,” she complained as she removed the sunglasses perched up on top of her head and shoved them into what looked to be an expensive purse instead; Neil had heard that she’d lost most of her billion dollar inheritance when she refused to follow along with her parents’ expectations, but it seemed that she did fine when it came to money.

Wymack made a low growl of frustration. “I’m trying to do just that, we’ve been waiting for you two.” He glanced around the room before he pointed at Neil. “First order of business is Neil Josten, our new striker sub. You should all know him by now, and I believe he knows you.” Gordon made a gagging sound. “Feel like running some laps today, Seth?” When Gordon didn’t say anything else, Wymack huffed. “Questions, comments or concerns? Anyone?”

Gordon leaned forward to glare at Neil. “I’m fucking concerned, all right-“

Wymack made a cutting motion with his right hand. “Next item,” he said, cutting off Gordon, which made Neil assume that Gordon had already voiced those concerns; beside him, Andrew had gone still, his gaze seemingly fixed on the homophobic striker. “Abby?”

Abby started handing out packets while Wymack continued. “It’s the same packets as always.” He glanced at Neil for a moment. “Sign them and get them back to me, you can’t play until I have them. Summer practice starts at 8:30 am, you get the short reprieve until classes start and then they get pushed up to 6am. We’ll be starting at the gym, so unless you’re Neil and new to all this shit, I will kick your ass if you come here first. It’s only been a month, you losers, your brains shouldn’t have atrophied that damn much.”

There was a ragged chorus of ‘yes, Coach,’ which of course Andrew didn’t say anything, and then Wymack continued. “All of you have to sit through a physical with Abby today before you leave. Andrew’s first, then Seth, and I don’t care who goes after that.” He turned to look back at the couch and the two chairs – at everyone with Andrew – and gave them a dirty look as to emphasis what he was saying. Neil noticed that Andrew had a blank expression on his face and Nicky an innocent expression. “Draw straws, pick a name out of a hat, whatever, but you don’t go to the dorms unless Abby clears you.”

It was then that Abby came up beside him with a new stack of papers in her hands, and Kevin made a low moan in the back of his throat for some reason; Wymack glanced at him for a quick second before staring hard at Andrew. “Final item of the day is our schedule for the year.”

Matt leaned forward and frowned. “Already? But it’s just June? Why is there one this early?”

Wymack let out a slow breath as he accepted the papers from Abby. “There’s no official dates yet, but the ERC’s made some changes that’ll make this past spring look like a cakewalk.” He glanced at Neil for a moment before his gaze once again settled on Andrew. “They’re notifying the coaches one by one to try to control the fallout because… well, it has the potential to turn ugly.”

Gordon let out a laugh at that. “Really? How can it be worse than any of the shit we had to put up with last year thanks to those Ravens assholes?”

Kevin let out another low moan at that and buried his face in his hands; Neil pulled away and braced himself, having the feeling that he really, *really* wasn’t going to like whatever it was that Wymack said just then.

“Yeah, there was just… oh, let’s see, the vandalism, the break-ins, the threatening phone-calls, the rabid press with no sense of boundaries,” Matt ticked off the items in a too cheery voice.

“Let’s not forget the wonderful late night police raid thanks to someone calling in a meth lab in the dorms,” Dan said in a sour voice as she stared Kevin’s way. “That was my personal favorite.”

Neil had remembered that one; he had to both stave off a panic attack at being dragged out of the room at night by the police –it had brought back memories of the raids on his father’s house when he had been a child - and keep Andrew calm enough before the other teen had done something to mess up his probation. Fortunately, a call to Agent Wolfe had helped settle things sooner rather than later.

As always, Nicky had to get a jab in. “I don’t know, the death threats were a nice touch, not to mention creative. Can we take a vote this year and see if they follow through? In that case, I nominate Seth.”

“Fuck you, faggot,” Gordon snapped.

Andrew went still again as soon as Gordon spoke. “I don’t like that word,” he warned in a too-quiet voice. “Don’t use it.”

“What, a little too close to home?” Gordon sneered their way. “Can’t tell who I’m talking to anymore, huh?”

Neil grabbed onto the hand draped over his shoulder to keep Andrew seated while Aaron spoke up. “Don’t talk to us at all, it’s just useless shit that comes out of your mouth.”

When Gordon made to get out of his chair, Wymack glared at him. “All of you shut up – we’ve more important things than your petty squabbling. There’s a new school in our district this year. *That’s* the shit that’s about to hit us.”

Neil froze upon hearing that, at least for the first second or two, and then he turned his head to look at Kevin and caught how the striker was sitting there rigid and pale-faced. Then he felt Andrew’s hand cup the back of his neck and knew, just *knew* what Wymack was going to say next.

“Edgar Allen’s switched to our district.”

Neil zoned out of what was said immediately after that, but when he snapped back, Gordon was laughing as if something hilarious was said and Andrew’s fingers were digging into the side of his neck, probably to force him to breathe. Wymack was saying something about the ERC wanting to promote the sport, to drive up attendance at games and… and all Neil could think about was more of Riko’s games, more of Riko’s shit when it should be done, of Riko coming after all of them….

“Breathe, dammit,” Andrew snarled as he twisted Neil about on the couch. “Fucking breathe.”

Neil drew in a ragged breath as Andrew’s hands cupped his face, as his attention narrowed down to just him and Andrew; he could feel the warmth of Andrew’s large hands against his skin, rough and calloused from all the hours of Exy practice. His own trembled as they lifted up to grasp at Andrew’s wrists and he breathed out, feeling lightheaded enough that he needed the support.

“I won’t let him get to you, do you hear me?” Andrew’s voice was low and insistent.

“I know,” Neil managed to choke out. “I know.” He closed his eyes as he tightened his grip on Andrew’s wrists, the bands rough against his fingers.

“It’ll be fine,” Andrew continued. “He won’t touch you. He won’t touch either of you, I promised. Do you believe me?”

Neil realized that he was reassuring Kevin as well, and heard Kevin murmur something. Andrew gave Neil’s head a gentle shake so Neil opened his eyes and offered a wan smile to show that he was all right; it had shocked him, the news, to know that Riko had gone that far to… to what? To bring down the entire team? For him and Kevin? What the hell.

Andrew let go but followed it up with a weak flick to Neil’s forehead; Neil grimaced, but when he sank back against the couch he noticed that Kevin appeared better now, appeared more at ease. He also noticed that Dan and Renee were giving him concerned looks and Reynolds stared at Andrew with some consideration. As for Gordon… well, he seemed disgusted with the lot of them.

Meanwhile, Wymack seemed relieved and gave them an encouraging smile. “There won’t be an official announcement from the ERC until the end of the month – they’re giving us that long until everyone’s here and we have some protection lined up, considering what happened in the spring and… well, with Kevin and Neil in the line-up. But that’s not an excuse for anyone to be careless.” He glanced at Kevin and Neil, and then at Andrew. “Chuck— that's our university president Charles Whittier, Neil— has reissued orders that reporters are to stay off of the campus this summer unless they have a police escort. We’ve doubled the number of campus police as well, and I want you to have their numbers on your phones just in case, do you understand?”

Neil echoed everyone else when they said ‘yes, Coach’, but he didn’t see how campus police would help when it came down to Riko. When things had been quiet for a minute or two, he shifted on the couch. “Anything else?” He just wanted to get through the physical and then go to the new dorm room, where he could be alone with people he trusted – well, and Kevin.

Dan gave him a cool look. “I don’t think you understand, this changes a lot of things. It’s a big deal.”

“No, I think he knows just fine, he’s been hanging out with Kevin all summer and was on campus last spring,” Wymack said as if to defend him; the man knew that Neil was aware of the whole Moriyama mess. “And no, there’s nothing else, so everyone, get settled with Abby and you’re free to go.”

Andrew was quick to get to his feet and pulled Neil up with him. “You’ll be next after Gordon, do you understand? Go sit in Wymack’s office, and I’ll join you when I’m done.”

Neil wasn’t sure he wanted to be in such close quarters alone with the man. “But-“

“No, you’ll be fine. Now’s not the time for issues. Go.”

“Fine.” Neil gave his boyfriend a displeased look, but let out a slow breath when Andrew tucked back his bangs. “Don’t give Abby any shit.”

“No promises.”

That left Neil smiling a little despite everything, and when he got to Wymack’s office, he found Kevin already there.

“Oh great, the two of you.” Wymack appeared put out by their presence, but he didn’t kick them out. “Here, you can start sorting these for me.” He motioned to some huge stacks of folders scattered about the office.

“Uhm, sort them how?”

“Like I care, just do it,” the man told Neil.

Neil blinked at that, but got to work while Kevin started arguing with Wymack over the fact that Neil was a better striker than Gordon and so shouldn’t be the sub, Gordon should. Wymack said that Gordon had seniority so that was the end of it, but Kevin wouldn’t give up. Neil actually felt a bit sorry for the man, because when it came to Exy, Kevin was like a starving dog with a juicy bone – he wasn’t going to let go no matter what.

About twenty minutes later Andrew showed up, his expression blank and a cigarette dangling from his lips. “No new dents or dings, imagine that.”

“Damn it, I was so hoping to use the warranty to trade you in on a newer model,” Wymack drawled.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me for another year. Now we can only hope that Gordon was stupid enough to take something that’ll make him fail the blood test.” Andrew made a show of crossing the fingers on both of his hands.

Wymack’s brows drew together in an obvious sign of exasperation as he turned toward Neil. “Honestly, how do you do it? How do you put up with him? Mental instability? Drugs? Masochism? Or just working toward sainthood?”

Andrew gave fake laugh as he deliberately toppled over a large pile of paperwork on Wymack’s desk, which made the man kick the two of them out from his mess of an office.

They waited for Gordon to finish his physical out in the lounge, and it wasn’t too much longer that he came stomping from of the small room which Abby used for exams with a glare on his face and tugging back on his shirt. He gave them a dirty look which Neil was used to ignoring by now, and then Andrew pushed Neil forward so he could get the exam done with for the year.

Abby gave him a smile and made small talk while she checked his weight and his reflexes, measured his blood pressure and then took two vials of blood, her smile faltering as she did her best not to stare at the scars running up his right arm. Once the vials were locked away, she sighed and motioned at his grey long-sleeved shirt. “I’m sorry, but I need you to take that off.”

Neil frowned at the instructions. “But why?”

“I need to make sure there there’s no signs of drug use.” Abby sighed again. “It’s part of the exam, and I’m required to do it with everyone.”

He was about to say that Abby had seen him without his shirt on not too long ago, but he figured that things would go faster if he just did as he’d been asked and got it over with; he quelled the uneasiness he felt and pulled it over his head and down his arms enough to expose them to her, and watched as she once against attempted not to flinch at the sight of all the scars. “No track marks.” A lot of other scars, but no track marks.

Abby once again gave him a pitying look. “Thank you.” She jotted something down on the clipboard she held in her left hand. “You know, if you ever-“

“Thank you,” he told her, and winced when it came out so sharp. “I know you mean well, but… that stuff isn’t for me,” he finished in a much softer tone.

She gave him a small smile as if to say she understood. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“I know.” He pulled back on his shirt before he left the room, and found Kevin hovering outside the door.

Neil debated asking Andrew if he’d known about the whole district thing while they waited for Kevin to finish with his physical… but in the end, he decided to just let it go; he didn’t see how it mattered, if Andrew had known beforehand, because it didn’t change anything. The Ravens were coming to the southeastern district, which meant that at some point in the upcoming fall that the Foxes would have to play against them. Neil would have to hope that the team got its act together before then, and that it didn’t impact their chances for advancing to the championships.

Then he remembered about the text earlier and pulled out his phone; Andrew frowned and came over to read the message as well – of course it was Riko, judging from the hidden number.

‘did your mutt promise you that you’d be safe there? I will beat you on your own court & break you before you come here’

Andrew scoffed as he read it. “Some people just never learn.”

“Yeah.” However, Neil remembered his uncle telling him that the agreement for him to join the Foxes wasn’t an unconditional one, and he had to wonder if Riko wasn’t working toward something to break him out of his contract. If he could only make the Foxes look bad enough….

So when Andrew snatched Neil’s phone away, he let it go without any fight, and was grateful when Kevin came out to join them. He used the excuse of going to their new dorm room as a distraction from it all, eager to move on with his new college life, to start his life as a Fox… for however long it lasted.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And no clue when the next one will be up, nothing written as of yet.
> 
> Just sooo tired. Think I'll make like a kitty and curl up and crash. Long weekend...
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the comments and the kudos, they are greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I think things are not going to go as fast as I'd hoped, now that we're into the books. I'm thinking 'oh, I'll just get to these scenes and do this' but things are taking a lot longer than I think (that or I'm just writing too much, one or the other).  
> Bah.  
> And I think THIS is officially the longest chapter as of yet.  
> *******

******

Neil brought the last of the groceries to the new dorm room and dropped them off in the kitchen. “Why couldn’t we be going to school in like… I don’t know, Vermont? It’s cooler in Vermont.” And far enough outside of his father’s territory as well for an added bonus.

Andrew’s response to that was to take a newly purchased pint of ice cream out of the bag and run it along Neil’s spine before putting it in the freezer. “Asshole,” Neil grumbled as he got to work unpacking the rest of the stuff; Kevin would complain at the lack of the vegetables, but he could go out and buy the damn things himself.

“My heart, it bleeds for you.”

“Yeah, I’ve always been attracted to that amazing sense of empathy of yours. Turns me on, it does.” Neil rolled his eyes at Andrew, and had to dodge the box of sugary cereal thrown his way.

The groceries were put away without any bloodshed, which left them a little time before everyone would want to go out for dinner; Aaron and Nicky were sprawled out in the bean bags playing some video game, Kevin laid out on the couch with his laptop watching an Exy game, so that left it safe for them to retreat to the bedroom. Wymack had managed to reserve a corner dorm room for them since it was the five of them rooming together – Andrew had insisted that he have Neil, Aaron and Kevin with him, and there was no way Nicky could room with Matt since Gordon was still in the mix. They managed to get the biggest room on the floor, even if it was a bit odd-shaped, so there was enough room for them to do the double-bed trick again, with Nicky above them, Kevin on a platform bed and Aaron on another bunk bed with a dresser beneath the empty space.

They left the bedroom door open since they just wanted to get away from the others for a little bit and the bed was comfortable; Andrew sprawled out along the bottom while Neil curled up in the upper corner. “So, just about seven months now,” Neil said as he considered the date and the fact that Andrew had been to see his parole officer earlier that day.

“Hmm.” Andrew closed his eyes, a slight frown on his handsome face. “Bee’s been asking me if I was willing to consider continuing on with the therapy sessions.”

“And?” Neil knew that Andrew didn’t seem to mind them so much anymore, that he seemed almost affectionate with the psychiatrist. 

“I said I’d think about it – I’d wait and see how I felt when it wasn’t being forced on me anymore.”

“Okay.” It was up to Andrew in the end. “Should be covered by the university, and if not, sure we can afford it.” Neil slumped down a little more on the bed, tired from all of the practice sessions.

Andrew opened an eye to glare at him. “You saying I should go through with it?”

“I’m saying if you want to, to do it.” Neil gestured to the black bands on his own left arm. “If it helps, that is. Abby says she’s good.” And had been trying to get him to go for how long now.

“You know, you’ll have to talk to her soon.” Andrew reached out to snag a finger beneath the thick black fabric. “Sure Wymack will arrange the appointments any day now. They’re mandatory for the team.”

Neil grimaced at that. “Yeah, so looking forward to it.” He was glad that Andrew had someone to talk to… but Neil had gotten through his life by keeping everything inside, had been taught to not talk, to never tell; he’d broken that for one person, and one person only.

“’If it helps’,” Andrew threw back at him, and smiled when Neil gave him the finger. “You’re going to have so much fun, you and your issues.”

“Why do I put up with you again?”

“My amazing empathy,” Andrew drawled.

“Ah, that’s it.” Neil snorted in amusement and closed his eyes so he could catch a quick nap, and smiled at the feel of Andrew’s fingers in his hair.

He was woken up a bit later so they could go out for dinner (Mexican that night – Kevin was slowly giving up on the fact that he was never going to win when it came to deciding where they went out to eat, Neil was just happy when he didn’t have to pick vegetables off of his pizza too many nights a week). After that they watched some tv while Andrew went through a pint of ice cream, and then it was time for Kevin, Neil and Andrew to head back out for another round of practice.

Neil had been surprised when Kevin had resumed the nightly practice sessions, but Kevin was determined to face Riko in as top form as possible – for *both* of them to face Riko in as top form as possible. Neil had thought to argue a little, to want a bit of a break from Kevin’s overbearing nature, but Kevin had pulled him onto the court and gotten in his face that first night. “Do you want to be the best you can? To get to Court?”

“Yes,” Neil had said, tone a bit surly because he wasn’t going to let Kevin bully him or bring up his relationship with Andrew again.

“Then you’ll come out here every night with me, you’ll do what I’ll say and you’ll give me your game.”

That sounded a bit ridiculous, so much so that Neil arched his right eyebrow at it.

Yet Kevin didn’t back down. “No, I’m serious – you’ll do what I tell you, you won’t half-ass like *certain* people,” his gaze flickered past Neil for a moment, “and you’ll follow my lead. It’s all or nothing, you can’t hold back.”

Neil thought about that ‘conditional’ yes, he thought about four more years with Andrew, about going on to the pros. He thought about proving Riko wrong, on being something more than the ‘Butcher’s son’…. “Okay.”

Kevin’s frown deepened. “’Okay’?”

“Fine, *yes*,” Neil said with a glower. “I’ll give you my game.”

Kevin smiled at that, while behind them, Andrew made a gagging sound. “If you give him a ring, Day, I’ll gut you.”

Kevin waved off the threat then motioned at the court. “Now come on, you *will* have all of those drills down pat before school starts.”

Neil almost regretted saying ‘yes’ to Kevin, because the bastard hadn’t been lying back then, he truly did intend for Neil to have all eight of the Ravens’ drills perfected by August 24th, when the semester started. When people would probably put two and two together to figure out that Neil wasn’t a Raven, that he was a Fox.

Up until then, his days were filled with Exy and trying to find his spot on the team. There were times when it seemed to work out, when Andrew was in the goal and Matt and Aaron guarding it, when Kevin was running alongside of Neil. Matt was an excellent backliner, was one of the best players on the team – maybe the best, considering how apathetic Andrew could be and that Kevin was still struggling with his right hand. Aaron had improved with Wymack’s coaching, but shared in Andrew’s apathy, would still be somewhat reserved on the field and didn’t push himself as much as he could, while Nicky lived for the drama of the game and so wasted too much energy and got into useless fights.

Renee was solid all around; while she wasn’t up to Andrew’s level, she could be depended on during a game and she helped ground the team, kept her head during all the fights and didn’t pick sides, which was important because Reynolds refused to have anything to do with those she had labeled ‘monsters’ – with anyone associated with Andrew, including Neil. And Gordon? Yeah, Neil didn’t know if the guy was just bipolar or on some sort of drug cocktail because he was one of the most unstable individuals Neil had ever met, outside of Riko. Neil understood why Gordon didn’t like him; well, he understood the jealousy, understood the fear of losing his position when Gordon was facing down his last year on the court. When it came to the homophobic insults and the rest? Yeah, Neil gave up on trying to figure out the hate and tuned out Gordon’s ranting in favor of trying to calm down Andrew and Nicky. Out of everything else he’d put up with in his life, some stupid name calling was minor.

Through it all, Wymack allowed the fights to go on, for everyone to work out their issues while Dan attempted to wrangle some sort of order out of the chaos. Neil didn’t understand the logic of it all, but he knew that he didn’t want to get on Dan’s bad side and that she was someone to respect. It wasn’t easy being a woman in a male dominated sport like Exy, and not only did she play well but she was a captain on top of it all, captain of a much mocked team. She was determined to change things for the Foxes this year... and while Neil wished her good luck, he didn’t see how she was going to manage it with the current roster.

A couple of days before classes started, Renee came up to him after everyone had finished laps. “It looks as if Coach wants us to get in our visits with Betsy today, and scheduled the two of us together. Would you mind driving me?”

Since Andrew had to visit his probationary officer that afternoon, Neil had driven over in the Nissan as well and Andrew in the GS. “Uhm, sure, okay.” He was trying to get along better with Renee… but it helped when others were around as a buffer.

She gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you!”

It seemed that Wymack had paired everyone up in order to try not to interrupt practice, and Neil was slated to go after Andrew and Nicky’s visit. His ‘emphatic’ boyfriend gave him a slight smirk when they left, and almost an hour later Neil and Renee headed out to the parking lot.

“It’s interesting, the difference in cars between the two of you.” Renee had that slight, peaceful smile on her face as she gestured to the hatchback.

“Actually, it used to be Andrew’s until he got the GS.” Neil shrugged a little as he unlocked it. “He was happy to move up to something new for once.” And without a budget.

“But you’re fine with it.”

“Well, I’d have picked something a little less obvious, but it’s paid for so….” Neil shrugged again.

“Yes, you don’t like to stand out, do you?” Renee said that as if it was such a simple statement. “Whereas Andrew doesn’t care.”

Neil paused for a moment before he started the car. “I don’t think it made a difference or not to Andrew, if he stood out.” From what Neil could tell, Andrew never really had the option to hide, not from the people who had sought to hurt him in the past.

“No.” For a moment the darkness that Renee usually hid rose to the fore, and then she let out a slow breath and pushed it back down. “No, I don’t think so, either. But with you.…” She turned to give him a sad smile. “It was important, wasn’t it?”

Since Renee had been open with him about her past, Neil gave a slight nod. “Yes, it was very important.” And it remained, to a certain degree; his father’s people were still out there, even if he was Moriyama property and would go pro at some point. He had to balance laying low with becoming valuable enough to earn protection.

His hands shook a little as he turned the steering wheel, which of course Renee noticed. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you or bring up unpleasant things.”

“It’s not.…” It was Neil’s turn to let out a slow breath. “You remind me of… of some of the people who used to work with… well, of some of the people associated with someone from my past.”

Renee nodded to show that she was following along. “And of course they weren’t very nice, these people.”

“You could say that.” The corners of Neil’s mouth twitched a little at that. “They were also very dangerous.”

“I see.” Renee spread out her hands. “But I’m trying to move on from that.”

“It doesn’t help.” Neil’s faint smile took on a bitter twist. “You see, those people… they were the ones you’d never suspect, if you didn’t know better.” He thought about Lola, about some of the other women who worked for his father. The men? Patrick and Romano and others like them? You knew just by looking at them, by their bulk and their eyes and their calloused knuckles what they did, but the women? They were most often pretty and some of them seemingly too delicate for words, were quiet and unassuming and the next thing Neil would know, he would be in pain or in shock as someone was bleeding out in front of him. “I learned very young to know better.”

Renee was quiet until they pulled into the crowded parking lot of the Redding Medical Center. “I’m sorry for that, for you learning something so harsh, but I don’t mean you any harm. I know it’s just words, but I hope you can learn to trust them. That you can trust me.”

He turned off the car and then twisted to face her. “I’m trying.”

“Because of Andrew.” She smiled as she spoke, the expression a touch sad.

“Yes,” Neil admitted. “And because we’re teammates.”

Her smile strengthened into something Neil had to admit was a beautiful thing. “That is enough for me.”

They were quiet as they got out of the car and entered the building, and Neil’s apprehension increased at the thought of talking to a psychiatrist; Renee seemed to notice, because she gave his left arm a gentle and quick touch. “Betsy is really good at these sessions. She won’t pry into anything if you don’t want to talk.”

He just nodded at her and looked around the waiting room, but Andrew and Nicky must have already left. Renee went in first as soon as they gave their names to the admin, which left Neil sitting in the waiting room, too anxious to do anything but flip through magazines for the next half an hour.

He finally heard his name be called out and saw Renee come toward him along with Betsy Dobson, who appeared much the same as the last time he’d seen her at Abby’s house; the same grey-streaked hair, the same narrow, wire-rimmed glasses, the same comfortable clothes that didn’t attempt to hide her generous curves. Renee gave him an encouraging smile as she slipped past to go sit down, while Betsy motioned for Neil to join her in her office.

He stared at the shelves of uniformly lined knickknacks for a moment before he sat down on the couch, his back rigid and his hands clutched on his lap. Betsy made a faint humming sound as she went over to her desk. “Would you like some hot chocolate?”

It took a moment for the question to register, he was so anxious just then. “Ah, it’s summer,” he said. Who drank hot chocolate during the summer?

Betsy just blinked as she held up a tin of the stuff. “Does that mean you don’t want any? It’s really delicious, and I find that chocolate is good any time of the year.”

“I don’t like sweets,” he told her, his tone final.

“All right.” She prepared a mug for herself then settled in the chair across from the couch. “So, Neil – I hope it’s fine to call you Neil?” she paused until he gave a slight nod of his head, “I understand that you’re an emancipated minor. You’ve done well to be without your parents for so long.”

He just stared back at her; oh yes, off to a brilliant start there.

“Do you feel any regret or sorrow that they’re not here to see how far you’ve come?”

Neil leaned forward little, his face carefully blank. “Uhm, ma’am?”

Betsy smiled at him. “Oh, you can call me Betsy, I’m not big on formality, you can call me whatever you want.”

“Ms. Dobson? I’m not going to talk about my parents, okay?” He gave her a flat look. “They’re not in my life now, they’re not open to discussion.” There was no way he was going to say anything about his parents to this woman, be they fake or real. Especially not real.

Betsy stared back at him for a moment or two before she nodded and sipped her hot chocolate. “All right, duly noted. So, you’re from Racine?”

Neil leaned back a little and folded his arms over his chest. “Did Andrew tell you that?”

This time Betsy sighed a little and set her mug aside. “Neil… today is just a casual appointment so we can get to know each other a little better. I’m not analyzing everything you say, so please don’t take this as some sort of interrogation. Treat this as a conversation between two people who’ve just met.”

“In that case, I’m free to leave if I want, correct?”

Betsy shook her head. “I’m sorry, but this is a mandatory ‘meet and greet’.” She fiddled with her glasses as she looked at him. “A few years ago, the powers that be here at Palmetto University decided that these sessions are required for all athletes – they recognized that you’re all under a lot of pressure due to your responsibilities and they want to ensure that you’re handling them by giving you an opportunity to vent.”

“To vent with a trained professional,” he emphasized.

“Yes, someone who can help you if you have any issues, or just listen to you if you need a sympathetic ear.” Betsy paused as if giving him a chance to talk and then sighed when he remained quiet. “In the end, I’m here for you, Neil. I understand that you might have a lot of pressure on you, being a freshman and starting out by playing with the Foxes. David said that he’s doing what he can to keep quiet about you joining the team, but word is going to get out soon, isn’t it?” She glanced at the bandage on his cheek before she resumed looking him in the eye.

Neil felt the urge to scratch at the hidden tattoo but refused to let his hands move. “I’m sure everyone’s going to care only about Kevin in the end – he’s the known quantity, the big star. I’m just a nobody.”

Betsy cocked her head at that. “Are you sure? I seem to remember hearing a little bit about you, about the local player who was headed to the Ravens. I would think that anyone talented enough to make that team would generate some excitement.”

He refused to rise to her bait. “Andrew is just as good,” was better, “and I don’t remember there being too much of a fuss when he joined the team last year.”

Betsy regarded Neil over the rim of her mug for a few seconds. “Does it make you uncomfortable, me talking about your accomplishments?”

He gave her a sliver of a smile. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be analyzing me.”

She cocked her head to the side and smiled back. “I think I see why Andrew likes you so much.”

“And I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about your other patients.” There was a bit of heat to that statement, despite his resolve to give nothing away.

That wiped the smile from her face. “I’m not, it’s just an observation, and I’ve seen the two of you together outside of my practice.”

Neil continued to give her a flat look for that statement, until Betsy sighed once more and set her mug aside again. “So, what do you think of your teammates? Are you getting along with them?”

He considered how much time he had left on the clock and decided it was as neutral a topic as he was going to get. “I think if you want to put your efforts to good use, you should focus them there.” They spent the rest of the time talking about the other Foxes and how Neil had little hope of winning the upcoming game, until the half hour was finished and Betsy stood up to see him to the door.

“I hope that wasn’t too bad,” she told him with a smile; when Neil gave her the same blank look he’d been wearing for most of the session, she shook her head. “Please consider my door as always open to you if you ever want to come by and talk.”

“Goodbye,” he said, his tone curt as he turned around and left, unwilling to come back again until Wymack forced him to do so.

Renee had to hurry to catch up to him, and after one look at him, shrugged. “It’s not for everyone.”

Quite the understatement, that. Neil had never been so relieved to get back to practice, especially since it was Gordon and Matt’s turn to visit Betsy. He didn’t even care that it was one of those days when Matt and Kevin were at each other’s throats, unwilling to put up with each other on court – they could be as bad as Reynolds and Gordon with the constant back and forth. It had been rather funny, the one day when Nicky had snapped at the two if they were going to fuck each other to work out the tension between them, too; he didn’t know who had been more offended, Kevin or Reynolds, while Matt had burst into laughter and said that Kevin really wasn’t his type if he did decide to give guys a chance.

Needless to say, that hadn’t endeared Reynolds or Gordon to them any better, but Matt took to joking with the four of them – he was standoffish with Kevin, but he would talk a lot to Nicky and Neil, and attempt to do so with Andrew and Aaron. Neil was puzzled by the backliner’s friendly nature, especially after what had happened last summer, but eventually figured out that Matt truly didn’t hold a grudge about the whole thing and so was tentative in answering back.

The following week was the start of classes. The team met on Wednesday, the last day of practice before school started, and Wymack called them together to let them know that practice would start at six am from there on out. He also broke the news to them that on Saturday morning after the game with Breckenridge, Kevin would be doing an interview with Kathy Ferdinand as part of an agreement with the school president and the ERC.

Kevin received a good bit of teasing about that, since everyone knew the truth about his ‘public’ persona, which was all smiles and personable, and his true self which was… well, much less so. Neil found it amusing, until Wymack insisted that he tag along so the man could keep an eye on him for the day. Wasn’t it so nice to be left with the impression that everyone felt that he couldn’t be trusted to look after himself? Or that something was coming which meant that he needed looked after? Judging from the bad feeling which had settled in Neil’s gut… somehow he had the impression that it was more of the latter.

That night Neil sat on the edge of the bed with the first two fingers of his left hand pressed against the ‘4’ tattoo on his left cheek. “They’re going to start to figure it out, tomorrow.”

Andrew stood in front of him, a frown on his face as he pulled Neil’s hand down. “It has to come out sooner or later. There’s not much Riko can do to you once everyone knows.”

Somehow, Neil doubted that. “His fans made things rough last spring.”

“And everyone got through it,” Andrew snapped. “Stop being your own worst enemy and get into bed. Six am is going to be here soon enough, I refuse to put up with your stupidity all night long.”

Despite his churlish tone, when Andrew stretched out behind Neil in the bed, he draped an arm around Neil’s waist and tucked his nose into the back of Neil’s neck. “If you wake me up with a nightmare, I’m kicking you onto the floor,” he said.

Nicky, who was climbing up onto his own bed at that point, laughed. “You can come up here and snuggle with me, baby bro.”

“Fuck off,” Andrew muttered as his arm tightened around Neil, who smiled and closed his eyes.

There were no nightmares that night, but Neil took one look at Andrew when the alarm went off that morning and was quick to get the hell out of the way, deciding that his boyfriend was best left alone until some caffeine got into his system; he’d forgotten how miserable the extra early morning practices made Andrew. Everyone managed to get up and out the door on time – even Kevin, and practice was a quiet affair since everyone was more or less getting acclimated to the time change. As soon as practice was over, Neil drove Nicky back to campus since their first classes of the day were close together, and he made it just in time for his Advanced Japanese class. Looking over the course material, it didn’t appear to be too difficult; he’d been studying as far in advance as he could on his own and there was Kevin to practice with now, so that was one easy course out of the way. The next one for the day was Chemistry, which was a large class and would require some more effort; he was grateful that as a five year athletic student, he didn’t have to carry a full load of classes, something Nicky had explained to Neil when he’d sat down to plan out his courses for the semester. He went around the campus with the hood of his light blue long-sleeved t-shirt pulled over his head and his long bangs falling into his eyes, head ducked low and eyes focused on the ground. If anyone spoke to him, he didn’t speak back, and was grateful to meet up with Andrew so they could have lunch together in one of the two campus cafeterias.

If Neil felt nervous about his first day on Palmetto State campus, it was nothing like the second one, when the school broke out in team spirit for its Exy and football teams, covered in white and orange streamers and when its players were required to show up to classes in their jerseys. It meant that he was officially being announced as a Fox, that the ERC was releasing his name to the press – it meant that everyone would know that he hadn’t joined the Ravens, as ‘expected’.

He got the first taste of what was to come when he showed up at practice and was greeted by a grim faced Wymack. “How bad is it?” he asked, his stomach already tying in knots.

“Gotta hand it to Tetsuji, the man has a way with words.” The expression on Wymack’s face just then was anything but admiration. “The Ravens put out a statement along the lines that they’re ‘allowing’ you to spend some time furthering your training under Kevin, since you hold him in such high esteem.” At Neil’s side, Andrew went into that awful stillness which was never a good thing, and Wymack nodded. “Yeah, there was such a blatant ‘he’s a Fox, for now’ vibe there that I’ve already had three calls from board members asking if I let Neil sign a special contract or what.”

“Fuck,” Neil muttered as he rubbed at his face, his fingers catching on the covered tattoo. “What am I going to do?”

“Just play your best tonight and leave that to me,” Wymack told him, his face set with determination. “That’s my job. Maybe we can get Kevin to spin the story somehow on Kathy’s show tomorrow.”

That was something else Neil wasn’t looking forward to, Kevin going on the newscaster’s show the next morning and him being forced to tag along. “Are you certain that I can’t stay here? I promise not to leave the dorm all day long.”

Wymack shook his head and gave the same answer he had yesterday, when he’d informed everyone that Kevin had agreed to do some publicity to appease the ERC. “Nope, I didn’t want you out of my sight before because of everyone finding out about you, and I definitely don’t want it to happen now.” He cast a glance Andrew’s way, well aware by now that wherever Neil went, so did Andrew – doubly so if Kevin was involved. “I’ll feel so much better if I know where my main troublemakers are until things settle down.”

“Gee, thanks,” Neil said, voice thick with sarcasm. “I’m all of a sudden aglow with happiness.”

“You’re a horrid influence,” Wymack told Andrew.

“Oh no, you can’t blame that on me, he came prepackaged that way,” Andrew said with a hurt air.

Because of the news, Nicky took Neil to his Math class, Neil all too aware of the stares and whispers that followed him around, the fingers pointed after him and the people turning around in their seats to look at him even as he bent over his notebook with his head turned down. He flinched every time he heard the words ‘Josten’ and ‘Ravens’, and was grateful when Renee showed up to escort him to his Japanese speech class; there was a cluster of cheerleaders along the way, but Renee managed to lead him around them without anyone catching sight.  After that she went with him to the nearest cafeteria, where Andrew, Kevin and Nicky were already seated.

Neil set his tray with cheese pizza, milk and French fires down on the table while he looked around. “Where’s Aaron?”

“At the library,” Andrew said as he reached for some of Neil’s fries.

That seemed rather odd, but Neil figured that Aaron was old enough to look out for himself. Then he heard the word ‘Ravens’ and hurried to sit down. “Anything going on?”

Kevin shook his head as he turned his phone over onto the table. “You don’t… it’s nothing.” He glared at his steak salad for a moment before he picked up his fork. “People should have better things to do with their time.”

Neil took that to mean that he wouldn’t want to check things online any time soon and glanced over at Andrew, who gave him a mocking look in return. “All right, not like I bother much with the forums in the first place.” He just wondered when he’d hear from Riko on the whole thing.

Renee looked around at everyone and made a faint, humming sound. “So, Allison and Dan were talking about the banquet this morning.” At Neil’s blank look, she smiled. “There’s a fall banquet for all of the teams in the district, it’s mandatory for everyone to attend.”

“Oh fuck,” Kevin moaned, “that means that the Ravens are going to be there.”

The smile fell from Renee’s lips. “I didn’t think of that.”

Wonderful, Neil didn’t seem hungry anymore. He went to push his tray away, but Andrew shoved it back in front of him with a glare so Neil sighed and picked up one of the pizza slices. “So we all have to go?”

“Yes.” Renee gave him an apologetic smile and then looked at Andrew. “I assume that you have a date this year?” Mirth lit up her eyes as she nodded at Neil.

“Maybe, if he cleans up pretty enough.” The response made Neil choke on the bite of pizza he’d just taken, and it was his turn to glare at Andrew when he managed to swallow it back down.

“Hmm, I’ve a feeling he just might, it’s those cheekbones.”

Andrew nodded as if agreeing with Renee. “It won’t be too bad if I can get him in a pair of tight pants, too. You’re right, there’s some promise there.”

“I hate you both,” Neil groaned as he gave up on eating, while Nicky laughed and waved his hands about.

“Ooh, I volunteer to take him shopping! Put me on the tight pants duty!” He laughed when Neil buried his face in his hands. “So what about you, Kevin? Need a date? I’m promised to another, but I’m still up for a good time.” Neil heard kissing noises while Renee giggled.

“I… that’s… uhm… I’m not… it’s not funny!” Kevin insisted with such desperation that Neil looked up to see the striker appear so flummoxed just then that he actually smiled.

“Oh relax,” Nicky told Kevin while he rolled his eyes, “I’ll find someone who can actually dance and have a good time to go with me.”

“Maybe you can ask one of the Vixens to go with you,” Renee offered as she smiled Kevin. “Aaron seems to know a few of them, I’m sure he can help.”

Neil noticed the way that Andrew’s brows drew together at that, just the slightest bit, and nudged his plate of fries closer to his boyfriend. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out,” Neil assured Renee. “Now what about tonight’s game? Breckenridge is really good.”

That seemed to shake Kevin out of his daze. “They were the best in the district until the Ravens joined, and they’re known for playing dirty.” He stared down his nose at Neil. “You’re going to have problems with them on the court, I don’t think they have a player on the team shorter than 5’10”.”

“Fuck you,” Neil told him as he picked up his pizza once again. “Not all of us can be tall freaks.”

“There’s nothing freakish about my height, maybe if you’d had a decent diet while growing u-ah.” Kevin’s face blanched all of a sudden, while Andrew’s right hand was now beneath the table. “Uhm….”

“Neil lives for taunting those who are at least half a foot taller than him, doesn’t he?” Andrew gave Neil another mocking grin. “And he’s so amusing when concussed.”

“Have I said yet that I hate you?”

Andrew returned his fork to the table, which seemed to enable Kevin to breathe again. “Stop flirting, there’s other people present.”

Neil gave up and decided to eat his pizza, while Nicky laughed and Renee did that pleased smiling thing of hers.

*******

Andrew drove everyone to the stadium for the game, annoyed by the traffic and the idiots and… just annoyed. It was much more of a crowd than it had been last year, and he knew it was because of Kevin’s presence – Kevin’s presence and Riko’s interference. The fans had been carrying on all day about the prospect of the Foxes playing the Ravens on October 13th, while Neil and Kevin looked as if they’d rather be anywhere else come that date.

The five of them had shared a light meal together before the game, and now Andrew was doing his best to resist the temptation to run over some idiot wearing white and orange while Neil stared out the side window in fascination at the crowd. “Is it… uhm, always like this?”

“It’s not too bad of a turnout,” Kevin remarked. The asshole was used to Ravens’ sized crowds, and probably found all of this disappointing.

“It’s better than last year,” Nicky said, a huge grin on his face as he waved at people, as if they even noticed anyone in the car. Andrew just gritted his teeth together and managed to get them to the stadium without any mass homicide.

They were able to park in the players’ lot but still had to get through security, which always pissed Andrew off and made Neil freeze up, but then they were inside the stadium at last. Neil went to go change but before he could, Kevin was hustling him out on court, which earned him a furious look from Andrew for the manhandling. Neil paused as soon as he caught sight of the nearly full stadium, which allowed Andrew to shove Kevin aside and grab the back of his neck. “Don’t freak out,” he murmured.

“I’m not,” Neil said as he seemed to shake off his paralysis. “It’s just… so loud.”

As if to mock him, the closest rows seemed to notice the three of them standing there and then the Foxes’ bands, the Orange Notes (clever name, that), started playing, and the noise rose up another notch. Neil flinched at that while Kevin just smiled. “Don’t waste their time tonight,” he said. “They came here to see you play, so give them something to believe in.” For once, he wasn’t being a complete ass.

Neil shrugged. “They didn’t come here for me, they came here for you.” He shook his head at Kevin and then went back in to change.

As soon as they were in their gear, Wymack handed out the Jackal’s roster for the night, which caused Matt to curse. “Shit, looks like the Gorilla is on the starting line-up,” he told Gordon.

Aaron frowned as well while he read through the names. “Nice to see that they’re taking us seriously.”

“That’s easy for the defense to say,” Reynolds snapped as she snatched the paper out of Matt’s hands to give it over to Gordon. “You’ve got the easy job.”

Neil looked around at everyone and then turned to Andrew and Nicky. “Gorilla?”

“Remember what I said about everyone being at least half a head taller than you?” Andrew warned with a slight smile. “Well, double that this time.”

“I think he’s talking about number sixteen on their line-up, Adam Hawking,” Nicky explained with a grimace. “Also known as ‘the Gorilla’. Six and a half feet tall and three hundred pounds, all of it pure asshole.” Nicky reached out to give Neil a sympathetic pat on the head. “You’ll know him when you see him, he looks as if he should be playing football and got mixed up on the wrong team.”

“Wonderful.” Neil winced as if already imagining the pain he would be in for while out on the court.

“On the bright side, he’s also dumb as a brick and usually sits out a good part of the season once he flunks out on academic probation. This will probably be the only time you have to face him,” Matt said with a smile.

Neil looked up at Matt, who had at least a foot on him and a good fifty pounds. “So are you offering to switch positions with me tonight or what?” he asked with that blank look of his.

Matt laughed at that and shook his head. “Aw, you’re fast, just keep out of his way.”

Dan nodded at that, her expression serious. “The asshole is defense and loves to throw body-checks. Your option is not to get between him and the wall. He’ll try to break every bone in your body if you give him the chance.”

“Don’t worry though, he’ll probably be too busy trying to kill Kevin and Seth to even notice someone little like you,” Matt said in a much too cheerful tone of voice.

“This is my reassured face,” Neil told them, his expression still blank as he refused to show any concern to the rest of the team; Andrew narrowed his eyes to show his idiot that he wasn’t impressed by the act.

“All right, enough gossip, it’s time to warm up,” Wymack called out as he clapped his hands. “Get out there and do some drills.

As they ran out onto the court, Andrew came up onto Neil’s right side. “Are you going to be even more of a spectacular idiot than normal and taunt the enormous Neanderthal?”

Neil gave him an innocent look. “Whatever makes you think I’d do something like that?”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I thought so.” Someone was going to get a ball to the head if they weren’t careful tonight – Andrew would decide later which one it was, Neil or the Gorilla.

They got through their warm-up and Wymack announced their starting line-up, with Andrew in the goal, Dan as starting dealer, Kevin and Gordon as the strikers and Matt and Aaron as the backliners. That meant that Neil and Nicky got to sit out the start of the game, but it wasn’t unexpected. The Jackals won the coin toss, but the Foxes had the home court advantage.

The crowd went wild when Kevin went out on the court – Andrew was willing to bet a good bit of the Breckenridge fans were cheering him on just then, happy to see him back in play after eight months healing from Riko’s malice.

It didn’t surprise Andrew to see Gordon acting like an asshole as soon as he was on the court, flipping off someone from Breckenridge and then Kevin, behaving like the petulant child he was. More than anything, Andrew wished he could have a few unguarded seconds with the asshole and ensure that Gordon was unable to play for the rest of the season.

The buzzer finally sounded for the start of the game, and Breckenridge got to fire off the ball; from the very start, it was fast and nasty. The Jackals were known to play rough, and Andrew watched as they managed to score questionable fouls one after the other on the Foxes that should have been illegal but were just doubtful enough. The Foxes were in rare form, though, doing their best to hold off the other team, but the Breckenridge were one of the best for a reason, and about twelve minutes into the game managed to put their brute strength to good use and get the ball past Andrew’s defenses – there were just too many people clustered around the damn goal at the time, with Matt and Aaron swarmed by the team’s strikers. As everyone else went to resume their places on the court, the Gorilla grinned at Andrew and called him a pathetic midget, while Andrew just gave him a flat stare with his arms braced across the top of his racquet and his chin resting on them. So not worth his time, especially with Neil ready to come into play at any point in time.

While he stood there, one of the Jackal backliners all of a sudden shoved Kevin as he went to pass by him, which made Kevin shove the guy back. The Jackal didn’t seem to appreciate that and turned around to say something, and of course Gordon had to join in. Kevin seemed to try to diffuse the situation, and the bastion of maturity that he was, Gordon threw a punch – at Kevin. Before Andrew could cross the court and show Gordon what his spleen looked like, Dan was between the two and giving them a verbal teardown.

Once the referees were satisfied that Dan had handled the matter, the game started again with the Jackals once again awarded the first toss, and Kevin seemed to have something to prove since he knocked his corresponding backliner down hard and snagged the ball so he could race across the court and score a goal. The crowd went wild, and another fight broke out between Kevin and the backliner, with the Jackal being awarded a yellow card. All right, now things were getting boring again.

It only got nastier from there, and in about twenty minutes, the Gorilla managed to body-check Gordon hard enough against the wall that Gordon couldn’t just shake it off. Andrew would have been happy with that, but it left Kevin alone on the court since it took Gordon precious second before he could finally alert the referees that he needed out of the game.

Andrew knew what that meant and went on guard as Gordon was helped off of the court and Neil was subbed in for him, the crowd crying out in reaction to his name; Neil stumbled for a moment in reaction to the noise then carried on, escorted to his spot by Dan. He was stuck against the home court wall, and as soon as he stood there, the Jackals started giving him shit about being a rookie and a traitor for abandoning the Ravens to play for the Foxes instead.

Before Neil could open his mouth and get himself into trouble, Andrew slammed his racquet against the goal hard enough to make several players jump and for Neil to turn around and give him a bland look. The buzzer sounded soon after that, so Andrew lifted the ball in his racquet and smiled at his boyfriend. “Hey, idiot, this one is for you. Start running.” Right after he spoke, he bounced the ball onto the ground with all the strength he possessed.

Used to his tactics by now, Neil listened to him and took off down the court, anticipating that it would land at the other end, dodging past the Jackals with ease and catching it on the rebound from the far wall. He took the ball and put his speed to use, and the Jackals were caught out when Neil scored his first goal of the game and the season. From there on out, it was a game of Neil racing about and taunting the Jackals, and Gorilla targeting Kevin while Matt did his best to drive off the bastard whenever he could. If the ball ended up at the end of the Foxes’ side of the court, the Jackals would attempt to pile up on the goal to overwhelm Andrew to score.

At one point Gorilla attempted to take on Andrew, but Andrew stared him down and refused to move. That seemed to shake up the asshole a little, and the referees stepped in before Andrew could feed him his own racquet.

It wasn’t long after that Matt took Gorilla down for good… but it was also around then that Kevin’s left hand had enough abuse for the night and he had to leave court as well when Andrew noticed how he was nursing the hand. The coward was no good to him damaged – well, even more damaged – so he had to talk some sense into him.

That left Neil and Gordon to finish out the game, and Neil did his best, scoring three goals total to bring it to a final nine to eight in Breckenridge’s favor – three goals for his first Class I game against one of the best teams in the league. Andrew waited for Nicky to stop hanging all over Neil once the game was finished and nudged him in the side. “Not too bad for your first time.”

Neil rolled his eyes at that. “It only hurt a little. Oh, and no concussion for once!”

“The night is still young.”

“Killjoy.” Still, Neil was smiling – at least until Kevin came up to join them.

“We’ll go over the recording of the game tomorrow and see where we can make improvements,” he told Neil. “You’re a bit too tentative on a few things – you were great on assists, but I think you could have pushed forward for your own goals a bit better.”

“Kevin?”

“Hmm?” He glanced over at Andrew.

“Shut up. No Exy tomorrow.” It was bad enough that they had to go to the damn interview, Andrew was drawing the line at that.

It was so amusing, when Kevin got that kicked puppy look on his face at being denied.

As it was, the morning came way too fucking early; Nicky had broken out a bottle of whiskey once they’d gotten back to their room to celebrate the near win, which he and Kevin had drank the most of while Andrew and Aaron had a few shots and Neil had said ‘to hell with it’ and just gone to bed. It got to the point that Andrew had decided that the only way to make sure that Kevin was awake for the interview was to not let him sleep, so they all took turns ensuring that happened; Neil hadn’t been happy about being woken up for his shift, but oh well – hmm, it had been so nice, him getting the bed warmed up for Andrew, and the coffee brewed by the time the alarm went off. Andrew would suspect that something had been dumped in it, but Neil had handed Nicky a cup as well.

“I’m not very happy with you,” Neil grumbled as he handed over a cup to Andrew, already sweetened and everything.

“Fine, I’ll let you pick the toppings the next time we have pizza,” Andrew offered since he had the feeling that Neil was a few seconds away from breaking out the damn creepy grin.

Neil didn’t look as if he believed Andrew, but it made him to stop glaring long enough to get ready.

They all eventually got ready – well, not Aaron, who was staying behind - including one extremely grumpy Kevin, when Wymack banged on their door. “We’re about to leave!” He appeared surprised when they all filed out into the hallway. “How the hell did you get Kevin to wake up so early?”

“They didn’t let me go to sleep,” Kevin muttered while scowling at Andrew, which Andrew ignored with ease.

“Huh, impressive.” Wymack looked at Andrew with something resembling approval for once. “Now get your asses in gear.”

Abby was waiting for them on the bus, and Andrew grabbed the seat farthest back, with Neil right in front of him. The benefit of them being so short was that they had an easier time of curling up on the long benches to catch some sleep, which was what they did.

Apparently the bus stopped so everyone could get a bite to eat when they reached Raleigh, and something hitting the seat near Andrew jolted him awake; he sat up and found a leather wallet resting on his hip and Wymack looming over him. “Give it back,” the man said, while motioning to the bench in front of him. Andrew blinked a couple of times before he returned the wallet, then stood up while Wymack attempted to wake Kevin so he could brush his fingers along Neil’s tousled curls.

Neil twitched at the touch, and then his eyes flew open while his body stilled; Andrew knew his boyfriend’s mind was racing to figure out where he was and if he needed to flee. “You gonna fall off or what?” he asked as his fingers gave the auburn curls a slight tug.

“Huh.” Neil closed his eyes for a moment and relaxed. “Maybe.”

“Come on, there should be breakfast.” Andrew gave a harder tug to make his idiot sit up; behind them, Wymack was still yelling at Kevin to get up. It got so bad that Wymack had to force the coward to run laps around the bus while Renee and Abby fetched food and coffee for everyone.

Neil came back to sit with Andrew while they ate their sausage biscuits and the donuts Dan had bought everyone, all washed down by strong coffee. Once they were done, Wymack started up the bus and it was only another fifteen minutes until they reached Kathy Ferdinand’s studio.

The team seemed excited about Kevin being on one of the more popular morning talk shows in the nation, though Andrew noticed how tense Neil became when they reached the place. He hovered behind Andrew is if hiding when Kathy came out to greet Wymack, and gushed over Kevin, who was in full ‘media’ mode – utterly fake and too charming for words.

She went on about how well he had played the night before and how he had ‘improved’ the Foxes, which Kevin had the sense to point out that the Foxes had played some large part in themselves. The woman seemed to be looking around for something, and Andrew felt a flash of anger when her eyes brightened when they caught sight of Neil.

“Neil Josten! Good morning, have you heard the news?” She didn’t wait for a reaction, she just stepped closer and didn’t seem to notice that Neil had taken a step back and Andrew one forward in an attempt to block her. “As of eleven o’clock last night, your name is the third highest search string among the NCAA Exy strikers. How does it feel to come right behind Riko and Kevin?”

“Oh god,” Neil moaned as he pressed against Andrew’s back, his fingers tugging at the left sleeve of Andrew’s t-shirt as if to latch on to something. “I don’t need to know that.”

She frowned at his reaction, as if it wasn’t what she’d expected. “Did you talk to him?” she asked Kevin, which set off warning bells in Andrew’s head.

“I didn’t think we needed to,” Kevin said, that fake smile still on his face.

“About what?” Neil snapped.

“Yes, about what, pray tell?” Andrew managed a fake smile of his own, only it wasn’t so nice.

Kathy flinched at it but soldiered on. “I want Neil on my show this morning – Neil and Kevin.”

Andrew didn’t need to look behind him to imagine Neil’s expression just then, he could feel the tension in his boyfriend’s body, could feel how tightly Neil was tugging on his sleeve and knew that it wasn’t good.

“Everyone wants to know about you, about you following Kevin to the Foxes, about your place in the Perfect Court – even who you are.” Kathy stared at Neil as if he was some sort of puzzle. “There’s so little about you out there, you’re this big mystery. All we know is that you showed up a couple of years ago not knowing how to play Exy and now you’ve got both Kevin and Riko saying that you’ll sign with the US Court after graduation. Don’t you think it’s time that you give the people some answers?”

“No,” Neil ground out. “Not interested.”

Poor Kathy, it seemed that she wasn’t used to such flat denials like that since her smile faltered for a moment, but she rallied and attempted to reach out for Neil, only to be blocked by Andrew once more. “Ah, ah,” he warned her, only for Abby to step forward, a disapproving frown on her face.

Kathy tried again, her smile back to full wattage. “Now Neil, there’s no need to be shy. If you can play in front of a stadium full of fans in a game that ESPN2 picked up and broadcasted live then you can sit on my stage for ten minutes.” Behind Andrew, Neil went practically rigid – great, the twit just had to bring up the broadcast, didn’t she? Andrew had wondered when Neil would realize that their game would get beyond the local channels because of Breckenridge. “I’m just going to ask a couple questions about why you started playing and your future ambitions, the usual stuff. I’ll even provide you a list of prepared questions so you can think of your responses before you sit down on the stage. Don’t you think your fans deserve answers from you?”

“I don’t have any fans,” Neil mumbled.

That was clearly not the response that dear Kathy wanted. “Be smart, Neil.” Now she was going for patronizing instead of helpful. “You can’t spend the season running from the press when you’re playing with Kevin Day.”

“Oh just watch him, he’s rather good at it,” Andrew said, and of course was ignored.

“I said no,” Neil insisted.

Now Kathy began to drop the act, and beside her, Kevin’s smile had faded, too. “You’re not looking at the big picture, at how important this year is for you. If you want to get anywhere, you need our help. Everything is starting to fall into place for you right now, don’t let it collapse so early in the game because you insist on being so stubborn. Kevin understands, don’t you?” She turned to him with that big, fake smile.

“Yes.” He nodded once and then gave Neil a firm look. “He’ll do it.”

Oh, he would, would he? Behind Andrew, Neil took to shaking, but Andrew didn’t think it was from fear. “It’s not your decision,” Neil snapped in French, his tone vicious. “I’m not going on stage with you.”

“Yes, tell us why he should do such a thing,” Andrew threw in as well in the same language, and felt a flash of amusement when everyone stared at the two of them.

Kevin continued to smile, but from the bite to his own words, one could tell he was furious about the argument. “You’re being an idiot – both of you,” he said in French. “He needs to do the interview.”

“I can’t be on tv,” Neil argued. “You know about my father. His men are still out there.”

“You already were,” Kevin shot back. “You are Mor-“ His smile faltered a little as he caught himself just in time. “You will do this today, or you and I are finished. I’ll wash my hands of you and you can struggle your way to Court on your own. No more extra practices, nothing.”

Neil froze up, and Andrew was ready to pull out a knife on the bastard just then. “Our deal,” Andrew ground out.

“He needs to do this for the deal,” Kevin said while he was careful not to look at Andrew. “It’s more than just training and everything, he needs to get his name out there, he can’t rely on just playing. It doesn’t matter if he makes the goals if the important people don’t know who he is.”

“But this isn’t… I don’t….” Neil leaned against Andrew, clearly torn between conflicting impulses, between what had been beaten into him by his mother and what Kevin was demanding from him just then.

“Did you not promise me that you would do what I asked, that you would try?”

Neil shuddered for a moment, so Andrew leaned back against him, let Neil’s weight press against his own. That seemed to be enough, because Neil stilled and Kevin’s smile turned genuine, turned pleased.

“It’s settled,” he said in English.

Kathy’s smile brightened even more, which Andrew thought was impossible. “Brilliant!” She motioned for them to follow her, and when Kevin went to tug Neil along, Andrew knocked his hand aside with a flat look that made Kevin take a careful step back and allow Neil to walk unassisted.

Dan rushed forward as they made their way into the studio. “You don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to,” she told Neil, who only shook his head at her, his eyes bright with anger and hands clenched in fists. So she turned to Andrew instead as if he could do something about the situation, and appeared confused when he merely shrugged; it was Neil’s decision in the end, and he knew his idiot would cave in when it came to Exy. When it came to Exy and the Moriyamas.

Oh, there better be some alcohol available when they got back to the dorm that afternoon, and Kevin would do best to stay out of sight as well.

Andrew’s temper was not helped when some aides showed up to take Neil and Kevin away to get ready, as well as to lead him and the rest of the Foxes to their seats in the audience. Neil gave him a slight wave before he was practically dragged away by Kevin.

It was almost amusing, to see who got stuck sitting by him when he was in such an obviously foul mood; Renee volunteered, the brave soul, and then Nicky sucked it up and took the other seat. “Just remember, Neil would be upset to lose his big bro,” he mumbled as he sat down.

“Not helping,” Andrew said as he fingered the inside of his arm guards until Renee reached over to still his right hand. He sat there in silence while the rest of the Foxes chatted around them and the audience filled in, staring at the empty stage as various staff ran around prepping it. At seven o’clock, the show’s opening theme blared over the speakers and Kathy appeared on the stage while the audience burst into applause. She pandered to them a bit while going through her opening spiel and introducing her guests, and the crowd grew even louder as she built up to introducing Kevin by talking about the Foxes’ game last night.

As soon as it was clear that she was talking about Kevin Day by referring to his last public appearance being nine months ago, the entire crowd was cheering loud enough to make Andrew’s ears ache. Kevin came out smiling and waving, dressed in expensive clothes and acting as if he did shit like talk show appearances every day, kissing the woman’s cheek when he reached her and waving to the audience as if he wasn’t a major asshole most of the time.

It seemed to take forever for the audience to die down, during which Matt made a snide comment or two about Kevin until Dan told him to be quiet and Nicky made a rude hand gesture or two, which made Matt laugh. During that time, Kathy sat down behind her desk and Kevin on one of the couches at her right. They  began to do the usual boring host/guest banter, with Kathy doing some disgusting flirting crap and asking Kevin about him joining the Foxes, going so far as to bring up their bottom rank status last year, and Kevin spinning some shit about his relationship with Wymack. It wasn’t long after that when Kathy segued onto Neil.

“You really know how to upset things around here, don’t you?” she said. “What were you thinking, bringing in Neil when he was supposed to join the Ravens?”

Kevin shifted a little on the couch. “I had noticed him and Andrew Minyard back when they were playing in Racine – despite what everyone believes, Neil had never signed a contract with the Ravens, he was still trying to decide if he wanted to go to Edgar Allen or continue playing on the same team with Andrew. When he found out that I had signed with the Foxes….” Kevin flashed her that charming, fake smile of his. “Well, he wanted a chance to learn from me, which is flattering, he’s exactly what the Foxes need right now, and we’re lucky that we got him.”

“You went to great lengths to get him, from what I hear,” Kathy said. “Refusing to submit his name even to the ERC, correct?”

“Well, we knew that there were a lot of false rumors out there about him and the Ravens, and the past spring was a very difficult time for Palmetto State,” Kevin explained. “We didn’t want to put a target on his back by announcing him as ours.”

“Well, I’m sure everyone is eager to see if so much work and effort for one player is worth it, yes?” Kathy beamed at Kevin. “I can’t wait to see what you make out of him.”

As if that was a cue of some sort, Kathy turned to the audience and winked. “Why don’t we take another look at him, yes? The man who replaced Riko Moriyama at Kevin Day’s side, everyone! Introducing Neil Josten, the newest Palmetto Fox!”

“Oh man, he’s not happy, is he?” Nicky murmured as Neil appeared to be pushed out on stage, dressed in almost as expensive an outfit as Kevin’s, the slacks and dress shirt form fitting and dark, his hair mostly tamed for once. It looked as if Neil made himself to take a deep breath and forced his expression to smooth out as he crossed the stage, and held out his hand so Kathy could shake it after only a moment’s hesitation. He accepted a glass of water from Kevin when he sat down, took a quick sip then set it aside.

“Isn’t this an interesting picture? Kevin is paired again,” Kathy gestured to the two of them on the couch while the audience cheered, then propped her chin up on her hand. “So, I don’t think I’m exaggerating much when I say that you’re the talk of the nation, Neil. You’re the amateur player who caught the champion’s eye. Sorta seems like a fairy tale, doesn’t it?”

Neil shifted about on his seat. “I don’t know, fairy tales don’t always work out very well, do they?

Kathy laughed at that, though Andrew thought he saw her eyes narrow a little. “Well, the ones most people like do. You seem to have a natural talent for the game, amazingly so considering that you started out so late. Imagine if you’d started out even younger, when you were a child. Why did you wait until you were in high school to pick it up?”

Neil’s face went from smooth politeness to blankness. “I had a lot of things going on back then. I’m sure many people can relate to that. I’m just thankful that I could pick it up when I did, and it has given me these opportunities. I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way.”

Kathy seemed to realize that she’d hit a sore spot there. “Well, if it bothers you, I’ll gladly switch places with you.” She gave him a wink. “I don’t mind cozying up with Kevin.

Kevin also realized that they were straying into dangerous territory there, Neil’s background. “Would you really come between two strikers?” he teased, back to that fake charming shit which made Andrew want to throw up.

“Is it possible? It’s no secret that there was little love lost between you and the Foxes’ strikers last year, and there still appears to be some issues with you and Seth Gordon. But there doesn’t seem to be any problems between the two of you.” She waved her hand at Kevin and Neil.

Kevin gave a wry grin as he shrugged. “Seth graduates in May, so there’s less of a chance or a necessity for us to reconcile his style to mine.” Oh yes, there was that Day arrogance on display, and Dan took to cursing out the striker beneath her breath. “Neil, on the other hand, is just starting with the team. We have all the time in the world.” Well, three years, but who was counting?

Kathy caught that and her eyes definitely narrowed there. “That implies that you see this as a permanent gig, but Tetsuji Moriyama is hinting that Neil is only on loan to the Foxes – so what is it, is Neil signed with the Foxes for the full five years or do you intend to return to Edgar Allen at some point?” She didn’t give a stunned Kevin any chance to answer the question. “Does it depend on how well you adjust to playing right-handed this season or do you intend to graduate from Palmetto State?”

Kevin’s pause was evident to the entire audience, while Neil took to staring at the striker, his blue eyes bright beneath the stage lights – his blue eyes and the bandage on his left cheek. “I would like to stay as long as Coach Wymack will have me.”

It was Renee’s iron-like grip on Andrew’s arm which kept him in his seat just then. ‘Would like’. *Would like*. Dammit, could Kevin have given any weaker of an answer just then?

Kathy’s grin just then was so shark-like that Neil flinched, his hand clenched in fists as if he knew to brace himself for the next question; he may be an idiot, but he had great protective instincts. He just ignored them much too much for Andrew’s liking.

“Ahh, the Ravens must be sad to hear that,” she said. “I imagine that Riko misses you.”

Kevin’s rallied smile faltered. “Uhm, we’ll see each other this fall. There’s the banquet and the game.”

“Indeed you will, since your teams are in the same district now.” She leaned over the desk a little more. “Any idea why the major change now?”

Kevin shook his head while Neil’s expression was back to his default blankness, determined to give nothing away; for himself, Andrew was very unhappy with this line of questioning, and would have a long discussion with Kevin about no more interviews. “I don’t presume to understand Coach Moriyama’s motivations.” At least the coward hadn’t said ‘the Master’ that time.

“You mean they didn’t tell you?” Kathy appeared surprised by that, the emotion genuine for once.

“We are all very busy. It is difficult to stay in touch.” As for Kevin? Yeah, not so genuine.

“Well then, have I got a surprise for you!” The shark-like grin was back, while music blared over the speakers. Andrew looked on while Neil twitched in his seat, probably fighting the impulse to run, and felt a wave of rage burst forth when he recognized the Ravens’ fight song. Both Nicky and Renee’s hands clamped down on him as the color washed from Neil’s face, as the emotion drained from Kevin’s and the crowd started chanting ‘King’… as Riko Moriyama walked onto the stage as if he owned it, dressed in black from head to toe.

Oh yes, Andrew was going to kill Kevin later for this.

*******

Neil could hear Kevin whispering some sort of prayer beneath his breath as Riko shook Kathy’s hand, his own body torn between the impulse to run and the need to stay still, to not draw attention to himself. As soon as Riko was done giving Kathy a kiss on the cheek, he flashed Neil a look that was pure satisfaction, and then the rage crept into those dark eyes as he went over to stand in front of Kevin. Oh yes, he was not pleased with the two of them. Not pleased at all. Yet all he said was, “Kevin, it’s been too long,” once the crowd quieted down.

Then there was some sort of ruckus out in the crowd, and Neil was finally able to look away from Riko to see Renee sitting braced across Andrew’s lap as if to keep him in his chair, and that Matt had switched places with Nicky in an attempt to pin Andrew’s left wrist down to the arm rest. Wymack was now in Renee’s empty seat and had Andrew’s right wrist down as well, and it required both of the men’s hands to hold down one of his arms, each. Neil felt a rush of concern for his boyfriend, a flare of anger at anyone trying to constrain Andrew like that – and then Riko moved, dragging Neil’s attention back to the immediate threat.

Riko was holding his hand out to Kevin, and Neil could only imagine how horrible it was for Kevin, to be face to face with the person who had done their best to main him, with the embodiment of his own living nightmare. Kevin stared at that hand for several seconds before forcing his own into it and allowing Riko to pull him onto his feet and into a hug; the crowd applauded the embrace, seemingly unaware of Kevin’s reluctance and pallor.

Riko eventually let go and allowed Kevin to pull away to arm’s length. “I think you’ve shrunk a bit since I’ve last seen you. Don’t they feed you down here? I thought southern food was supposed to be heavy.”

“I run it off at court,” Kevin said, his eyes downcast.

“Yes, that’s right, this one likes to run.” With that, Riko cast his gaze Neil’s way and gave him a sharp grin.

Meanwhile, Kathy smiled and gestured to the two. “Take a good look everyone! Your golden pair is back, but for the first time ever, they’re rivals. Riko, Kevin, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for tolerating our incessant fanaticism.” With that, she motioned to the couch closest to her desk.

Kevin sank down as if his legs couldn’t support him anymore, but Riko chose to sit down on Neil’s couch instead – to sit down right next to Neil, their legs pressed together. Neil didn’t need to look out at the audience to know that Andrew was struggling once more and fought not to let Riko know how the asshole’s presence was affecting him.

Kathy frowned a little at the unexpected seating arrangement, but was quick to smile once more. “From what Kevin has said, I take it that neither of you have spoken in a while. Is that true? But what about Neil, here?”

“You’re correct, Kathy, I’m afraid we’re very busy with our own practices and leave the important decisions to our coaches. I’m sure someone popular like yourself can understand delegating.” He smiled at Kathy as he reached over to pat Neil on the left thigh, his hand lingering for a moment to give it a painful squeeze. “But Neil and I are in contact all the time, isn’t that right?”

“You could say that,” Neil admitted, his tone as flat as his expression, which earned him another too-tight squeeze.

Kathy smiled at him before she focused back on Riko. “Well, I have to admit that you are very busy, but it’s a little sad to think of you and Kevin growing apart.”

“A year ago it would have been impossible, but you have to understand how emotionally crushing December was.” Neil noticed the slight flinch from Kevin when Riko said ‘crushing’. “The injury was Kevin’s to bear, but we all suffered for it. Some of us couldn’t handle the reality of what the injury meant, myself included.” Anger churned inside of Neil as Riko built up the ridiculous lie. “Kevin and I grew up at Evermore, we built our lives around that team and our pair work.” And Riko threw it away on jealousy. “I couldn’t believe we’d lost it, and couldn’t accept the fact that our dreams had collapse. Neither could Kevin, so we withdrew from each other.”

Kathy nodded as if to show that she was following all of that garbage. “But for nine months?” She looked at Kevin as if for him to answer that, so he spoke up; gone was his smiling, confident persona from before, replaced by something quieter, duller. “Perhaps it was inevitable. We made Exy the center of our lives, Kathy. We showed you our best, but we didn’t show you the cost it required of us. Juggling three teams, university classes and public pressure slowly wore us down, but we refused to admit it. We refused to admit that we had any limits.”

Kathy nodded again. “I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of stress and pressure you were under. It must have put a strain on your friendship.”

“We are human, sometimes,” Riko admitted in what was a humble tone for him. “And therefore, we can’t help but have our differences, hmm, Kevin?” He gave his former teammate a small smile.

“No family is perfect,” Kevin agreed in that quiet voice as he refused to look at Riko.

“I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that it was nerve-wracking when both of you disappeared. All we knew was that both of you had gone skiing to celebrate the end of the semester, and then neither of you were seen out in public for a month. What was one to think?” Kathy made an exaggerated expression as she leaned back in her chair. “And then for Coach Wymack to make his announcement, only for our worst fears to be realized.”

“The worst was having everything and losing it,” Riko said as he cast a pitying look Kevin’s way; Neil started at that, but Riko patted his thigh again, his fingers clenching for a second in a clear warning. “We signed with Court last year, which meant the only dream we had left to achieve was to play together with Court at the summer Olympics. We knew it was coming, that it was just a matter of time before our lifetime’s worth of effort and sacrifice was about to pay off.” He once again cast that awful look Kevin’s way, while Kevin’s shoulders hunched forward. “Then Kevin broke his hand,” he lied without any difficulty. Neil didn’t know what was worse, that everyone bought the bullshit or that Kevin had to sit there and take it.

“Everything changed,” Kevin whispered, as if forgetting that he spoke in front of an audience. “It was easier to just walk away.” Then he seemed to remember where he was. “Unwise,” he said as he glanced at Riko,” but easier.”

“Heartbreaking,” Kathy said, and when Kevin didn’t respond, she seemed to finally get a good look at him and realize that this wasn’t a happy reunion and Kevin was barely holding it together. “But look at him now,” she said to Riko, seeming to have forgotten about Neil at all, “Isn’t it amazing how far he’s come this year?”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Riko said in a condescending tone, “but I’m saying that as his brother, as his best friend.” Neil made a slight gagging sound, quickly muffled as more pain shot through his leg. “After seeing him last night… I’m well aware about how he’s given to wishful thinking and obsession, and worry about how that might drive him to injure himself again. Will he be able to recover a second time?” He sounded so very concerned that Neil wished that he had one of Andrew’s knives just then to drive it into the lying bastard’s side, to twist an actual knife into him the way he was twisting an emotional one in Kevin at the moment. The only reason Riko had come there that day was to hurt Kevin, to try to put him in his place and probably to threaten Neil as well, and Neil had had enough – Riko had played these sadistic games with him and Kevin for too long.

“I thought friends were supposed to cheer each other on,” Neil said before Kathy could speak. “Believing in him now is the least you could do after abandoning him last winter.”

A couple of people of people in the audience booed at him upon hearing their ‘king’ being slandered, while Matt and Dan whooped as if attempting to balance it out, and Riko… oh, Riko wasn’t pleased at all. He turned the slightest bit toward Neil, a look of mild surprise on his face as his hand once more settled on Neil’s thigh, strong fingers digging in hard enough to leave a bruise.

“Ah, forgive my manners,” Kathy said. “We’ve been ignoring you, Neil, haven’t we?”

Riko shifted a little more to better face Neil. “I know you see Kevin as a mentor of sorts, but you’ve only known him for how long? Mine and Kevin’s relationship is unique, and I don’t expect you to be able to so easily understand it, especially by trying to compare it to yours and his.” He shot Neil a clear warning look along with another painful grip.

“Was unique,” Neil insisted as he refused to show any sign of pain. “Was. I’m pretty sure your relationship died when he couldn’t keep up with your team anymore.” As long as Riko was focused on him, he would leave Kevin alone.

Riko’s mask began to crack as he stared at Neil. “Kevin chose to leave Edgar Allen.” There was a hint of heat in his voice. “We mourned his absence but were glad to hear that he had found a coaching position.”

“But you’re not happy that he’s playing again,” Neil pushed, jaw slightly clenched because of the pain. “Isn’t that why you transferred districts? You don’t think Kevin should be on the court again so you’ll cut him off at the pass.” Riko shifted a little more on the couch, his hand sliding down until it rested on Neil’s knee while Neil spoke “You want to-“ He drew in breath as Riko’s fingers dug in around his kneecap in an obvious warning that this time - they would do more than bruise if Neil didn’t watch what he said. “You want to face him on the court, and you’re bringing in the best team in the division against him in hopes of beating him, in rubbing in his face what he lost,” Neil finished, refusing to back down entirely.

Riko smiled at him, the expression hungry. “Oh, there’s that lovely fire. Still haven’t learned to watch what you say yet, have you?”

“I can’t,” Neil admitted. “I have a bit of an attitude problem.”

“A bit?” Riko’s fingers dug around Neil’s kneecap while he gave Neil a displeased smile. “I thought we were working on that.”

Neil gave him a wan smile in return as he bit his tongue to keep from crying out.

Once again attempting to regain control of her show, Kathy spoke up as if to keep things moving in the right direction. “Neil raises a valid point there – the district change is an unprecedented move, and a rather surprising one for Edgar Allen. We’ve yet to get a satisfactory reason from either Coach Moriyama or the Exy Roles and Regulations committee… but I don’t believe I’m alone in thinking that you transferred because of Kevin.”

The flash of fire in Neil’s knee promised that there would more following soon, yet Riko turned enough to smile at Kathy. “Kevin plays a small role only in our decision,” he admitted, “and not for the reason that this dear child claims. It wasn’t a decision made lightly on our part, and one we’ve faced an unfair amount of criticism over. Either we’re told we’re transferring to keep our ranking secure or that we’re doing it to have an unfair advantage.” He gave Kathy a mocking grin after stating that, while Neil struggled to control his temper, to not say anything as long as Riko threatened to damage his knee, while Kevin sat there quiet and almost broken. “Everyone knows that we’re the nation’s best team, while the southeaster district is… well, to put it politely, it’s… subpar. Its best team relies on brute strength and the rest….” He looked over at Kevin and shook his head. “We’re hoping that by joining the district, we can inspire them to become more.”

Kathy looked as if she was eating up every word. “You want to do for the south what Kevin is doing for the Foxes.”

“Yes, but it will be much easier if Kevin plays along,” Riko said. “We even extended assistance to him by loaning him Neil for the season.” Neil’s heart raced upon hearing that, on one of his worst fears being spoken aloud, so much so that he didn’t pull his leg away in time when Riko released his knee long enough to give it what seemed to be a friendly pat.

“How so?”

“Kevin cannot and will not play for us again,” Riko insisted. “He knows this, it’s why he didn’t return to us this past spring.” Once again, Riko ‘favored’ Kevin with a pitying look. “Our affection for him doesn’t forgive his new inadequacies on the court, and he respects the Ravens too much to drag us down with him. But that doesn’t mean that Evermore isn’t his home. His work with the Foxes this spring proved that we can find a place for him on our staff. We’d like him to return to us as one of our coaches – you could say that we’re giving him Neil as a special project to further both of their skills.” Neil struggled not to squirm in his seat from both the pain in his leg and the need to call out Riko as a liar just then.

Now Kathy’s expression was adoring as she turned from Riko back to Kevin. “Isn’t that so thoughtful? Sounds like you have a difficult choice in front of you, Kevin. I have to admit both ideas fascinate me. As much as I love watching the Foxes improve, it breaks my heart to see you away from Edgar Allen.”

Kevin just shook his head, his lips pressed together in a thin line as he refused to say anything.

Once more pushed too far, Neil reached out to grab Riko’s hand, smiling all the while to make it look as if he was just returning the ‘friendly’ gesture. “You honestly wouldn’t have him go back, would you?” he asked Riko. “I can’t believe it. It’s better for you both for him to go out on his own.”

“Hush, this has nothing to do with you,” Riko told him in a patronizing manner while he twisted his hand away from Neil’s leg to snatch at Neil’s fingers.

“Don’t be so selfish,” Neil continued, and ignored the pleading look Kevin sent him. “If Kevin’s dream has always been to be the best on the court, what right do you have to take that away from him? Why ask him to settle for less? The Foxes are giving him a chance to play, not to sit the game out on the sidelines and coach.”

“Palmetto State is a waste of his talents,” Riko insisted as he ground Neil’s fingers together. “And yours.”

Neil gritted through the pain. “Not as much as Edgar Allen was.” There was a nervous reaction out in the audience, followed by the sound of laughter, but Neil didn’t dare shift his focus from Riko to see who it was. “The Ravens are ranked first, but so what? It’s easier to maintain that position than to start over from the bottom, which is what Kevin’s doing right now. He’s facing off against all new schools and doing it while playing with his less dominant hand. And when he masters it? He’ll be better than the Ravens could ever have made him – and he’ll do it with only nine of us behind him.” Neil gave Riko a hint of his father’s smile just then. “That’s a lot less than the Ravens have, and less than the other teams we face. Last night we played Breckenridge and they had twenty-seven on their roster. They can burn through as many players as they want, and even then they barely won.”

Riko gave Neil a condescending smile. “That barely matters when the Foxes are the laughing stock of the NCAA. They’re a team with no concept of teamwork. You’ll see the difference in a year’s time.” Meanwhile, his nails dug into Neil’s hands like dull knives.

Neil was growing annoyed at that threat being thrown in his face. “You’ll have to hope you won’t see it when you face us in October.”

Riko turned that smile in Kevin’s direction. “You might want to start teaching this one the proper amount of respect he should show to his betters. Spirit is good, but he is still our junior even if he bears a number.” Riko reached out to touch Neil’s face with his left hand, which caused Neil to flinch.

Taking advantage of Neil’s silence, Riko pressed on. “Defending one’s current team is admirable, but there are limits before one comes across as arrogant. Everyone knows that the only reason Palmetto qualified for this division is because of their coach.”

“Funny,” Neil remarked in as dry as a tone as he could manage with the grip Riko had on his hand, currently hidden between their bodies from the audience and the cameras, “I’m pretty sure that’s how Edgar Allen qualified, too.”

“We’ve earned our prestige a thousand times over,” Riko said with a hint of a bite to his smooth voice while his nails dug into Neil’s flesh it was getting more and more difficult for Neil to mask the pain. “Someone as new to the division as you should learn to keep their opinions to themselves.”

“I’ll have to disagree this once.” Neil could see Kevin sending him a frantic look out of the corner of his eye and continued to ignore it. “For so long, you and Kevin have played in each other’s shadows, have always been a pair. Now you’ll be facing off as rivals for the first time, and people will finally know which one of you is better.” He forced a smile on his face as he gestured at Riko’s left cheek with his free hand. “They’ll see who deserves that tattoo, won’t they? And then they’ll see if he’s been told to sit out because of his health. Are you worried yet?”

“I’m not worried at all,” Riko insisted as he squeezed hard enough that Neil lost feeling in his fingertips. “I know Kevin, know what he’s capable of. I’ll win.”

This time Neil gave Riko the full force of the smile he learned from his father. “We’ll see, won’t we? I hope you don’t regret those words.”

Riko stared at him for a few seconds and then gave him an icy smile in return. “I hope you bring all of that spirit to the Ravens when your time with Kevin is up – it’ll be… invigorating.” He stroked his thumb along Neil’s wrist while he spoke, the nail digging in to draw blood.

“That sounds like a challenge,” Kathy cut in, once again trying to take over the interview. “There’s seven weeks until the match between the Ravens and the Foxes, and I know that I for one will be counting down the seconds. There’s so much to look forward to this year, but one question can’t wait – orange or black, Kevin? What color is your future? It seems that Neil’s has been settled.”

Riko’s nails dug in to Neil’s hand once more when he started at the question, and Kevin was quick to speak up as if to cut Neil off. “I already said it.” For the first time since Riko had appeared, there was a real sense of conviction to his voice. “I would like to stay at Palmetto as long as they’re willing to have me.” Yet he still didn’t commit entirely, damn him.

However, the Foxes cheered in support of him, making it clear where they stood with Kevin, and the audience was quick to join in. Riko gave a polite smile at their reaction, but his short nails continued to dig into Neil’s hands, his fingers to squeeze Neil’s bones together, and there was a palpable tension up on the stage. Kathy looked out over the excited audience and smiled until the end of the Exy segment, a few seconds later. As the lights cut out over the stage, indicating the start of the break, she covered the microphone on her collar and turned that smile on them. “You boys made my day.”

Neil almost gasped in relief as Riko finally let go of his poor hand as they all stood up to leave the stage. “Keep the clothes,” Kathy told them. “There’s refreshments in the back, and there’s seats up front if you want to watch the rest of the show.”

“Thank you.” Kevin somehow summoned up a polite grin for the woman, while Neil just concentrated on getting off of it as quickly as possible; a quick glance toward the audience showed Wymack slicing his hand across his throat and then jerking his thumb over his shoulder in a clear sign that he wanted the two of them out of there immediately.

However, when Neil glanced back to make sure that Kevin was following him, he found Kevin still standing on the stage, so he got between the moron and Riko and began to push, uncaring of what it looked like – now was not the time for Kevin to freeze up. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he hunched his shoulders and hoped that they could get outside before Riko started something. Surely there would be too many people around for the asshole to cause a scene? Someone who would want an autograph?

When no one intervened to distract the man, Neil finally turned, unwilling to have Riko at his back any longer. Unfortunately, Riko moved at the same time to catch Neil by the shoulder and threw him hard against the nearest wall. Stunned by the sudden attack, Neil went rigid and stared up at Riko, who kept him pinned with those strong fingers digging into his shoulders with enough pressure to leave even more bruises. The older teen stood too close to be pushed or kicked away and stared down at him with a look of pure possession as if Neil was nothing but a simple item, a belonging… and Riko wanted to break him more than anything.

“You haven’t been teaching him his proper place, Kevin,” Riko said in Japanese. “He still has too much will.”

Standing off to the side as if looking out for witnesses, Kevin flinched before he answered in the same language. “But… you saw him last night, how he played. He has potential.” It sounded like a weak excuse to Neil.

“Potential.” Riko slammed Neil with enough force against the wall that Neil bit back on a groan when sparks of light swam in front of his eyes as a result of his head hitting the hard surface. “I’ll worry about his potential once he knows his place, which is on his knees at my feet.”

Kevin shook his head at that and looked away, while Neil bared his teeth at the asshole. “That’s never going to happen,” he spat out in Japanese as well.

“Oh, but it is.” Riko slammed him against the wall again; Neil attempted to struggle, but Riko was bigger and stronger and obviously used to doing this to people; he shifted one hand up to Neil’s neck in a chokehold. “I’m going to break you until you won’t even dream of getting off of your knees without my permission.”

“Riko – not here.” There was a rare note of pleading in Kevin’s voice just then. “Stop – you can’t do that here!”

Riko loosened his hold on Neil’s neck as he turned to look at Kevin. “Do not think to tell me what to do! Do you want me to break your other hand?” Kevin flinched at the threat, his left hand lifting to cradle his right.

Neil had enough of the sadistic bastard; he reached up with his bruised, bleeding right hand and grabbed onto the front of Riko’s black shirt – to do what, he didn’t know, but he refused to allow the asshole to threaten Kevin anymore. “Stop it.”

That definitely pissed off Riko, and Neil couldn’t breathe for the fingers digging into his neck once more; as he attempted to kick the asshole away, Kevin swore and grabbed at Riko’s shoulder, but that just made the asshole elbow him in the face with the arm that had been holding Neil against the wall. It wasn’t much, but Riko shifted back enough for Neil to bring up his right knee to nail the bastard in the upper thigh with enough force to make Riko curse and loosen his grip. Somewhere off in the background, there was the sound of someone crying out in pain, which also served to distract Riko.

Used to being beaten, to people grabbing him and hurting him, Neil didn’t hesitate to yank on the asshole’s pinky until Riko cried out and let go; he didn’t think he broke it or anything, but it had to hurt enough that Neil was able to slip free from the wall, sputtering for air and barely able to keep on his feet as he retreated as far as he could go- until he stumbled back into something solid.

“Am I interrupting something?”

The sound of Andrew’s voice speaking English was almost a shock to Neil just then, so out of place after the last couple of minutes, that he froze in surprise and didn’t react when he felt hands grab onto his upper arms and steady him. Then he realized that those hands were safe, that they were Andrew’s and so relaxed, allowed Andrew to steer him away from the edge of the stage before someone saw them.

“It’s been a while, Riko.” Andrew sounded almost pleasant just then, but judging from the wary expression on Riko’s face… Neil took as deep a breath as his sore throat could manage and hoped that there wasn’t bloodshed in the next few minutes.

“And so the mutt joins the discussion.” Riko’s expression became surly as he shook his right hand as if it pained him. “How unfortunate.” While he talked, Kevin began to skirt around him, hand held to his nose as if to stem blood or something, and joined Andrew and Neil.

“Unfortunate for whom, exactly?” Andrew’s fingers tightened on Neil’s arms for a moment. “I don’t recall giving you permission to play with my things, let alone to play rough.”

What could only be considered extreme displease came over Riko’s face. “That’s just it, they’re *not* your things. They’re-“

“Do I need to call your big brother to settle this matter?” Neil flinched at the open hatred that twisted Riko’s face at the mention of Ichiro. “Because I believe he’s under the impression that Neil’s not yours.”

“Last I checked, you weren’t a Moriyama, *Doe*,” Riko spat out while several large figured dressed in black approached him from out of the shadows; Neil was beginning to understand what had happened to all of the stage crew and aides, and why Riko was still alive.

“No, but you know what they say about the right of possession and all that.” Andrew’s arms came up to wrap around Neil’s chest. “And since he’s in my possession… well, I get to take him home with me. Oh, and Kevin, too. Have fun going back to Charleston all by yourself.” Andrew’s right hand, the knuckles reddened, waved goodbye a couple of times before Neil found himself being tugged away. “Oh, and Riko? Try something like this again and those bodyguards won’t be enough to save you.” The fake pleasantness was gone from Andrew’s voice then, leaving it utterly flat; Neil looked up at his boyfriend and found him staring back at Riko with an almost inhuman expression.

Neil didn’t bother to look back at Riko just then, not when Kevin’s pale, panicked face was enough to verify for him that it was better to just allow Andrew to pull him toward the nearest exit. Neil had figured that the whole interview thing was going to be a big, huge mess – he should have gone with ‘cluster fuck’ instead. It was bad enough that he’d agreed to an interview that would be televised, that his father’s people could watch and possibly recognize him, but then Kathy Ferdinand had to go and invite Riko fucking Moriyama onto the show.

Somehow, he knew he was going to be blamed for everything.

They were about halfway down the hall which lead to the exit for the parking lot when the Foxes caught up with them; Abby was the first one to reach them and grabbed Kevin to give him a hug. He held on to her as if she was a lifeline of some sort, his face buried in her hair.

Wymack came up to Andrew and Neil, a furious expression on his face. “Are you fucking stupid or what? You would have been safer back in Palmetto after all, with the way you ran-“ Then he seemed to get a good look at Neil’s throat, which hurt like hell, and the too-flat expression on Andrew’s face.

“Leave him alone, David,” Abby ordered as she pushed Kevin back enough so she could check his nose.

“Dammit.” Wymack rubbed at his eyes for a moment. “When I said that Abby and I would look after you today, I didn’t mean that meant you could pick a fight with Riko Moriyama on national television!”

“Maybe you should have been a bit more explicit on that before you let Kevin drag him onto live tv,” Andrew drawled as he seemed to notice Neil’s bruised and bloody right hand, his lips pressed into a thin line as his fingers skimmed over the imprints of Riko’s nails.

“Well, Coach may say you’re stupid, but I think you have balls of steel for standing up to Riko like that!” Matt was far enough down the hall that Neil didn’t think he was able to catch a good sight of what was going on. “I didn’t think you had that in you, you’re usually so quiet.”

“Andrew wouldn’t go for the quiet type,” Renee insisted as she slipped past everyone to come over to Neil and Andrew; in her hands was a bottle of water and some napkins, which she handed to Andrew. Neil didn’t know how she had figured out that he needed them, he just gave her a slight nod in thanks regardless.

“True,” Matt agreed with a laugh.

“Come on, time to get the hell out of here before something even more fucked up happens,” Wymack said as he motioned them toward the door. “I’m going to drop your asses off at the dorm and then spend the rest of the day drinking until I pass out – damage control can wait until tomorrow.”

“Hell yes,” Kevin agreed with a hoarse voice, so Neil assumed that their coach wouldn’t be the only drunk individual that afternoon.

As soon as they were settled on the bus, Andrew and Abby tended to Neil’s abused hand; there wasn’t that much they could do for his throat, other than give him some cool water to drink and a couple of icepacks; he was resigned to wearing some high collar shirts for the next few days, as well as some very long sleeves. The damage was at least mostly cosmetic if a bit painful – at least the physical stuff. What bothered him was that Riko had implied repeatedly on national television that Neil was only a temporary Fox, that the Ravens had ‘loaned’ him to Palmetto and the time would come when he would return to Edgar Allen.

Sitting in the last seat next to Andrew with a cooling icepack held against his throat, he closed his eyes and slumped down enough so he could rest his head against his boyfriend’s broad, warm shoulder. “287%,” Andrew informed him in French.

“How come?” Neil’s voice came out raspy, thanks to Riko’s abuse.

“You even have to ask?” Andrew’s right arm curled around Neil’s back and shoulder to reach up to tug on a lock of his hair. “Not only did you feed the fucking monster, but you did it on television.”

Neil sighed but kept his eyes closed. “He was tearing into Kevin.”

“So you decided to give him another target instead? I believe we’ve talked about this martyr bullshit of yours before – 291%.” Not only did the truth raise the damn percentage, but it earned him another yank to his poor head.

“You know he would have just gotten to me eventually, he didn’t come down here to play nice,” Neil pointed out as he blindly swatted at Andrew’s hand.

Andrew was quiet for a moment, and then his fingers came back to comb through Neil’s hair. “Maybe, but he might not have attempted to choke the shit out of you. Though I can understand the impulse at times.”

“Thanks,” Neil murmured. “And thank you for not killing him.” He’d been terrified for a moment back there, at Andrew and Riko being so close to each other.

“Well, it helped that I got to beat the shit out of one of his thugs so I could get to you, but I know how pissy you get on the topic of armed bodyguards and all.”

Neil attempted to drive his elbow into the bastard’s ribs, but Andrew blocked him in time. “It’s not ‘being pissy’, it’s being rational.”

“Says the man who taunted a member of an international crime family on television and before an audience. Oh yes, speak to me some more about this ‘rationality’, by all means.”

“Go to hell,” Neil informed the sarcastic bastard as he dropped the icepack in Andrew’s lap.

“I’m already there – I’m stuck on a bus with your whiny ass and this pathetic team.” Still, Andrew’s fingers continued to massage Neil’s scalp and he only lightly smacked Neil in the face with the icepack. “But you can make it up to me by playing up your injuries when we get back to campus and seeing if Abby won’t give you some good pain meds.”

“Whatever.” Neil made himself more comfortable against the grouch and allowed the feel of Andrew’s fingers along with the warmth soaking into him lull him asleep.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> So yeah, some of it is Nora's, but I'm trying to rework what I can or at least give it from a different perspective. 
> 
> I think you know what comes in the next chapter. I was really hoping to get to the fall banquet next chapter as well... but damn, the one scene is getting so long and I really want to get to Katelyn at some point, too. That might have to wait until the following chapter.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for the comments and the kudos, they are truly appreciated!  
> *******


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I curse myself with each chapter. I need to stop with the 'longest' chapter because the next one comes along and.... yeah.
> 
> Anyway, this one is long. 
> 
> And OMFG, I didn't realize I'd hit over 300k w/ this fic already....  
> *******

*******

The bus ride back to Palmetto was a quiet affair, with Renee, Dan and Matt agreeing that it would be best to stick to campus that weekend in light of the whole interview fiasco and Riko and… well, Riko. They didn’t know the whole truth about the Moriyamas – well, Matt and Dan didn’t - but they knew enough about Riko Moriyama to figure out that he had a temper and that the Ravens fans wouldn’t be pleased that Neil had basically called him on the shitty way he’d treated Kevin over the winter and insinuated that he’d been happy that Kevin’s injury had ended, for the time being, the issue of Kevin being the better player. That the Ravens had changed districts in an effort to beat down the Foxes before Kevin could prove that Riko didn’t deserve the title of the best striker in the league and that ‘1’ on his cheek.

Dammit, Andrew had let Neil go along with Kevin’s harebrained scheme for one fucking morning and look at how much shit got stirred up as a result. Never again. That was why he wanted his idiot within reach at all times, so he could clamp down on Neil when he started firing off that fool mouth of his – oh sure, Neil seemed all quiet on the surface, but once you got him all riled up, watch out. These morons needed to learn that.

Nicky leaned over the back of the seat in front of Andrew and looked down at Neil, who was still fast asleep, probably crashed out from the adrenalin drop and stress over dealing with Riko. “We sticking around tonight?” Nicky asked in German, his voice pitched low so as to not wake up the idiot.

“Hell no,” Andrew told him. “Don’t think there’s enough alcohol in the dorm to appease Kevin.” The coward was still up by Abby, even though she’d assured him that his nose wasn’t broken over an hour ago.

“Okay.” Nicky shifted his gaze from Neil to Andrew. “So, sorta surprised that you walked out of there without leaving a body behind.”

Andrew gave him a cold smile. “It was close.” In more ways that Nicky realized; that one bodyguard wouldn’t get back on his feet any time soon, and Andrew hoped that Riko got the message – it could so very easily have been *him*. As much as Andrew had so wanted to lunge forward, to sink one of his blades into Riko’s neck… it had been more important to get Neil and Kevin out of there first. And he wasn’t stupid, he knew that Riko didn’t go anywhere without armed guards only too willing to take the shot before Andrew would ever get close. No, he had to wait until Riko made the mistake, until Riko’s ego and pride allowed him within striking distance – it would happen eventually, because Riko? Riko was all about pride and ego.

They finally reached the campus, and between Neil crashing so hard and waking up in evident pain with a hoarse voice, Abby took pity on the idiot and called in a few meds for him to get him through the rest of the weekend without Neil having to do more than blink a few times in that dazed way of his.

“Not bad, Josten,” Andrew said as he helped his boyfriend off of the bus; Neil’s left leg was bothering him for some reason Andrew was certain was not going to make him very happy.

“I don’t – you know what? Never mind.” Neil sighed when he noticed the dirty look Wymack was giving him. “Hi, Coach.”

“Don’t you ‘hi’ me,” Wymack snapped. “I don’t want to hear from you or about you until Monday, all right? No more trouble, do you think you can manage that?” When all Neil did was give him a blank look in return, Wymack turned the glare on Andrew. “Do you think – you know what, I’m officially insane to even contemplate asking you to keep him out of trouble. That’s it, I’m done, do not even think to bother me for the rest of the day because I’m going to be incoherent in about half an hour.”

“Lucky man,” Kevin murmured as he came over to Andrew and Neil.

“Don’t you start, you’re as bad as them.” Wymack waved them away as he left, appearing fed up with everything.

“Make Andrew share his ice cream for once,” Abby urged Neil as she gave him a quick hug. “And don’t drink too much,” she chided Kevin before leaving as well.

“Don’t even think about it,” Andrew warned once she was out of earshot.

“I think I’ve pressed my luck enough for once day,” Neil told him with a slight smile as they made their way up to their suite, the smile faltering once they hit the stairwell. Too bad, maybe climbing all those steps with a sore leg would teach him to keep his mouth shut.

Aaron took one look at Neil once they arrived and shook his head. “Okay, so what did I miss?”

“Oh, just Kevin making Neil take part of the interview, and Kathy springing Riko on the both of them,” Nicky announced with false cheer while Kevin went straight to the kitchen in search of alcohol. “It was great!” Then his smile faltered. “Well, if you like watching train wrecks, that is.”

Aaron seemed to take that all in, then looked at Andrew, who was searching through the cabinets himself to see if they’d packed any of the tea that the limey prick had sent to Neil. “You’re not in jail? Did you hide the body that well?”

“The asshole brought security, go figure.” There was a box of the herbal stuff Nicky liked now and then, so he grabbed that and heated a mug of water in the microwave. “It gets better, Neil called the asshole out on his shit while they recorded the show.”

“Well, that would explain why it looks as if someone tried to throttle him – was it Riko or you?”

“Riko was closer,” Andrew explained as he put the teabag in the mug, then began to dig through the cupboards again for some honey; damn thing was tucked into the back, but there it was. After squeezing some into the mug, he took it over to Neil, who was sitting on the couch with a sullen expression on his face. “I don’t want to hear it, I would have throttled you for the shit you pulled today. You know he’s going to come back ten times worse now.”

Neil’s expression faltered as he wrapped his hands around the mug, the right now sporting bandages, and he shook his head before he blew into the hot beverage. “You wouldn’t have let him tear down Kevin, either.” His voice came out rough and low.

True, but… Andrew reached out to give Neil’s forehead a slight flick. “Drink your damn tea,” he said, suddenly tired of everything.

Meanwhile, Kevin stumbled into the living area with a fifth of vodka clutched in his right hand. “He’s gotta be furious right now, Riko.” He rubbed his left hand over his bruised face then shook his head. “Furious. Enough so to do something about it, maybe right away.”

“Yeah, we figured that out,” Nicky remarked as he curled up on one of the bean bags. “I mean, usually he’s such a lovable fellow.”

“He’s telling people that Neil’s still a Raven, that Neil will be a Raven next year.” Kevin gave Neil a look of abject pity. “He’s going to make that come true after what you did to him today.”

“Not going to happen,” Andrew snapped, “he also said that you’re washed up and good for nothing more than being one of their assistant coaches. You want that to happen, too?”

Kevin shook his head again as he lifted the vodka to his lips.

“Then grow a fucking spine and stop giving him so much control over you, him and his uncle. ‘If the Foxes *let* me stay’, you said. *Would like to stay*. You’re on this pathetic team already, no one’s going to make you go other than yourself,” Andrew told the coward. “Man up and man up soon, because Riko is going to keep coming after you and the less weaknesses you give him, the better.”

Kevin’s face crumpled as he lowered the bottle. “But he’s always been stronger-“

“He’s been nothing that you haven’t allowed him to be,” Andrew shouted as he got up from the couch. “Get that through your damn head before I punch it into you!” He charged past a cowering Kevin to go into the bedroom, desperate to do something, to hit something because of the rage inside of him. Once inside the room, he looked around for something to destroy, to break, and let out another yell when he couldn’t find anything. He threw one of the pillows from his bed onto the floor and then went across the room to the windows, and was pulling back his fist when something latched onto his arm.

He spun around, other hand raising to knock the person aside when he caught sight of Neil.

“Don’t,” Neil rasped out, his blue eyes wide as he did his best to pull Andrew’s hand down; Andrew was stronger, so Neil was using both of his hands to keep Andrew from punching the window. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

“Why not? You self-destruct all the time.” Still, Andrew felt some of the anger fade as he turned his back to the window. “Look what you did to yourself this morning.”

Neil winced at that. “Yeah, but you tried to stop me.”

More like Andrew had tried to gut Riko on the middle of the stage, but Renee and the others had prevented him from doing that. “For all the good it did.”

“You got there when it mattered,” Neil said. “You always do.”

But the damage had been done, hadn’t it? Kevin was right in that Riko had scored points today, and would be out for blood for Neil’s defiance. But… but Andrew refused to live in fear of the retribution, and it looked as if Neil did, too. All they could do was be on their guard and continue to move forward, to refuse to allow Riko to affect them anymore than he already did. “Come on, some of us didn’t get much sleep because of a certain coward and then an idiot using them as a pillow.” He twisted his hand in Neil’s hold – mindful of Neil’s bandaged right hand – to lead his boyfriend over to their bed.

Neil bent over to pick up the pillow and then stripped down to his underwear while Andrew went to close the bedroom door. He felt a new rush of rage when he spied the darkening bruises on Neil’s shoulders and along Neil’s left thigh, felt something potent and burning and destructive inside of him once again at the thought of Riko’s hands touching his boyfriend, let alone hard enough to hurt like that. Neil seemed to realize that something was wrong because he paused in turning down the bed and turned toward Andrew, his face smoothing out as he reached for Andrew to pull him in close for a slow kiss. Andrew shivered a little as he broke apart, still furious with Riko, but he pushed down the anger as he tugged off his clothes as well, and the two of them got beneath the covers so they could rest before heading out that night. If they ended up tucked up together more to the one side of the bed… well, it had been a hell of a morning, and Neil owed Andrew an hour or two of his shoulder, after that bus ride.

Kevin hadn’t sobered up by the time they got ready to leave for Columbia, but at least he wasn’t too bad off that he had problems getting dressed and out the door. Neil didn’t argue about the outfit Nicky had ran out to pick up for him, probably figuring that he had pushed his luck far enough that day, and accepted the fact that it was a pair of low slung skinny jeans, a tight-fitting t-shirt whose cuffs extended past the wrists and had holes for Neil’s thumbs to slip into, hiding most of the bandage on his right hand… and a black collar to cover the now dark fingermarks on Neil’s throat.

“Thank me later,” Nicky told Andrew as he handed over the last item. Andrew scowled at him for his audacity – until he put the thing on a distinctly uncomfortable Neil’s neck and stepped back to take it all in.

“Hmm, this has possibilities.” He cocked his head to the side to better appreciate the aesthetics of the look.

“You should get a leash to go along with it, might have a better chance of keeping him under control that way,” Aaron offered as he shoved his phone into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Not practical in a crowded place like the club, but maybe for later,” Andrew said as he hooked the forefinger of his right hand into the front of Neil’s shirt and dragged him toward the door.

“I told you that you’d thank me,” a smug Nicky said as he followed them.

“Please tell me that Abby gave me some good drugs,” Neil mumbled into his hands, what could be seen of his face a bright red.

Nicky grinned as he tapped the pocket on his fitted shirt. “She did, but they’re already spoken for, sorry!”

It was by then that they’d made it out into the hallway, and as Aaron turned around to lock the door, Andrew realized that they had company out there; it looked as if Gordon and Reynolds were heading out for the night as well, with several of Gordon’s loser friends. Reynolds was all dressed up as usual, but Gordon wore a rock band t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, pockets of which Reynolds was digging through while he called out to his friends. As she went through each pocket, she pulled out a lighter and a stick of gum, then frowned when there was nothing else.

“I’m not stupid, you know,” Gordon complained.

Yes, he was, but Andrew kept his mouth shut for once as he pulled Neil in closer and gave one of the losers a flat stare when they spent a little too long eyeing Neil up and down.

“Oh, you’re *those* two,” the guy said before holding up his hands and shaking his head.

Before Andrew could inquire what exactly ‘that’ meant, Matt stepped into the doorway of Reynolds’ and Dan’s suite, with Dan right beside him. He seemed relieved to see Neil. “Hey, so you’re still alive.” Then he seemed to notice that Neil and the rest of them were dressed for a night out. “Wait, you’re going out, too?”

“Yeah, to Columbia,” Nicky said while he scowled at Reynolds. “Don’t tell me you’re headed off campus tonight?”

“Don’t see why not, if your merry group of monsters aren’t interested in being good and staying out of trouble,” she told him with a heavy dose of sarcasm as the group walked away.

Andrew sent a loaded look Dan’s way; he didn’t care one way or another what those two did, but he would have thought that the good captain would take better care of her team than that – or that Renee would be after her to do so, especially since Andrew had sent Renee a text warning her about Riko. All Dan did was meet his eyes and give a slight shrug. “We’re watching movies and having pizza and drinks for those who want to stay in,” she offered.

“Yeah, Renee’s picking up some soft drinks for those who don’t want the hard stuff,” Matt said while he smiled at Neil.

“He’s taken care of for the night,” Andrew insisted as he hooked an arm around Neil’s upper chest. “Come on.”

He handled the driving that evening, and after stopping by Sweeties’ for ice cream and crackers (Nicky and Andrew made sure Neil ate all of his dessert for once), they managed to get to Eden’s Twilight a couple of hours before it stopped serving drinks. By then Kevin seemed desperate to get as many in him as possible, to wipe from his mind what had happened earlier in the day.

As for Neil, he shook his head when Andrew went to the bar to grab some drinks, pressed against Andrew’s chest because of the crowd of people. “Nothing but water or soda tonight,” he insisted, his voice still scratchy.

Andrew rested his chin on Neil’s shoulder, his arm around his boyfriend’s waist as he waited for Roland to notice them. “All right.” He wasn’t too surprised, not after what had happened earlier; he imagined that Neil didn’t want to give up control, to lose focus after dealing with Riko face to face. Neil’s body relaxed, just a little, after hearing that.

Despite Kevin becoming so wasted that he could barely stand on his own, with Nicky and Aaron not much better what with pounding down so many drinks in a short amount of time, Andrew rationed his own and only had two packets of crackers so that he was able to get everyone home, as well as unwilling to let his guard down just in case Riko hadn’t returned to West Virginia. 

Neil was talking to him about where they could go tomorrow for a late breakfast when he pulled into the driveway of the house, and they had just gotten out of the car when Aaron’s phone began to ring. It took a few rings before Aaron managed to get it out of his pocket, and he grimaced when he saw who was calling. “What do you want this late, Coach?” He stumbled onto the porch and leaned against the railing while Neil unlocked the door, Andrew stuck with getting Kevin out of the car. “What? What was that?” Aaron’s annoyed expression turned into one of shock. “You’re lying, I don’t believe you.”

As Andrew came up onto the porch with a nearly unconscious Kevin, Aaron shoved the phone, Wymack’s tinny voice coming through the speaker, at him. “You- talk to him,” Aaron said as he shook his head and stumbled back.

Something told Andrew that this wasn’t about an extra practice session the next day, so he pushed Kevin in his twin’s direction as he took the phone. “What do you want?”

“Andrew?”

“Yeah, what do you want?” he repeated. “This better not be you calling to tuck Day into bed or something.”

“Seth overdosed, you jackass,” Wymack snapped. “I’m calling to make sure the five of you are all right.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed at the news as he entered the house; Aaron had managed to get Kevin onto the couch before collapsing into one of the chairs, while Neil and Nicky hovered around the door. “What do you mean, overdosed? How?”

“I don’t know, they just found him in on the floor in the bathroom at Bacchus a couple of hours ago,” Wymack explained.

Nicky shook his head upon overhearing that. “Again? Does the stupid bastard never learn?”

“Not this time,” Andrew remarked as he walked past him. “He’s dead.”

It took a second for Nicky to understand that. “What? Wait, really?” He actually grabbed onto Andrew’s arm and gave him a shake, until Andrew shook him off. Meanwhile, Wymack was telling him to get everyone back to campus, ASAP.

“Nope, not happening. I’ll call you when we’re back.” Then he hung up on the man and tossed the phone back to Aaron.

“Who overdosed?” Neil asked as he followed Andrew into the kitchen.

“Gordon. Seems someone found him in the bathroom of Bacchus, probably where he drowned in his own puke.” Andrew huffed at that. “Which is ironic, because it’s exactly how I warned him he was going to end up, not that he ever listened to me.” Too bad there wasn’t an existing bet on that.

Neil’s blue eyes went wide upon hearing that, and he took to tugging on his bangs. “Wait, Gordon is dead?”

“Try to keep up,” Andrew said in a mocking tone as he reached out to give a gentle tug to the large ‘D’ ring on the front of the collar around Neil’s neck. “Yes, our dear Seth Gordon, beloved by all, has passed on to a better world.”

“That’s a bit much,” Nicky mumbled.

“But…” Neil made as if to bat Andrew’s hand aside and curled his partially covered fingers around Andrew’s wrist instead, the fabric of the black shirt warm and soft around Andrew’s skin. “I thought he might be on something, his behavior was always so erratic.”

“He was supposed to have gotten it out of his system years ago, but it didn’t really take,” Andrew explained. He watched as Neil seemed to think about something, his boyfriend’s teeth worrying at that full bottom lip. “Though he didn’t usually abuse the hard stuff anymore.”

“Reynolds… she was checking him for something earlier tonight.”

Andrew gave the ring another gentle tug. “Yep. Probably wanted to make sure that he wasn’t sneaking anything for when they went out. He liked to mix stuff, drugs and alcohol.” He gave a sardonic smile at that.

“But then how…” Neil’s eyes went wide again and his fingers tightened around Andrew’s wrist for a moment. “Why didn’t Nicky want them to go out?”

Ah, someone finally got it, didn’t they? “Did you really think that Riko wouldn’t do anything after today? That his ego could handle a blow like that, and on national television at that?”

Behind them, Nicky made a low, groaning sound.

“It was me who insulted him,” Neil said as he shook his head, voice even raspier now. “He always takes it out on me.”

“Not always.” Andrew made a point to look behind him, at a grim-faced Nicky. “Not if there’s an easier target in reach… and Gordon? Oh yes, definitely easy, he was.” So many weaknesses, that one.

“Okay, just when I think this guy can’t get any creepier, he does,” Nicky said as he staggered out of the room.

Meanwhile, Neil was still shaking his head. “He couldn’t have, it just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” Andrew let go of the collar so he could grab onto Neil’s chin. “Riko loves the big statements – think of the presents he sent, what he did to Kevin’s hand, your charming tattoo,” he stroked his fingers along the bandage covering Neil’s left cheek, “and him going so far as to make the Ravens change districts. Think back to this morning. What’s it to him to make some junkie, second-rate striker overdose in some filthy bathroom?”

Neil’s breathing began to speed up, so Andrew tightened his hold. “Don’t, don’t do that. Just accept it. Accept that it’s your fault, just as much as it’s Kevin’s for coming here of all places to lick his wounds, just as much as it’s mine for keeping Riko from getting what he wants.” He leaned in until their foreheads were touching. “And that’s only if you want to forget that in the end, it’s really Riko’s fault, because he’s the one who made the call. Do you understand?”

“All right.” The words were muffled a little because of Andrew’s hand around Neil’s chin, but they were audible enough so Andrew let go. “What do we do now?” Neil’s hands came up to press against Andrew’s chest, not to push him away but as if he was seeking something solid, something definite just then.

“Nothing.” As for Andrew, his fingers slid into Neil’s tousled hair and clenched slightly. “Most of us are too drunk and I’m not in the mood for hysterics. It can wait until morning.” He forced his fingers to straighten then combed them through Neil’s curls before pulling away.

Neil followed him out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Kevin was still passed out on the couch; Andrew told Aaron and Nicky that they were staying the night but would leave in the morning to return to campus, and both just nodded before staggering their way up to their own rooms.

He and Neil got ready for bed after that, Neil grimacing a little when he removed the collar. He then reached into his jeans for his phone and stilled when he glanced at the screen after turning it on. “It must have come through when we were in the club.”

Andrew didn’t even look at it, he just threw it on the dresser. “Not now.” He wasn’t going to let Riko interfere anymore at the moment. “We already know what he’s done.”

“Yeah.” Neil stripped down and then went to stretch out on his side of the bed, and rolled over onto his side when Andrew joined him there. “I just… I don’t understand what he was trying to prove with this. Why he went after Gordon.”

Andrew was quiet for a moment as he pulled Neil closer to him until they were spooned together, his arm draped across Neil’s waist and secure in the knowledge that for now, at least, what was important to him was safe. There were times when he didn’t understand how someone who had grown up in the same world as Riko could be so oblivious about things, could misinterpret Riko’s actions so badly or just… just not fucking understand. Then he realized that Neil was used to his father’s blunt style, was used to brutal attacks and outright abuse, not the fucked up games that Riko played.

Neil didn’t seem to realize that Riko was driving home the point that he could use others against Neil – Neil, who was used to taking the pain and abuse all on himself. He was showing that he could creep into the safe world Neil was building, could creep in anywhere and hurt Neil by hurting those around him. That was the message Riko had sent tonight. Oh, Gordon wasn’t anyone special to Neil, but that wasn’t the point. Consider a test run of sorts, picking a convenient target no one would suspect. The time would come when Riko made his real move, issued the main threat… and Neil would know he could do it, because of Gordon.

Andrew should have taken the asshole out tonight, damn the witnesses, damn the security. Ah, but what did they say about hindsight and all that?

What he said to Neil, though, was nothing along those lines. “He’s fucked up, you don’t predict what someone fucked up will do. So don’t think about it and just go to sleep. Tired of hearing you croak.”

Neil huffed a little and hugged Andrew’s arm tighter around him before he let out a slow breath, and soon enough he was asleep. It took a little longer for Andrew, though, as he thought about Riko and Gordon and threats about Neil becoming a Raven in the end.

*******

Neil sighed as he stared at the chemistry book in front of him and willed the words to make sense; he was in the library, taking advantage of the ‘free’ time since Wymack had cancelled practice until Wednesday because of Seth Gordon’s death. Well, because of Gordon’s death and the fact that Andrew had gotten into a fight with Matt Boyd yesterday soon after they had returned to the dorm; Andrew had congratulated the backliner on managing to have a suite all to himself and told him it should make having Dan over a lot easier now that he’d lost the loser roommate.

Yeah, that hadn’t gone down well. Neil hadn’t cared for Gordon, not after the way that the man had insulted first Nicky and then Andrew and Neil because of their sexuality, and Andrew had been right when he said that the team was better off with Gordon gone. But still… no need to say it out loud, especially to the dead man’s upset roommate.

It had taken Neil and Renee to break up the fight; Matt knew how to fight and had the longer reach, but Andrew was vicious and determined and strong, so it hadn’t been a one-two punch thing. Both were sporting some impressive bruises by the time Wymack showed up at the dorm to yell at them, and it had been decided that the upperclassmen would stay at Abby’s for the next few days.

So that left Neil with unexpected free time, a surly boyfriend, a phone he didn’t want to look at because of Riko’s texts alternating between smug and psychotic, and homework that needed to be done. Neil found himself playing with the bandage on his cheek and forced his hand off of it before he peeled the thing off.

“Hey, think you can help me?”

Neil looked up to find a tall guy who looked like he might be an upperclassman standing by the table where Neil was studying smiling at him; the guy had short, dark brown hair and brown eyes, and dressed in jeans with a printed t-shirt. “Uhm, me?” Neil’s voice was still a bit raspy, though his throat no longer hurt.

“Yeah, you.” The guy smiled at him and took a step closer. “I’m trying to figure out where the philosophy section is and I was hoping you could help me find it.”

Why was the guy asking him? Neil was new to the university and he wasn’t part of the library staff – there was a help desk at the end of the floor. Before he could point that out, the guy held out his hand. “My name is Jason, and I thought-“

“There you are!” Nicky was loud enough that some of the other students around Neil looked over and frowned, but he just grinned and dropped his messenger bag onto the table while eyeing up ‘Jason’. “I was all over the first floor before I decided to come up here. And who the hell are you?”

“He’s looking for the philosophy section,” Neil explained. “Do you know where it is?”

For some reason, Nicky’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the guy. “Huh, really?” He took to leaning over Neil, his hands on Neil’s shoulders. “No clue, sweetie.”

“Oh, sorry to bother you.” Jason frowned and walked away while Neil tried to figure out why Nicky was acting so weird.

“Can you get off of me? And what’s up with ‘sweetie’? I thought you didn’t know the guy?”

Nicky gave him an incredulous stare for a few seconds as he pulled away and sat down in the chair next to Neil. “You really have no clue what that was about, do you?”

“I suspect a transfer student being unfamiliar with the library, right?” Neil stared back until Nicky shook his head. “Uhm, okay, whatever.” He sighed and toyed with the high neck of the sleeveless hoodie he’d borrowed from Andrew to help cover his bruised neck. “Can you at least help me with this Chemistry homework?”

“I think I better, before you find someone else willing to do that,” Nicky muttered for some reason.

Neil didn’t give much thought to things until later that night, after he’d taken a shower and decided to finish studying in his bed since Nicky was playing a game, and Aaron and Kevin were studying at their desks. Andrew came to join him soon enough, his back against the wall and stretched out along the bottom of the bed. They probably spent about half an hour going over their own homework before Andrew said anything. “No more going to the library by yourself.”

“Huh?” The statement came so out of nowhere that it took a moment for Neil to realize that Andrew had been speaking to him. “What about the library?”

“You’re not to go there by yourself,” Andrew repeated while he continued to read a book on forensics. “From now on, make sure Nicky or Aaron is with you, whatever, just don’t go by yourself.”

Neil set aside the essay he was writing for Japanese so he could stare at the… nothing was coming to him just then, despite four languages and fragments of others. “It’s the library. I’ve been going by myself for years now, what do you expect to happen, other than me getting some studying in?”

The way that Andrew’s expression went from mild to nothing was *not* a good sign. “It’s a very large building with lots of hiding places and people not paying attention to what’s going on around them, so you won’t go by yourself after you deliberately antagonized a very powerful person the other day.”

“That’s just-“ Neil jerked his hand through his hair and let out a harsh breath. “Fine.” He bit back on the comment about if he was still allowed to go the store by himself when he noticed how tightly Andrew was gripping his book just then. “All right,” he said and slumped back against the pillows. So this was just part of the fallout from the whole Riko thing, and probably because of Gordon. It would be a pain in the ass, but he’d just… he’d work around it. Would help if Andrew didn’t have something against libraries, just like he did with what seemed half of everything else, but considering that the upperclassmen were still at Abby’s and there’d been Gordon’s funeral that day… he’d manage.

So with that in mind, he headed to the library on Tuesday after having lunch with Andrew when he knew that Aaron would be there, figuring he’d find the teen and stay however long Aaron was there while working on something for his history class. It took some time to find to find him in the large building – Neil almost texted him, but didn’t want Aaron to tell him to go away – and tracked him down on the second floor. “Hey, how long are you here?” he asked as he set his bag on the table. “I need to get some stuff for a class and Andrew doesn’t want me here alone for some reason,” he started to explain while Aaron looked up at him with something resembling panic.

“What? Why are you-“

“I found it! Someone put it out of order on the shelf,” a pretty girl with smooth, pale brown skin and long dark hair came over to the table and handed Aaron a book; she looked familiar to Neil, but he didn’t know her name or anything. “Oh hi, Neil.”

“Uhm.” And she knew him, apparently.

“She’s Katelyn, one of the Vixens,” Aaron snapped as he shoved his chair back and grabbed Neil by the arm. “We need to talk,” he said as he dragged Neil away, toward an empty row of bookshelves. “I can’t believe you don’t know her, she’s been at the games.”

“Well, there’s just been the one this season and Andrew didn’t want me at any of them last season,” Neil argued. And he really didn’t pay attention to that stuff, just what was going on the court. “So… you and her?” He pulled his arm out of Aaron’s grip and studied his friend, at the way Aaron was trying to hide his emotions; he wasn’t anywhere near as good at it as Andrew. “Renee said that you’re friends with the Vixens.” Neil thought he knew why, now.

“It’s not-“ Aaron rubbed at his face as if he was trying to put together his thoughts. “She’s here for a nurse practitioner degree, okay? We have similar classes, and then throw in the Exy stuff… she’s great.” There was a hint of a smile on his face just then, which faded. “But then there’s Andrew, and you know what he’s done to anyone who’s gotten close to me.” Aaron’s expression hardened. “He’s got you, but he chases away any girl who’s tried to go out with me.”

Neil shook his head. “As much as I understand it, he’s run off anyone he doesn’t approve of.” He wasn’t an expert on the deal between the two twins, but that was what he gathered from the little Andrew had told him – that Andrew had found something wrong with those girls and hadn’t wanted them to use Aaron in some way, hadn’t wanted them to develop into another Tilda.

“Yeah, well, Katelyn’s not like them,” Aaron insisted, and then he looked at Neil with something akin to desperation. “So can you just like, lie to him about this? Tell him nothing’s going on?”

Neil felt terrible when he shook his head. “No.”

Anger twisted Aaron’s face. “Dammit, why not? He’s got you, why can’t you just-“

Neil held up his hand. “It’s *our* deal, him and me. He’s there for me, he keeps-“ Neil shook his head again. “He’s there for me, and I don’t lie to him.” Then he let out a slow breath. “But that doesn’t mean I have to volunteer up information. As long as he doesn’t ask me about what’s going on, I won’t say anything,” he said with a wince; he hoped that this wasn’t going to come back and bite him on the ass.

Aaron’s shoulders slumped with what looked to be relief. “*Thank you*,” he breathed out. “That… it means a lot to me.”

“Just be careful, because he’s not going to be happy when he finds out you’re hiding something from him,” Neil warned. That they both were hiding something. “If you’re serious about her….”

“I am,” Aaron insisted.

“Then you’re going to have to do something about him.” Neil ran his hands through his hair before he shook his head. “Sneaking around isn’t enough.”

“I’ll figure something out,” Aaron muttered. “He can’t keep blocking people from me forever.”

How could two people be so closely related and not understand each other at all? “I wouldn’t let it get that far, but what do I know?” Neil pulled on a string of the sleeveless hoodie, another one of Andrew’s he’d borrowed since his throat still was too bruised from Riko’s assault. “If you don’t mind, just let me stick around long enough to grab some stuff and then I’ll leave you two alone.”

He got a couple of steps away before Aaron called out his name. “What?”

Aaron looked a bit bitter just then, as if what he was about to say pained him in some way. “What would you do, if you were me?”

Neil considered the question for a moment before he shook his head. “Don’t ask me that until you’re ready to do something.”

The angry expression returned. “What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” Neil held up his hands when Aaron stepped forward. “No, it’s not me being snide or anything, it’s exactly that. Andrew warned me before about getting involved when it comes to the two of you, so think about that, first. And second? If you really want him to accept her, you’re going to have to face a few things you might not find pleasant, and you’re going to have to deal with them *and* Andrew. So don’t come to me to do something about Andrew until you’re really, really certain you want to take that step.” Neil stared him down until Aaron looked away first.

“All right. Just… just don’t say anything for now,” Aaron mumbled.

“That I can do,” Neil promised, then went to get the things he needed for his class.

Wednesday brought about a return to practice, when all of the Foxes save Reynolds and Gordon would be together for the first time since the Breckenridge game. Neil felt anxious about the reunion and hoped that Andrew didn’t start a fight again, as well as not very hopeful about their chances of winning the game on Friday; they’d been the smallest team already in the NCAA Class I division going into the season, and that was before they lost Gordon. Now they had the bare minimum of players, and when he was desperate to prove himself to the Moriyamas, when the Foxes had to prove themselves a worthy team.

It didn’t help to see all of the black banners around the campus and at the stadium that had been hung since the past weekend to ‘honor’ Gordon, replacing the white in the white and orange of the Palmetto State colors. It made if feel as if October had come early, which only focused Neil’s mind on what was coming that month, reminded him of the approaching match with the Ravens. He was already hearing whispers of ‘Ravens’ following him everywhere, hearing ‘number four’ and getting marked stares at his left cheek all of the time, to the point where he wondered why he bothered with the damn bandage anymore. Everyone knew what was underneath it, thanks to Riko.

Nicky parked the Nissan at the stadium so the four of them – Nicky, Neil, Aaron and Kevin - could go to practice, since Andrew was with Betsy for his weekly session, and they paused at the outer door which was covered with pictures of Gordon and his friends, along with letters reminiscing about the dead striker. Aaron and Nicky appeared affected by the memorial, while Kevin was annoyed at the delay at getting into the lounge.

For himself, Neil couldn’t feel any personal remorse for Gordon, only for his role in bring Riko down on the Foxes. But in the end, he had to agree with Andrew – it was Riko’s decision to end the striker’s life.

They made their way down to the locker room, everyone quiet for once, past an empty lounge. While the others seated themselves on the chairs and Kevin on the couch, Neil went to investigate a little further since everything was so quiet, and came back to the lounge once he didn’t find anything out of place and verified that Wymack was in his office, with the door closed.

Neil had just sat down on the couch with Kevin when the door to Wymack’s office opened up, but before the man could get too far, the phone rang again and he went to answer it without closing the door again. From what Neil and the others could hear, he was arguing with someone about the size of the team, defending the fact that he was down to nine players and uncaring about it. He was still at it when the outer door to the lounge opened to herald the arrival of Dan, followed by Renee and Matt.

Matt glanced around as if looking for someone – most likely Andrew, and there was the sound of a phone slamming down followed by Wymack striding into the room. He checked as if to make sure that everyone was getting along before he waved his hand around the room. “Sit down, everyone, we need to talk.” He leaned against the entertainment center while they did that, his arms folded across his chest and his expression giving nothing away as he studied each of them in turn.

“Abby bothered to write me a speech that I’m supposed to give you this afternoon which sounds nice and everything, has all this stuff in it about loss and courage and coming together in the time of need. I waited until she left to tear it up and threw it away.”

He gave them a moment to take that in as he ran his right hand over his hair. “I’m not here to offer you kind words and pats on the back, and I doubt you’d really want that.” He glanced in the direction of the couch where Neil and the others sat when he said that. “Take that up with Abby or go talk with Betsy if I’m wrong. My job is to be your coach no matter what, to keep you moving and get you back on the court whether you’re ready or not. Maybe that makes me the bad guy, but it’s what we have to live with.”

Wymack looked at the empty chairs where Gordon and Reynolds had been sitting for last couple of months, and Neil wondered how difficult this had been for him, who had picked Gordon as one of his starting players. Who, out of all of them, only had Gordon to make it to the fifth season after all of the mistakes made, the learning curves along the way. Only had Gordon come to the point when it looked like being a Fox was going to finally pay off.

Wymack cleared his throat as he scrubbed a hand through his short, unruly hair. “Look, all of you know well by now that shit happens and it’s going to keep happening. I’m the last person who needs to tell you that life’s not fair, because you already know that by now. It’s in part why you’re here. Life’s never cared about what we want out of it, and I picked all of you because you fight for everything you’ve ever gotten, for everything you’ve got. Well, Seth wanted us to win. He wanted us to make it past the fourth match. I think we owe it to him to do that. Let’s show the world what we’ve got and make this our year.”

Neil wasn’t too sure he believed that last bit, not with how much Gordon had mocked the team, with how much he’d put down the Foxes, but Neil wasn’t going to start another fight just then. He was just grateful that Andrew wasn’t there to hear the speech and dispute everything.

Instead, it was Dan who spoke up first. “We’ve lost enough, don’t you think? It’s time to win.”

Now that was something Neil could rally behind.

“Let’s take it all the way to the finals,” Matt agreed as he laced his fingers through hers and smiled as he squeezed their hands together.

“Words don’t mean anything to me,” Wymack said as he stood up. “Prove them to me on my court that you have that it takes to make it to the championships. I want you on the court in light gear in five minutes or I’ll sign you all up for a marathon.”

Even though the old threat was lacking its usual menace, everyone hurried to get ready just the same; Neil gathered his change of clothes and slipped into a bathroom stall to change, delayed a little by his thoughts on if the Foxes were serious about trying to win.

Matt and Kevin surprised him by waiting for him when he slipped out of the bathroom. He gave them an odd look for their presence then nodded. “All the way to the finals?”

“Hey, miracles happen,” Matt told him.

“Don’t rely on something as pathetic and insubstantial as miracles,” Kevin said with a disgusted look on his face. “You won’t win anything by standing around so finish getting ready and get down to the court.”

Matt looked ready to punch the striker for his bad attitude. “One day I want you to look up ‘insensitivity’ in the dictionary. Maybe it’ll do your ego wonders to see your picture there beneath it.”

Neil slipped between the two of them, despite the impressive height difference, since he knew that Andrew would *not* be happy about a fight breaking out when he was absent. “No, he’s right,” he told Matt as he began to push Kevin toward the locker room. “We’re down a striker now so Kevin and I are all you’ve got. We need to practice as much as we can, since I’ve been pretty much benched as a sub so far this season.”

Matt gave Kevin a mocking grin. “I think he’s implying that you need help right now.”

“No, he’s saying that we need to figure out how to make up for the lack of talent in the rest of you pathetic lot,” Kevin shot back. “I don’t see anyone else here bearing a number.”

“Not helping,” Neil gritted out as he shoved a little harder. Oh, Andrew so owed him for this.

Still, he supposed he should be grateful for the fact that Kevin was reacting so well after the mess with Riko on Saturday, was so confident in his own skills after Riko attempting to tear him down. Neil knew that Kevin tended to only see how far he’d fallen from his days as a Raven, how far he still had to go as a right-handed player when everyone else was amazed at how much he’d regained. While it could be annoying as hell, dealing with the older teen’s ego, it was better than dealing with a broken Kevin.

They had just finished the warm-up laps and interval runs when Andrew showed up from his appointment with Betsy; Neil switched his gaze over to Dan and Matt to see how those two would react to his boyfriend’s presence, but Dan returned back to her stretches after glancing at Andrew while Matt’s expression tightened after he spotted him. As for Andrew, he ignored the upperclassmen in favor of greeting Renee, who had smiled at him and called out ‘hello’.

“Hi Renee,” Andrew said to her. “Are you returning back to the dorms yet?”

“Tonight,” she told him. “We packed Matt’s truck this morning.”

Neil didn’t understand the concept of needing so many things for just three nights and shook his head; Andrew caught the motion and gave him a slight smile before he went off to the locker room to change, while Nicky came over to stretch beside Neil. As if Renee talking to Andrew had been a signal of some sort, Nicky gave Dan a nervous grin. “So… how’s everyone doing?”

Dan eyed him as if uncertain about something, then spoke in a careful, bland manner. “We’re doing all right, some of us better than others,” she told him. Neil noted that she didn’t ask the question in return, probably because she knew better and didn’t want a reminder about how none of the ‘monsters’ didn’t really care about Gordon.

Nicky stretched his legs for about a minute before he spoke again. “And Allison?”

This time Dan sighed before she answered. “Do you really want to know?”

Matt added on, “do you even care?” Neil thought that was a bit much, because if there was anyone in their group who would, it was Nicky.

“Matt,” Renee chided with a slight frown, before she turned to Nicky. “As expected, she’s having a hard time but we’re ensuring that she’s never alone. She still won’t talk to Betsy, but I think she’ll open up soon.”

“Yeah, Nicky agreed, but his voice was very quiet as if he was thinking about something.

While they were talking, Wymack came up behind them and then waved at them. “The two of you just volunteered to do more laps around the court – I don’t pay for the electricity on this place so you can stand around and gossip.” He then turned to glare at everyone else. “I want the rest of you to finish up here and get more water, and as soon as Andrew’s ready we’re suiting up for drills. We’ve got-“ There was the sound of his phone ringing down the hall. “Dammit, those leeches are driving me insane. I’m going to need a secretary with all of this shit.”

Neil watched as he hurried into his office, and was close enough to hear him when he answered it, voice tempered to be more civil as he spoke to the person on the other end. “Coach Wymack, Palmetto State University. What? Can you say that again? Hold on a moment.” Wymack stepped back into the hall while holding onto the phone and went to the men’s locker room to kick the door open. “Andrew Joseph Minyard, what for fuck’s sake have you done this time?” Neil jumped as his boyfriend’s full name was shouted out in evident anger.

Andrew’s response was instantaneous. “It wasn’t me, honest! It was the one-armed man!”

“Get out here!”

Andrew appeared a few seconds later dressed in his uniform and with a blank expression on his face, his eyes darting between Neil and Wymack, only to settle on their coach when Wymack pointed the phone at him. “The police are calling about you, so tell me now what the hell you did before I hear about it from them.”

“It wasn’t me.” Andrew’s jaw tightened for a moment. “Ask my doppelganger.”

Wymack’s scowl deepened before he turned off the mute button on the phone then put it back up to his ear. “What seems to be the problem, Officer... Higgins, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, Andrew said as his expression went into that terrible flat one, “No, Coach.” Meanwhile, Neil frowned – had he heard that name before?

Wymack waved Andrew silent, which was a mistake; it put his arm in Andrew’s reach, and Andrew grabbed his wrist so he could wrench the phone free. Wymack managed to snatch at Andrew’s jersey before Andrew could run away, but Andrew didn’t attempt to break free the same time Neil stepped forward in case his boyfriend needed any assistance.

Wymack glanced over at Neil, a displeased look on his face, then down at Andrew who was staring at the phone as if it might possibly bite him. “Don’t make him wait all day – you want to talk, talk.”

Andrew turned around a little, still not enough to break free but so he could see both Neil and Aaron, then threw his free hand up in the air before he held the phone to his right ear. “Pig Higgins, is that you?” The derision in his voice just then was enough to make Neil flinch. “Oh, it is. Yes, I’m surprised. Did you forget that I don’t like surprises? What? Oh no, don’t stall, you wouldn’t bother to hunt me down after all this time just to chat, so what the hell do you want?” Andrew went quiet after that, while Aaron came over to stand beside Neil. Both of them were intent on Andrew, while the rest of the locker room shifted about in the uncomfortable silence. Finally Andrew snapped out one more word, his voice tight with suppressed emotion. “No.” Then he hung up.

Neil went to step forward then, but he barely moved when the phone rang again; around him the Foxes made no pretense in staring openly at Andrew as if to see what he would do next. Matt even came closer to sit on one of the benches when Wymack didn’t yell at everyone to get back to stretching, and Andrew yanked at his jersey until Wymack let go. Andrew then took several steps away before he answered the phone, his left hand cupped over his ear as if to block out any background noise.

“What,” he snapped, as if he had no doubt who was calling again. “Why no, I didn’t hang up on you. Why would I do that?” He listened for a moment then sighed. “I – no. Shut up,” he hissed, his tone vicious before he hung up a second time.

Whoever this Higgins was, he was persistent because he called again. Andrew let the phone ring until right before it would have gone into voice mail before he answered it with a loud sigh. “Talk to me,” he said that time, his voice utterly flat, and was silent as Higgins must have done just that. Neil watched on as Andrew’s patience wore thin, his expression still flat but his right foot tapping against the concrete floor; about halfway through it he looked away from Aaron and Neil to stare up at the ceiling instead, that awful dead look in his eyes.

“Go back,” he said after a long pause. “Who complained? Oh, Pig, don’t give me the runaround like that. I know where you work, remember, and with whom. That means there’s a child in her house.” Upon hearing that, Neil sucked in a deep breath and remembered that awful talk back in the yard in Columbia the one evening, Andrew telling him about a police officer and Cass Drake. “She isn’t supposed to – what? No, don’t ask me that,” Andrew snapped, voice once again dangerous. “I said *don’t*. Now leave me alone.” There was another pause, and a slight smile crept over Andrew’s face as he looked down at Neil. “Call me again and I’ll kill you, do you understand?” With the threat uttered, he hung up the phone. Neil wasn’t surprised when there were no more calls; Andrew stared at it for a moment and then let out a slight huff.

Nicky came up to the other side of Neil. “Uhm, is something funny?” No one else seemed to want to say anything just then, not after hearing Andrew offer to kill someone.

“Oh nothing,” Andrew assured his cousin. “No worries.” He threw the phone at Wymack as he once more looked at Neil.

Wymack caught it with a gingerness that revealed his unease at the moment. “What have you done now?”

Neil glared at the man while he came over to stand by Andrew, while his boyfriend just sighed and shook his head. “Why do you think this is my fault?” He waited until Neil came to a stop and then tugged Neil closer so he could then hook his right arm over Neil’s shoulder, then rested his chin on his forearm. Wymack didn’t seem pleased just then, as if reminded that whatever involved one of them meant that it usually involved the other.

“I hope that’s a rhetorical question, because an Oakland PD just called you. Why is that so?”

Aaron flinched upon hearing that, his gaze narrowed as he stared at both Neil and Andrew.

“The pig and I go way back,” Andrew said as he waved aside the question as if it wasn’t important. “He just wanted to catch up, talk about old times, things like that.”

“You lie to my face one more time, and we’re going to have problems,” Wymack said through gritted teeth.

“Oh Coach, it touches my heart to hear you say that you think we *don’t* have problems already.” Andrew leaned a little of his weight against Neil. “But seriously, that was mostly the truth. He worked with the Oakland PAL program, had all these thoughts of delusion about saving the at-risk kids by teaching them sports after school. Remind of you someone?” Out of the corner of his eye, Neil could see Andrew giving Wymack a mocking grin. “Idealistic to his idiotic core.”

“You left Oakland three years ago,” Wymack pointed out.

“Yes, and it just means *so* much to me that he still remembers me, you can’t possibly imagine.” Andrew’s tone was so dry just then that Neil winced to hear it. “Now then, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He ran his hand along Neil’s shoulders as he spoke, pausing a second to give the back of his neck a quick squeeze, before he stepped away.

He got about two steps before Wymack put out a hand to stop him. “Wait, where are you going?”

Andrew sighed as if tired. “Did you not hear me? I said I’ll see you tomorrow so I’m leaving.”

“I don’t think so, we’ve barely started practicing and we’ve a game on Friday,” Dan said as she got up off a bench as if to add the weight of her authority to Wymack’s. As if that would do any good.

Andrew just scoffed at the reminder of the game. “Right, you have Joan of Exy over there.” He gestured toward Renee, who watched over everything with a slight smile on her face. “Make do without me for today.”

“Cut the shit,” Wymack ground out. “What’s really going on here?”

Andrew was quiet for a moment, and then he pressed the back of his right hand to his forehead in a dramatic manner. “Hmm, I feel a bit warm, might be coming down with something.” He gave a couple of blatantly false coughs for added effect. “Best leave before I infect your team… there’s a good chance that Neil might already have it.” He looked over his shoulder at Neil, who sighed and gave a fake cough as well, even though it made Wymack, Dan and even Kevin glare at him for siding with Andrew. “There’s so few of them left, you know,” Andrew said with evident satisfaction when he resumed looking at Wymack. “You can’t stand to lose anyone else right now.”

“Knock it off,” Kevin barked as he glared at the two of them. “You can’t leave, either of you.”

Andrew didn’t respond at first, and then he looked over at Kevin with a small, cruel grin on his lips. “I can’t, Kevin? Do you really want to see what I can or can’t do? Try to make me go out on your court today and I’ll take myself off of it permanently.” Neil started at that and moved forward to stand at Andrew’s back, uneasy about the threat. “Fuck you and fuck your practice, your line-up and your stupid game.”

“That’s enough, we don’t have time for your stupid tantrums,” Kevin said, his face flushed with anger and too full of pride to understand just how far he was pushing Andrew just then.

Before Andrew could do anything, Neil held out his arms to block Andrew in, but was careful not to touch him; it forced Andrew to remain still long enough for him to say something. “Let this go,” he told Kevin in French. “I agreed to give you my game, I went on that damn tv show for you.” Risking that he had both Andrew’s and Kevin’s attention at that point, he shifted enough so Kevin could see him from behind his boyfriend and tugged down the high neck of his undershirt enough to reveal the still healing bruises – the *fingermarks* left on his neck. “I got between you and Riko, because I knew Andrew was there. So I’m telling you now, let him leave. Let him leave now or we’re both gone. I don’t care what it costs.”

Kevin stared at Neil for several seconds before he threw his hands up in the air in disgust. “Then you practice all day to make up for him.”

“Agreed,” Neil said in English as he dropped his other arm; when that happened, Andrew spun away without saying a word.

It may have been cleared with Kevin, but Wymack still appeared intent on keeping Andrew around and once more grabbed at his jersey. It looked as if it took a great deal of Andrew’s restraint to avoid punching the man just then. “Cough, cough, Coach,” he told the man. “I’m leaving now.”

This time it was Aaron who argued for him. “Coach, just let him go. Please.”

Wymack glanced around the room, at the fake smile on Andrew’s face, the pleading look on Aaron’s and the blank look on Neil’s as he once more came over to stand at Andrew’s back. The man sighed as he dropped his hand. “You and I are going to have a very long talk later, Andrew.” He glanced at Neil as he said that, as if to make sure that Neil knew that he wasn’t off the hook, either.

“Sure,” Andrew agreed, his fake smile going up a notch as a clear indicator of how he didn’t plan to do any talking at any point in time. Then he was out the door with a speed that left Neil impressed.

“All right,” Nicky said after a few seconds of silence. “What the hell did I miss?”

“Very good question.” Wymack rounded on Aaron and Neil. “Answers, now.”

Aaron held up his hands and shook his head. “I don’t know, Coach.”

That left Neil, and all he did was shake his head as well. “Sorry, no clue,” he lied.

Wymack didn’t seem to buy that. “My ass you don’t, you two are as thick as thieves.”

Neil just shrugged as he went to collect his gear. “Nope, sorry. He did have a life before I met him, you know.”

“Why don’t you call back that officer, Higgins, if you want to know so much,” Aaron offered. “Call him back or take it up with Andrew if you want answers so much. He was Andrew’s mentor, not mine. I only met the guy once.”

“He obviously left an impression if you still remember him,” Dan remarked as she motioned for everyone else to get ready for practice.

“Oh!” Nicky seemed to remember something, which made Neil glare at him. Unfortunately, Nicky didn’t seem to notice. “Is he the guy-?”

“Yeah, he’s the one who told me that I had a brother.” Aaron didn’t sound too happy about that fact.

“Wait, so how did you find out about Aaron?” Matt asked.

Neil opened the nearest locker and slammed it shut. “I thought we had to practice for the game on Friday, right?” He glared at everyone, but especially Aaron and Nicky. “Let’s get on that, shall we?”

“Sheesh, okay, Kevin Junior,” Matt muttered.

“Don’t ever call me that,” Neil told him, hands clenched in fists and expression furious. “*Ever*.” He struggled to get his emotions under control, already upset about Andrew, and did not need a reminder of his father just then.

Matt stared at him in surprise while Nicky attempted to reach out to him, but Neil just grabbed the rest of his gear and fled out to the court, done with dealing with everyone just then.

*******

Andrew was sitting out on the curb in front of the dorm waiting for Renee to return from practice, the blades she had given him for ‘safe keeping’ tucked into the back of his jeans and beneath his black t-shirt. He had managed to get a small grip on his temper… but just barely, and it would be so much better once she arrived so he could punch it out.

After all this time, all this distance, just hearing Pig Higgins’ voice, hearing him talk about Cass Spears…. Dammit. *Dammit*. He didn’t even want to think about it because it just made everything worse.

Finally, Nicky pulled up in in the Nissan, and Andrew sat cross-legged as he watched his cousin and Aaron approach. “Hey, you good?”

“You ask such strange questions,” he told the idiot.

“I’m concerned,” Nicky admitted. “Earlier today-“

“Where’s Neil and Kevin?” Andrew asked, refusing to listen to any more drivel.

Aaron came up to him. “They stayed behind, something about extra practice. Neil said he’d call when it was time to pick them up.”

So, Kevin was holding Neil to that ‘practice all day’ bullshit, and knowing Neil, the martyr would go through with it. Andrew frowned, but right about then, Matt’s monster truck pulled into the parking lot.

“Finally, it’s about time.” Andrew shoved Nicky out of the way as he stood up. He had to wait for Matt to find a space large enough to park the monstrosity – really, did he have compensation issues, was that why he had such an unwieldy thing?

Andrew waited impatiently until Renee was close enough to raise his hand and greet her. “Renee, you made it! Greet, I’m going to borrow you, you don’t mind, right?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer before he got up and started walking toward her. “Great, I knew you wouldn’t.”

She nodded anyway. “Do I need anything?”

“I already got it.” He started walking across the parking lot, intending for them to go to a private lot where they could practice that evening. “So, Kevin and Neil,” he asked once they were out of the others’ earshot.

“Yes, from my understanding, Kevin intends to practice for the next several hours. Wymack was ordering out something for them to eat when we left.” She glanced aside at him for a moment. “Kevin seems determined to perfect certain things in time for the game on Friday, I think he believes the offense is lacking.”

So in other words, Kevin was going to work them both to exhaustion before the game, brilliant. Andrew would give the two idiots a couple of hours then go check on them. “Great.”

They walked a little farther in silence until they got closer to the abandoned parking lot behind the old anthropology building under renovation. “So, is everything all right?” Renee asked in a quiet voice.

“Just wonderful,” Andrew told her, unwilling to go into his past with Higgins and Cass; she might find something freeing in baring her soul, but not him.

“Okay.” Once they slipped past the pathetic chain fence barrier, he handed her the knives so she could slip them on. As soon as she was ready, they stepped apart, stared at each other… and the fight began.

Andrew let all of the rage and anger bubble up during it, and didn’t care about the bruises, the hits, the skin scraping against the concrete. They pounded on each other longer than usual that afternoon, perhaps Renee understanding that he needed that outlet, before Andrew managed to knock the knife out of her hand and pin her to the ground with a knife at her throat.

Renee stared up at him with a slight smile on her face. “Congratulations.”

Andrew stared at her for a moment before he let out a slow breath and stepped back. “Right.” He then stared at the knife in his hand before he slipped it back in the band; he noticed that the knees of his jeans were torn and that here was a rip along the front of his t-shirt.

Renee didn’t seem to be in much better condition, since she winced as she stood up and seemed to be favoring her right leg. “Is it better now?”

He paused to brush the gravel out of his left hand. “I don’t know if I would go that far, but… it’s not so bad.” He looked over at her. “Beating your face into the ground helps.”

“Always happy to be of service,” she told him with a smile. “Maybe you need to go save your boyfriend from Kevin to really feel better,” she offered as she handed over the knives.

He gave her a narrowed look for that, but she just continued to smile. “It was impressive, how he stood up for you today.”

That had been a bit surprising, Neil willing to forego his precious Exy to back up Andrew. Some of the anger still simmering inside of him cooled at the reminder of it, enough so that he helped Renee through the fence and walked back to the Fox Tower.

Once they got there, he dropped her at the front door. “You’re going to need some ice for that.”

“Hmm, most likely. Go let Neil fuss over you,” she chided as she waved him away.

Not quite what he intended, but he pulled the keys out of his back pocket and went over to the GS so he could return to the stadium. He made sure that Wymack’s car wasn’t there when he got there, then parked so he could go in using the code (the last four digits of Abby’s cell phone – really, why hadn’t those idiots settled the bet yet on if Wymack and Abby were dating) and copy of the keys that Wymack had given Neil for the stadium. He headed straight for the court, and speaking of idiots, found Neil chasing after balls that Kevin was throwing for him.

For a moment Andrew just watched Neil run along the court, his lean figure flying toward the away goal with a fleetness that was breathtaking. Neil caught the ball on the rebound and twisted about with a smooth move to fling it back at Kevin while shouting something in Japanese which caused Kevin to bark out a reply in the same language.

Whatever Kevin said made Neil laugh, and then he seemed to realize that Andrew was standing by the door watching because he held up his racquet as if waving a flag and then lowered it before tugging off his helmet. The light blue bandana he wore beneath it was soaked with sweat, his auburn hair darkened as well, gorgeous face flushed… and no bandage over the ‘4’ tattoo on his left cheek.

Neil kept smiling as he left the racquet and helmet out on the court and came jogging over to the door, which he opened so he could slip out to where Andrew was standing. “Hey, you came. Is it that late already?” He frowned when he caught a closer sight of Andrew. “Did you get in a fight?”

“Sparring with Renee,” Andrew explained as he reached out to brush his fingers along Neil’s left cheek. “How long are you and Kevin planning to be masochistic idiots tonight?”

Neil flushed a little more at the touch, his fingers following behind Andrew’s. “It was getting bothersome after a few hours, so I took it off after everyone else left,” he explained. “And I don’t know, I think he’s serious about the all day thing.” Neil grimaced as he caught at Andrew’s hand and turned it over; his right one still bore scabs and faint bruises from Riko’s abuse that weekend, but he seemed upset over Andrew’s reddened knuckles. “Who won?”

“I did,” Andrew told him with a slight, pleased smile.

“Ah.” Neil stroked his thumb over the back of Andrew’s fingers then let go. “Is… well, everything….” He sighed as he looked up at Andrew through those long lashes of his. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

That was Neil’s rather endearing and awkward way of asking if everything was all right, Andrew figured out. “Not at the moment,” which was his way of saying that he didn’t want to talk about it and that things were as fine as they could be, just then. Higgins hadn’t listened to him all those years ago, let the man figure out things on his own now; it was all right in front of him.

“How was practice?” he asked as he picked up a bottle of water from the bench. “Wymack give you any shit?”

Neil shrugged and snatched up a bottle as well. “He tried to get some answers from Aaron and me, but we told him we didn’t know anything.” A frown flickered across Neil’s face and then he shook his head. “Things got quiet after Aaron said that he just knew the cop from back when he found out about you, and that seemed to shut everyone up. Everyone concentrated on getting ready for the game and then – “ he motioned out to the court. “I think everyone’s hoping we can win, despite Gordon’s death and Reynolds’ not being back yet.”

Andrew knew that Neil would be anxious about it, especially after the shit Riko had pulled on Saturday. “Gordon was holding us back, I can’t see how we won’t get anything but better with him gone.”

“Hmm.” Neil took a long sip of water and had just lowered the bottle when Kevin came up to smack his racquet against the Plexiglas and spout something in Japanese, appearing rather disgruntled about something.

Andrew glared at him, while Neil shook his head. “I’m taking a break, dammit. Give me five minutes and I’ll be back out there,” he said in English.

Kevin continued to glare and said something else in Japanese, which was beginning to piss off Andrew. As for Neil, his expression turned mulish. “No, I said that *I* would practice with you today. Leave him out of this.”

Andrew summoned a fake smile as he punched the glass back, right near Kevin’s head. “It’s not polite to talk about people when they’re standing right in front of you, asshole.”

Kevin turned the glare on him. “Why are you here if you’re not going to practice?” he finally said in English. “Do you know how much time we wasted today because of your childish antics?”

Andrew’s smile turned into something that made Kevin flinch. “Don’t go there, not when Neil had to ice his hand on Sunday because of what Riko did to it, that and trying to hold a racquet for a few hours. Something that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t made him sit on that damn television show.”

Kevin found something of interest in his own racquet all of a sudden. “I didn’t know he was going to be there.”

“No, but you were grateful for Neil taking the abuse meant for you all the same. Shit happens, so don’t give me any for today,” Andrew snapped at the coward. “I told you not to try to force me out on the damn court today, and I meant it. I’m just here to make sure you don’t do something stupid like blow out your damn muscles from playing too long.”

“Fine,” Kevin said after a slight pause. “We’ll practice for another two hours then call it a night.” He sounded as if saying that caused him a physical pain. “But you need to get back out here now, Neil.”

Neil made a low, growling sound. “Sheesh, let me finish my water.” He swallowed the last third of the bottle then set it aside. “Throw the damn rebound balls at his head on Friday,” Neil told Andrew in German as he headed back out onto the court.

“If you persuade me nicely later,” Andrew said, not that he’d need much encouragement. Neil smiled while Kevin once more glared at Andrew. “What, don’t like how that feels?” Andrew taunted him. “I don’t want you pulling that Japanese shit on me again.”

“It’s good practice for him,” Kevin argued before spinning away so he could resume throwing balls around, while Andrew gritted his teeth. Neil had only picked up the language so he could know what the Moriyamas and their people were saying. Not so Kevin could bitch about Andrew to him. Someone was getting another cup of ice-cold water dumped on them in the morning.

*******

Neil faced the game on Friday with growing apprehension; they were playing Belmonte, which was a pretty good team, and they were doing it with the bare minimum of players allowed for an NCAA Class I Exy team and with one with questionable status as well, who had been out all week and who was emotionally unstable. Not to mention it was only Neil’s second university level game. Add to that the fact that Riko had been taunting him lately, reminding him of the fact that he needed the Foxes to win, to prove their worth to Ichiro if he wanted to stay with them… and it didn’t look very likely that it would happen.

Riko was looking forward to teaching Neil his proper place. To making him pay for Saturday. He was hoping that Neil didn’t break too soon and spoil the fun.

So yeah, Neil was more than a little anxious, despite Nicky’s attempts to distract him and Andrew’s efforts to calm him, and was ready to get to the stadium then head off for the away game so it was one less thing to have to worry about in his life. He was a little surprised when they pulled into the parking lot and found Reynolds’ distinctive Porsche already parked there.

“Hmm, so she made it. This should be interesting,” Andrew remarked as they got out of the GS.

“For you, perhaps,” Nicky remarked.

“Yes, for me, at the least.” Andrew reached out to grasp the back of Neil’s neck and pushed him forward, into the stadium.

Neil knew that Allison Reynolds came from an extremely rich family and that she’d given up a lot so she could live her own life. He knew her as someone who was brutally honest and unfettered by anyone’s opinions or concerns. Someone who did what she wanted, damn the consequences, yet could take the abuse and keep on going. So it was a bit of a shock to enter the lounge and see her sitting so… so meekly, appearance as immaculate and expensive as always, platinum blonde hair perfectly styled, make-up and nails on point even as she sat there quietly with her shoulders slumped and head hanging down. No expression flickered across her face as they entered, as if it didn’t register with her that they were even there.

Of course it was Nicky who tried to do something, who went over and crouched in front of her. Despite the fact that for as long as Neil had known Reynolds that that the two of them had traded insults, Nicky looked at her with concern and asked in a soft voice if there was anything they could do for her.

Neil flinched and waited to see if Andrew added something like ‘kill Riko for you’ or ‘bring back Gordon’, but for once, his boyfriend remained quiet. Judging from the slight twitch to Andrew’s lips, though, it was a close call.

Reynolds’ lips pressed together and she gave a slight shake of her head, so Nicky remained nearby as if to give her some sort of comfort while Neil felt uncomfortable about the whole situation. He just didn’t know what to do, either people were physically hurt in his experience and got up and went on, or they didn’t. This emotional stuff… you pushed it down and moved on. You didn’t let it slow you down, you didn’t give in to it because there was no time.

There was also the fact that… what did he say to Reynolds? ‘Sorry for bringing Riko into your life and getting your boyfriend killed, even if it was by accident’? Well, him and Kevin. It wasn’t the first time that someone had died because of Neil – his mother had left a trail of bodies behind them, and Neil had helped a few times in an effort to save his own life, but that’s just it, they were *left behind*. He didn’t know what to feel around Reynolds, or what she felt about him.

It was around then that Dan and Renee arrived, and they went right for Reynolds to provide comfort and assurance; Reynolds drinking it in while Dan stared out with an obvious fierce protection as she perched on the arm of Reynolds’ chair. Neil was more than happy to leave them to it, while Nicky backed away with some reluctance.

All of the Foxes were gathered in the lounge, it was just Wymack and Abby who were absent, which was odd since it was an away game and they needed to get on the road. Neil didn’t know if something had come up or if their coach was giving them a few minutes to reunite with Reynolds without having to focus on the game. That or for them to realize what they’d have to deal with, to factor in how fragile Reynolds still was while trying to cope with Gordon’s death. Neil went over to Andrew while combing his fingers through his hair, his thoughts once more on Riko and Ichiro and how they seemed headed into the season with two losses – at the least.

Wymack finally came out, his attention focused on Reynolds. “Go on ahead of us, Allison. Nicky will load your things.”

Nicky didn’t appear pleased to be volunteered like that, despite his earlier offer to Reynolds, but was wise enough to leave it at a grimace. Meanwhile, Reynolds shook off Dan’s embrace and left the lounge without saying anything to anyone. Once she was gone, Nicky decided to speak up.

“Seriously, is it a good idea to bring her along? She shouldn’t be here, not when she’s still like that.”

“We gave her a choice to sit it out,” Wymack informed him. “She wanted to play.”

“I wouldn’t have even asked her,” Nicky said as he looked at the door Reynolds had just walked through, a worried expression on his face. “Would have just left her behind and apologized later. It’s clear that she’s not ready.”

Beside Neil, Andrew let out a derisive laugh. “So little faith, Nicky. Don’t worry, she’ll be able to play.” He curled his arm around Neil’s waist in an unusual public display of affection to brush his hand along one of the scars along Neil’s abdomen for a moment; Neil thought he got what Andrew was implying by that. Sometimes you had to push through the pain so you didn’t give the bastards the satisfaction of going down in front of them.

Everyone stared at Andrew in surprise, at someone who obviously disliked Reynolds offering an unexpected show of support, especially when they didn’t know the second part of the message like Neil did. Andrew raised both hands in the air to shrug then pointed to Neil and Kevin. “Really, you should be more worried about these two lunatics with the way they’ve been pushing themselves the past couple of days.”

“That’s what I want to talk about,” Wymack said as he moved in front of the entertainment console. “Dan and I’ve spent the past week figuring out the best way to deal with our current striker line. You know I can’t get us a sub yet – most likely won’t, not this late in the season.” He sent an apologetic look Neil and Kevin’s way. “Kevin’s played full halves before, but not since last fall. I don’t think you’ve ever tried,” he said to Neil, who shook his head. No, there’d always been enough players on his team for people to sub out. “Neither one of you can play an entire game in the state you’re in now, so we’ll have to work you up to that one week at a time.”

Yeah, that was going to be so much fun. Neil sighed, especially when he caught that sharp grin on Andrew’s face, the one that was usually followed by ‘Exy junkie’ and a ball aimed at him.

“In the meantime, we’re mixing things up to keep our chances for the championships afloat.” Wymack gave a meaningful look at Dan and Renee, who were still sitting on either arms of Reynolds’ chair. “Our solution’s not pretty, but it’s the best we could come up with on such short notice, so pay attention. I’m not speaking because I know you love to hear my voice.”

He reached back for the clipboard he’d set on the tv and flipped through a couple of pages before he started reading through something. “The starting line-up for tonight’s first half goes like this: Andrew, Matt, Nicky, Allison, Kevin, Neil. First half subs: Aaron for Nicky, Dan for Kevin, Renee for Allison.” He paused as if waiting for it to sink in. It didn’t take long.

“Wait.” Nicky stared at Renee in surprise. “Say that again?”

Wymack waved a hand at Nicky as if to shut him up. “Second half line-up: Aaron, Nicky, Allison, Kevin, Dan. Subs are Matt for Nicky, Neil for Dan and Renee for Allison again.” Then he let the papers fall and looked up at everyone. “You better have gotten all of that, because I’m not repeating it.”

“Please tell me that’s a joke,” Nicky begged. “Last I checked, Renee’s a goalkeeper.”

Wymack gave him a look that clearly said he wasn’t amused, but before he could reply in some scathing manner, Renee spoke up.

“Dan’s the only one who can fill in for the striker line, and Allison is going to be touch and go for a while. Coach and I talked about it on Tuesday, so I’ve had time to modify some of our spare gear. It’s been a while since I’ve played defense - middle school, actually - but I promise to give it my best shot.”

Neil scrubbed at his face, his fingers pressed hard over the tattoo on his left cheek as he felt Riko’s fingers tightening on his throat once more. Oh, the day was getting better and better, wasn’t it? Before the panic could set in, Andrew’s hand settled on the back of his neck.

“That’s all well and good, and I’m sure you’ll be great,” Nicky said in a rather unconvincing manner. “But that means that Andrew’s in the goal the whole game again, right? If you’re going to play dealer, he’s in the goal for the second half, right?”

Neil dropped his hands to see Wymack staring at Andrew, then turned to look at his boyfriend to see him staring behind his shoulder as if checking for someone else. When Andrew looked back at Wymack, there was a slight smile on his face. “I told you not to count on me to save your ass all the time, to make everyone else pull their weight.”

“I know,” Wymack replied, his face almost solemn as he regarded Andrew.

“So what do you expect from me then?”

“Nothing that I’m not expecting from anyone else here tonight,” Wymack said. “Nothing that I’m not asking from everyone else from here on out – they’re going to have to give their all if not more if we’re going to have a chance of making it this season. I’ll offer you the same thing I did last time, even had Abby pick up a bottle yesterday and put it in the first aid kit. It’s yours as soon as you walk off the court. All you have to do is play, and how you play is up to you.” He stared at Andrew during the entire speech.

Andrew made a huffing sound as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “You know they’re not going to be ready in a week. How long do you expect to keep this up? How long do you think you *can* keep this up?”

“However long as it takes,” Wymack told him. “So can you hold the line or not?” He made it sound like a challenge just then.

Andrew was silent just then as if thinking about it. “We’ll find out, won’t we?” he told Wymack with a slight, icy smile, while beside him, Neil wondered what had gone down in the previous season between the two of them. Looking at his boyfriend… he had a feeling that Andrew wasn’t in the mood to enlighten him, though.

“Anyone else have any questions?” Wymack asked as he tossed the clipboard back on the entertainment center.

“Coach, this line-up is insane.” Nicky didn’t appear ready to move on past that point just yet.

“Yup, good luck with it.” And Wymack didn’t seem to care; he clapped his hands as if to signal that the matter was closed. “Let’s move. Grab your gear and get your asses out of my locker room. Dan, Renee, sort out Allison’s things so Nicky can take ‘em out to the bus. Matt, you’re helping me with the stick rack. The bus is leaving in ten minutes, so be on it by then or get left behind. Go, go, go.”

Everybody split up to go grab their gear, including Neil. He found his travel duffel on the bench by his locker, and had to spend a few seconds staring at it, running his hands over the embroidery with his name and number, over the ostentatious orange fox paw on the other side. Shaking off the awe, he had forced himself to grab his gear when he was startled by the sound of a locker banging shut further down, and looked over to Andrew repeatedly opening and closing his own locker. Not sure what his boyfriend was doing just then, Neil went to check it out when Kevin got there first.

Kevin caught the door to stop him, which Andrew ignored in favor of grabbing his gear and just shoving it in onto the floor. Neil winced at the sight of it, certain that Andrew hadn’t appreciated Wymack putting him on the spot like that.

“What’s going on?” Kevin asked – well, most people would consider it a demand. “You skip out on a practice one day and barely do anything yesterday, and now you’re going to play a full game?”

“So it seems,” Andrew said as he stared at the mess at the floor as if wondering how it had ended up there.

That didn’t seem to be what Kevin wanted to hear. “So you’ll try,” Kevin said, as if making sure he’d heard right, his expression growing more displeased with each word until he was glaring, “because Coach asked you to do it.”

Now Andrew appeared almost delighted with the situation, a slight smile teasing at his lips as he looked up. “Careful, Kevin, your jealous streak is showing.”

Neil stepped forward when it looked as if Kevin would punch Andrew. “For eight months you’ve told me ‘no’ every time I’ve tried to get you to do something, to put that talent of yours to use. In eight seconds, you told him ‘yes’. Why?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Andrew said as he waved Kevin’s question and temper aside and began to gather up his stuff to shove into his bag without any concern for it. Once he was done, he stood up close enough to get into Kevin’s face, causing the tall striker to waver back a little. “It’s just so much more *fun* to tell you no.” His smile sharpened a little at that.

Kevin stared down at him for about two seconds, and then Andrew, still smiling, was shoved into his own locker, his short but muscular body causing a loud, reverberating sound as it impacted with the metal. Neil was moving in an instant, as was Nicky and Aaron, yet he came to a stop just short of the two when he caught the flash of silver; Andrew had pulled a knife of Kevin.

Kevin stumbled back in horror as Andrew caught his feet beneath him and slumped back against the lockers, the knife held out in his right hand and the slight smile hovering on his lips as he stared at the striker. Neil didn’t hesitate to come over to Andrew’s left side, while Aaron and Nicky stayed back a safe distance and Matt went over to Kevin.

“Jesus, Andrew,” Matt spat out as he eyed the blood on Kevin’s undershirt. “Are you all right?” he asked Kevin.

“I’m fine,” Kevin said, even as he pressed his left hand to his chest to check the wound. Still, Matt and Nicky fussed over him, which from what Neil could tell was unnecessary; there was barely any blood and if Andrew had meant for Kevin to be hurt, he’d be hurt. It looked to just be a scratch, albeit one that would sting like hell once Kevin was running around with his gear on and sweating. Neil gave Andrew a questioning look and got a slight nod in return.

Andrew waited for Matt to leave to get something for the cut then pushed away from the locker, to close the space between him and Kevin and press the edge of the blade against Kevin’s chest before anyone else could move. Kevin stilled because of the knife against his heart while Andrew stared up at his face yet motioned for Matt to stay away, who had noticed the movement and turned to come back as if to break up the new fight, while Neil gave Nicky a warning look to not interfere; whatever point Andrew wanted to make with Kevin needed to be done before the game.

“Oh Kevin, so predictable, so pathetic. Let me explain something to you,” Andrew crooned in a flat tone. “I don’t owe *anything* to you. I did not agree to give you any part of myself. Do not mistake me for a certain Exy junkie we both know. I believe the terms of our agreement have been spelled out enough, and they have nothing to do with this game.”

Kevin didn’t try to pull away. “I refuse to see you waste your talent,” he told Andrew with evident frustration. “You’re just being childish and stupid.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Andrew gave Kevin’s chest a tap with the flat of his knife before stepping back and wiping the blade clean on the sleeve of Kevin’s shirt, then slipped it back into the left arm guard. That done, he returned to his duffel and zipped it closed.

“Are you serious?” At first Neil thought the remark was for Andrew, but apparently Nicky was speaking to Kevin. “I thought you’d given up on this months ago. You’re never going to win, Andrew just doesn’t care about Exy that much.”

Kevin gave him a dirty look before he stormed off to his own locker, with Matt in tow with a handful of bandages, so Neil took that as a sign that he could return to his own; Aaron had gone back to his a minute or two ago. Neil hurried to finish packing his duffel while Kevin made a fuss of grabbing stuff from his own locker, obviously still upset over the little ‘discussion’ with Andrew.

Once finished, Neil headed outside, where he found Andrew standing by the bus and smoking a cigarette. “Did you have fun back there?” he asked as he dropped his duffel bag to the ground, content to breathe in the scent of burnt tobacco.

Andrew cocked his head to the side as he considered the question. “A small amount. Kevin needed to be put back in his place, he’s been a bit uppity lately.”

Neil was quiet as he considered that, considered everything that had happened the past week and decided to let it go. Kevin’s whole life revolved around Exy, revolved around him doing his best at the sport, pushing himself to be the best striker out there, to make his teammates rise up to his own level as much as possible… and Neil wasn’t sure he could make Andrew care about that. He wasn’t sure that Andrew cared about very much, to be honest. “It’s just hard for him to understand, why you’re doing this when you don’t seem to care about anything,” was all he said as he bent down to pick up his bag.

Andrew stopped Neil from standing up, his hand warm and heavy on the back of Neil’s neck. “Is it really? Then he’s not the only idiot, is he?” He gave a light squeeze before he let go, then picked up his own bag and headed toward the bus.

Neil stared after him for a couple of seconds, until he heard Nicky’s laughter and Aaron’s voice raised in complaint about something as they came outside as well, and then hurried after his boyfriend, suddenly feeling better about the game ahead.

*******

The ride to Nashville was for the most part uneventful; the upperclassmen stuck to the first couple of rows on the bus, Dan and Matt and Renee and Reynolds, which allowed Andrew and his group to grab the last four rows to themselves to stretch out.  He took the last seat, Neil the one in front of him, then Kevin, Aaron and then Nicky, who for some reason enjoyed talking to the others. Andrew had some books to read as well as homework, which Neil focused on since he’d spent too much time practicing the last two days, though Renee came over to talk to him a little since it seemed that she was seeking advice to help her assist in subbing in for Reynolds that night. Every now and then Neil would lift up and look behind him as if to check on Andrew, and smiled when he got his head smacked with a book after doing it for the third time. It almost became a game between them after that, seeing if Neil could duck down before Andrew caught him at it and hit him – he was a quick little shit, but Andrew was determined. Dan and Abby gave him some weird looks when they got off the bus to have dinner, but Renee was kind enough to let him know the score, as if he didn’t already know.

“Don’t break my striker,” Wymack grumbled when they got back on the bus. “Not unless you’ve got a spare in that bag of yours.”

“I keep telling everyone, he’s much more amusing with a concussion,” Andrew insisted, while Aaron nodded in agreement and Neil just sighed.

They finally reached Nashville with less than an hour to go before the game, Neil staring around him the entire time they were led to the away team’s locker room. Andrew watched as he took note of the unisex bathroom, since he’d need that to change in so he could hide his scars from the upperclassmen, and knew he wouldn’t be happy about the shower situation. In fact, Andrew caught the wide-eyed expression on his boyfriend’s face when he came out of the bathroom in half of his uniform and saw them, since he’d been standing nearby waiting for the idiot to join the rest of the team. They’d figure something out, since Andrew refused to spend six hours on a bus with someone who smelled.

Andrew finished with the rest of his bulky gear and waited for Neil to catch up, then the two of them went into the main room where the rest of the Foxes and Wymack already were gathered so they could take their spots in the line, with Andrew at the end helping Nicky bring out the stick rack. As soon as they were all in order, Wymack led them out onto the court.

Of course it was loud out there and a sea of green, the seats filling up with Belmonte fans who jeered at the Foxes’ arrival. Andrew ignored them, though he saw Nicky make an abortive motion at them that Aaron smacked down. Some fans yelling and pointing in their direction sicc’ed the stupid Belmonte’s mascot on them, a Terrapin of all things, who charged at them until only a few feet away and then made a few crude hip thrusts that Nicky was all too happy to return in a much more vigorous manner until Wymack came over to smack him in the back of the head while muttering curses. Andrew was left wondering yet again why Neil refused to let him kill the idiot and why mass homicide was outlawed.

Finally at the away game benches, Andrew let go of his end of the stick rack, which made Dan give him a dirty look before she dragged the rack between the two sets of benches then locked the wheels before she popped open the top. Acting like an impatient child waiting for his favorite toy, Kevin was right there beside her and reaching in for his racquet before the lid was fully upright. As soon as he had the thing, he was checking it out as he went over to the court walls.

Neil, the junkie, was right behind him, although a bit more polite in getting his racquet in that he spared Dan a thin smile and shrugged at Andrew. Then he went over to stand by Kevin and seemed to be asking advice about the game. Andrew grabbed a sports drink out of the bag Abby had brought and went over to join them, earning a nervous smile from his boyfriend while Kevin gave him advice on how to outlast a larger and better trained team.

“Look on the bright side, you’ll be so exhausted from all that running around to worry about the score,” Andrew told him to help cheer him up.

The look Neil gave him just then told him that his efforts were underappreciated.

“Bring it in, Foxes,” Wymack called out as the Vixens and their insipid mascot, Rocky, arrived on the court, which caused Andrew to sigh. Then his eyes narrowed when he noticed how one of the cheerleaders paused to stare over at the Foxes – how she seemed to be staring at one of them in particular. He turned a little and noticed that it was at Aaron.

Beside his twin, Nicky waved at the girl. “Hi Katelyn!” He was about to say something else when he got an elbow in the rib, even as the girl, Katelyn, waved back as she smiled. And for some reason, Neil was glaring at the idiot. “Katelyn is Aaron’s crush.”

“No she isn’t,” Aaron insisted. “Knock it off.”

“I don’t see why you just don’t ask her out, she seems to like you back,” Matt said as he came over to join them. “What’s the hold up?”

Hmm, seemed that there was something Andrew needed to pay more attention to, wasn’t there? “Oh, I think I know,” he said as he slapped his right fist into his left palm as if struck by sudden inspiration, a slight, wicked grin on his face as he stared at Matt but addressed his brother. “Maybe he’s afraid she’ll die on him like the last woman he really loved.” That last part was spoken in German.

“Fuck you,” Aaron spat out, his expression one of utter disgust.

“Christ, Andrew,” Nicky muttered, not looking too happy just then himself.

Even Neil didn’t seem too pleased with Andrew just then, shaking his head as he glanced over at Aaron. “Not… just no,” he said, voice low and fingers tugging at his bangs. “Really?”

Matt gazed at all of their reactions then sighed. “I’m going to guess that was something completely inappropriate and that I really don’t want to know.”

“Do you think that we were going to tell you?” Andrew scoffed.

“Enough of that,” Wymack barked out as he motioned for everyone to gather around him. “Last I checked this was a team meeting, not a damn gossip circle.” He paused to glare at everyone as if waiting for dissent. “We're on the court for warm-ups in ten. Dan's going to start you off with some laps, and if any of you so much as look at the Terrapins on your way past their benches I'll let you walk home from here.” He paused again, this time to glare at Nicky and Andrew in particular. “Got it?” When everyone nodded, he told them to get their asses out on the court.

Dan and Matt led the team in laps around the court, while Neil ran with Andrew and Kevin on either side of him. Neil seemed a bit disappointed to only run two laps, especially after sitting on a bus for most of the day, and sighed when Andrew gave him a mocking look then teased him about joining the track team in his copious amounts of spare time. It didn’t help that Kevin took the joke seriously and got on Neil about not even thinking about it, that if he had so much spare time that he could devote it to more Exy practices…. Andrew almost laughed at the expression on his boyfriend’s face, which turned downright murderous when he managed to get away from Kevin to stretch out beside Andrew before they went out on court to do their practice drills.

Dan won the toss between the captains, and soon they were calling the rest of the teams out onto the court; Andrew watched with some interest as Neil went out, and noticed that his corresponding backliner, Herrera, had about half a foot or so on him – gee, what a surprise.

Andrew walked onto court with his racquet carried across his shoulders, and noticed that Reynolds was standing in her position with her head hanging down and racquet held loose on her hands. Getting tired of the ‘woe is me’ attitude already, he sighed as he sidled up to her and leaned in close. “You know, they’re all waiting for you to break down,” he said, which caused her to snap up her head. “They all think you can’t cut it tonight, that this is one huge mistake.” He smiled, just a little, as she turned to look at him. “Probably all bet against you, too. Poor little rich girl, can’t handle it when life gets rough.”

“You *bastard*,” she hissed at him, showing signs of life for the first time that day.

“Ah, that’s the spirit,” he said as he backed away. “Might be hope for you yet.” See, and they thought coddling was better for her. Idiots.

That taken care of, he continued on to his goal, aware of Neil’s gaze on him the entire time. Once settled, he gave his boyfriend a tiny salute then waited for the game to start.

Reynolds had the ball in her possession, and then the buzzer went off to signal the start of the game. Everyone flew into action, and the next thing Andrew knew, Reynolds had gotten the ball to him, a tiny, knowing smirk on her face as she raced across the court.

Fine, she was going to be like that? He huffed a little as he fired it down the court toward Neil, minding the advice that Kevin had given earlier about Neil carrying the ball and handing it off to the others. Neil caught it with a flash of white teeth and put his speed to use, dodging the more massive Belmonte players with ease.

At least, he did that for the most part, but that one backliner seemed determined to stalk Neil around the damn court. Andrew frowned as he watched what was going on, paying half a mind to his own goal and making sure to keep the scores low enough that Belmonte didn’t trample all over the Foxes. Unfortunately, the Foxes weren’t doing quite as well with their own strategy of trying to reserve themselves for the second half.

Wymack subbed out some of the team, pulling Kevin, Reynolds and Aaron off the court and sending Nicky, Dan and Renee on in their places. Kevin said something to Neil which made him smile, something that Andrew had a feeling he might take objection to at some point, but then the game was back in motion and Renee served the ball back to him much like Reynolds had done, so Andrew once again served it as far down as possible. Neil managed to block his backliner long enough for Matt to grab the ball and throw it back to Andrew, just like they’d talked about on the bus. Andrew caught it and fired it off, and this time Neil was ready for it.

Unfortunately he was also too damn close to the wall, and that backliner was racing right at him. Neil did something to send the ball flying right up into the air and then went down onto his knees right as the backliner plowed headfirst into where he’d been a second before.

The fucking idiot. Andrew pounded the butt of his racquet into the floor, the same time that Wymack hit the Plexiglas around where the backliner had smashed into, but Neil just stumbled forward to swipe up the ball then raced to the Belmonte goal, where he scored another point for the Foxes.

The Belmonte coach used that as an opportunity to pull a very dazed Herrera from the court while Dan ran over to congratulate Neil on the point; she should be smacking him upside the head, dammit. The game resumed, and the new backliner was just as determined to harass Neil as the last one. Still, despite the abuse, Neil scored another goal, and Dan one as well. That evened up the score between Belmonte and the Foxes as the first half came to a finish.

Andrew stalked over to Neil as they headed to the locker room. “Your masochism knows no bounds, does it?”

Neil blinked in surprise as he hauled off his helmet – with his left hand, Andrew noticed. “What?”

“What exactly.” Andrew gave him a flat look as he reached out to squeeze Neil’s right shoulder, his eyes narrowing as his boyfriend winced. “289%,” he said as he stalked off past the idiot.

Neil caught up to him in the locker room, quiet and flushed as he sank down on the bench next to Andrew. Andrew clicked his tongue in disgust and handed over a cup of sports drink, and clicked his tongue again when Neil leaned a little against him. “Ice cream, your treat, tomorrow.”

“Hmm, breakfast, too?”

Andrew considered that as he sipped his own drink and watched Neil stretch out his long legs. “Brunch, maybe.” He didn’t want to get up too early.

“Okay.” That wouldn’t be the end of the discussion, but at least Neil knew he was pissed off about it and might, just *might*, behave a bit better in the second half. Yeah, right.

Around then Wymack came into the locker room, finished with the half-time interview and whatever other shit a coach had to do. It was also around the time that Nicky had come over to sit on the other side of Neil and smile at him to say, “so, we’re actually not doing too bad out there, are we?”

"This is horrible,” Wymack argued, his thick brows drawn together in a deep ‘v’, he was frowning so much. “This kind of game isn't going to work for us at all, and today is the last time I'll tolerate it. You have got to start creating point gaps in the first half instead of playing catch-up. You need that cushion when it's your second wind against their fresh line-up."

"He's right," Dan said as she paused in her stretches. "We need to push harder earlier. We’re holding back because we're trying to pace ourselves for a long night, but playing catch-up is a killer. We need to play smarter and balance this out somehow."

Nice of the people who weren’t out there for the entire game to decide that, wasn’t it? Or the ones getting slammed around so much. Still, Andrew kept his mouth shut because it wasn’t worth the effort to argue, not when he’d agreed to this, not when there had been a text on his phone earlier from Riko, asking him if Neil’s bruises had faded yet. Riko said he needed to know – he would have to take that into account for game days and publicity events, after all. Well, the bruises that would be in visible areas. Once Neil was a Raven.

Andrew’s fingers crushed the cup as he listened to Wymack drone on about the Belmonte Terrapins, about their strengths and weaknesses, while Neil continued to lean against him and Abby collected the empty cups and handed out full ones to those who wanted any. When he was done with that, he went through ways that each of the Foxes could improve their game in the second half.

There was only a few minutes left of the break by the time the mini-review was over, so Andrew and Neil stood up to get in some extra stretches; during that time, Abby came over to check out Neil. “How are you doing? You looked to have taken a hit to the one shoulder.” She narrowed her eyes at him, well aware by now at how he tended to downplay any injuries.

“I’m fine,” he answered, as expected.

Standing off to the side, Nicky let out a crow of delight as he made a fist-pumping motion. “Thank you, little bro! You just scored me ten bucks by being so predictable!”

Matt looked up from where he was stretching out his hamstrings. “Seriously? What idiot bet against you on that?”

Nicky grinned as he pointed off to Kevin. “That idiot.”

Kevin didn’t appear too happy just then – well, less happy than usual – but his wrath seemed aimed more at Neil than Nicky. “You’re a damn idiot,” he snapped as he held up his left hand. “You see this? Injuries are not a joke, they’re nothing to dismiss or ignore because you’re a stubborn ass.” Andrew smiled a little at that, pleased at this latest development. “If you get injured out there, you do something about it – you tell Coach or Abby right away, you get yourself pulled from the damn game. If I ever hear you say ‘I’m fine’ about your health when you’re not, I’ll make you regret the day you were born, do you understand? You don’t jeopardize your game like that, *ever*.”

Of course it all came back to damn Exy with Kevin, but it looked like something of what he’d said had reached Andrew’s idiot, because Neil was frowning, albeit in a rather puzzled manner. He opened his mouth, closed it, blinked a couple of times, then opened it again. “Uhm… we’re clear.”

Or maybe not. Baby steps, Andrew told himself.

“I did try to warn you,” Dan said, making Andrew think she’d yelled at him out on court after all. “Kevin’s method seems a bit more effective, though.”

Meanwhile, Abby eyed Neil with a bit of hope. “So I’ll ask again, are you all right?”

Neil looked as if he’d swallowed something rather bitter just then. “I’m-“ he had to stop and think about it, Andrew was certain it was too automatic of a response for the poor fool. “Uhm, it’s a bit sore, but as long as I can keep them off my right side, it should be… okay.”

In Neil-speak: his right shoulder hurt like a bitch, but it wasn’t broken, it wasn’t dislocated, so he could still play. Andrew muttered in German beneath his breath and rubbed at his temples while he gave Neil’s left ankle a kick.

Matt laughed, either at Neil’s near-miss or Andrew’s response. “I don’t see this working out very well for you, Neil.”

“Some people are just hardwired to be stupid.” From Wymack’s tone just then, he sounded as if he was thinking of more than just Neil. “Now go on, you guys have a game to finish.”

That was everyone’s cue to grab their gear and get their asses back on the court. Andrew gave his boyfriend a very displeased look before he picked up his helmet and gloves, and ignored the aggrieved sigh he got in return.

When it was time to head back out onto court, Andrew went out there while Neil sat on the bench until he was subbed back in. This time the Terrapins got to serve the ball, and they tried to drive it straight up the court; Reynolds stepped out of the way as if trusting Andrew to stop it, and he just stood in front of the goal as soon as he realized that it wasn’t going to land inside – though barely. The crowd went wild at his calm non-reaction, and it infuriated the Terrapins. He sent the ball flying back the way it came, and Reynolds allowed the other dealer to catch it before she crashed into him to snatch the ball away; Andrew might, just might, be gaining an iota of respect for her after tonight.

It wasn’t their best game, but Andrew watched the Foxes play one of their better ones, no longer dragged down by Gordon’s petty tactics and brawls on court. It actually worked, having Dan and Reynolds on the court at the same time, and when Neil finally was subbed back out, along with Matt, it was as if they got a second wind. Matt was the brute force they needed, Neil a whirling dervish on the court and Renee… oh, she let a bit of that darkness out for once, no longer restrained in the goal like always. A small, satisfied grin crept over Andrew’s face when he saw her take down a striker who was giving even Matt problems.

Between Kevin and Neil, they had managed to keep the score tied with the Terrapins, and then Kevin got them in the lead. However, at the last minute, one of the Terrapin strikers, Watts, was heading toward Andrew’s goal, intent on closing the gap and forcing a penalty round.

Andrew didn’t try to move, didn’t do anything, just waited for the bastard to make his shot. For once he’d paid attention to Wymack’s prattling during half-time so he knew what to expect, and as soon as the bastard appeared ready to fire off the ball, he dropped his racquet to the bottom left corner and was there to block the shot.

The ball bounced off of his racquet, and Andrew was already moving, was racing toward it to scoop it up with his gloves. Watts was moving too, but he had paused for a moment, fully expecting the ball to hit the goal and so Andrew had a head-start and was reaching for it even as Aaron crashed into the bastard, knocking him out of the way while Andrew scooped the ball off of the ground then threw it as far away from the goal while the final buzzer sounded the end of the game.

Matt cried out over their victory as Andrew knelt down on the floor, his sudden rush of adrenalin fading now that the game was over. Kevin came over to him, a huge grin on his face for their win, but Andrew waited until Neil approached and accepted the hand held out to him from his boyfriend before he stood up, the rest of the Foxes running around in jubilation over their win.

Nicky ran over to them, a huge grin on his face. “That was awesome!”

“That was sloppy,” Kevin snapped, his smile slipping away as he frowned at the idiot. “We barely won the game.”

“Oh shut up, you sour puss,” Nicky snapped back while Neil helped Andrew with his helmet. “Save the in-depth analysis for the ride back home and allow us this moment of happiness. We won!”

“Seriously,” Matt agreed as he came over to rub his hand along the top of Kevin’s helmet, a huge smile on his face when Kevin took to cursing. “Would it kill you to smile when there’s no camera pointed your way?”

They took off to join the rest of the cheering Foxes before Kevin could bash their heads in with his racquet, after Andrew gathered his own racquet and followed Neil. “That was amazing, what you did back there,” Neil said as they ignored the ruckus around them. “How did you know to block the ball like that?”

“Coach said that Watts favored the lower left corner for penalty shots. I figured he’d do the same with the game down to the last minute.” Andrew sighed at the excited look on Kevin’s face. “What?”

“See, I knew you had it in you.” Kevin’s smug look faded when Andrew threw one of his gloves at the asshole. “You need to stop being so childish about this stuff! There was no reason for the Terrapins to score even half as much as they did if you’d just taken the game seriously.”

“And you need a knife to your throat or something,” Andrew warned. Someone just didn’t get it, especially after everything that had happened in the past week. Even if there was some amusement to be found in playing on the same team as Neil… shutting down the goal too much wouldn’t push the rest of the Foxes to play the way they had tonight, and if they came to rely on Andrew too much to save their season… yeah, what were the odds that Riko wouldn’t figure out something to ensure that Andrew couldn’t make it out to court one day soon? He refused to be the cure-all for this fucked-up team, especially if it painted a target on him. It was one thing to deny Riko his toys, but another thing to do that *and* be a threat on court. Just look at Kevin.

“Can we just focus on the fact that we won and work on being better next time?” Neil asked as they joined the other Foxes. “Save it for the next game.” He noticed that Reynolds, already showered and changed into normal clothes, had joined the team, and suddenly appeared nervous.

Matt gave the dealer a hug and told her she was amazing, then Dan urged everyone to head over to the Terrapins to do the ‘good game’ line-up. By that point, Andrew was tired and fed-up with Exy and just wanted to wash off so he could go to sleep. No Columbia that night, not when they were driving back to campus, but he had a bottle of whiskey coming to him and Neil buying him brunch in the morning, and they could leave the next afternoon.

Once they got through the line, Wymack was waiting for them with a rather proud smile on his face. “That’s more like it,” he said as he nodded at them. “Now draw straws to figure out who’s stuck helping me fend off the press while the rest of you wash your stinky asses off in the showers. We’ll talk shop once we’re on the bus.”

Dan held up her right hand. “Renee and I will handle it.” She looked over her shoulder to smile at Neil. “Neil can use the girls’ showers while we’re busy.

Neil’s response to that was to blink in confusion. “What?”

Matt groaned at the response. “There’s no stalls here,” he explained.

“Uhm, yeah. Is that okay?” Andrew wanted to kill his idiot right there. Of course it was okay, why would Dan and Renee offer otherwise?

However, Nicky spoke up first. “Bro, you’re killing us here. Just learn to accept it when someone does something nice for you, okay?” He dared Andrew’s wrath to reach over to tousle Neil’s sweaty curls. “Though the deer in the headlights look is adorable.” He laughed when Andrew smacked at his hand.

“It’s all right,” Dan assured Neil. “Just don’t use up all of the hot water.”

“Just say ‘yes’,” Andrew told his boyfriend. “I want to leave sometime tonight.”

“All right.” Neil’s cheeks heated up just then, so he ducked his head and went to his locker to grab the things he needed to take a shower. Andrew followed him, including when he went to go to the girls’ showers; Matt raised an eyebrow at that.

“Kathy Ferdinand,” was all Andrew said in return, which wiped off the salacious grin on the asshole’s face.

“Ah, okay. See you two soon.” Matt nodded as if no further explanation was needed, which, really, *Neil*.

The trouble-magnet in question sighed as they reached the other shower room. “Do you really think something would happen over here?” he asked as he began to strip off his gear.

“It’s happened before, you being attacked once you’re out of my sight,” Andrew reminded him. “I’m not taking any chances.”

“It was-“ Neil seemed to think about that. “All right.” He shut his mouth and focused on stripping, and Andrew noticed how the idiot favored his right side.

They didn’t waste any time, not with Dan and Renee waiting for them, and Andrew gave Nicky the finger when his cousin made a comment about quickies once they were back with the others.

Everyone piled onto the bus as soon as Wymack had finished with the interviews and Dan and Renee had cleaned up; Abby and Reynolds crashed up front, while the rest of the upperclassmen grouped in the middle with Kevin, Nicky and Aaron to chat about the game. Andrew tugged Neil toward the back, his bottle of whiskey in hand, and they took the last seat together. Andrew only had a few shots of the whiskey, Neil one or two, then they slumped together as exhaustion carried Andrew off to sleep.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I finally get to the fall banquet in the next one. FINALLY. Yay! Just a little excited about that.
> 
> As always, so very much appreciate the kudos and the comments!  
> *******


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the banquet scene. Much merriment to be found. So touching. Riko and Neil breaking bread and burying the hatchet. Hmm, good times.
> 
> Right.
> 
> Enjoy!  
> *******

*******

The Monday after the Belmonte game, Neil was standing on the court with Nicky and Dan while Kevin got in an argument with Wymack about changing the drills or something; Neil was learning to tune Kevin out about a lot of things anymore.  Since Renee was in the goal at the moment, Andrew was on the bench and probably taking a nap.

“So will you be at the library today,” Neil asked Nicky since he needed some more information for a Japanese essay and something for History; he was wishing he’d gone with the Speech class after all.

“Hmm, no, sorry,” Nicky told him. “A bunch of us are meeting elsewhere instead.”

“Oh.” Neil frowned as he twirled his racquet between his hands and glanced over at the benches, where Aaron was sitting.

“What, you can’t just go by yourself or something? You know where it is by now, right?” Dan asked as she gazed at him with some confusion.

“Andrew won’t get him go by himself,” Nicky explained as he reached over to tap the side of Neil’s helmet. “He gets into trouble otherwise, my poor, adorable, clueless baby bro.”

“Stop that,” Neil complained as he swatted at the pain in the ass’s hand. “He’s worried after, well, the whole interview thing.”

“Uh-huh,” Dan said, sounding a bit unconvinced, especially after sharing a look with Nicky. Still, a sly grin came over her face for some reason. “What’s your schedule?” Neil rattled it off to her, and the grin strengthened. “That works. I think we can help you out, I’ll be there when you’re done with your Japanese class.”

Neil blinked at that. “Okay. Uhm, I’ll probably grab something to eat real quick but I’ll be there.” Then he thought about it for a moment. “Thank you. For, uhm… yeah.” Why was she helping him out?

Dan looked over at Nicky. “You’re right, he is adorable.”

“And clueless, don’t forget the clueless part!”

Neil was swatting at Nicky with his racquet when Wymack yelled at them to get back to practice, apparently having won the fight with Kevin, so Neil put the offer out of his mind for the rest of the morning, going off to his classes and grabbing something to eat with Andrew and Kevin before heading to the library. Dan had texted him that her and Matt were on the third floor by the help desk, and it didn’t take him long to find them, especially with Matt’s height.

He left his bag with him and went to get some books, then sat down and pulled out his laptop to get to work on the essay. After about fifteen minutes, Matt looked on in interest. “So, Japanese, eh? That makes, what, four languages that you know? I’ve heard you speak German and French, too.”

Neil shrugged as he kept typing, using the character translation software. “More or less. Nicky helps me with my Spanish, but only when Andrew’s not around so it’s not as good.” The couple other languages he knew were just enough to get him around, the bare necessities, as it were.

Matt’s gaze took on a heavy scrutiny just then. “Right. All those, when my English teachers would tell you that I can barely speak my native one, and don’t even bother to ask those poor souls who tried to teach me Spanish. I thought you wanted to make a career out of Exy, not be a diplomat or something.”

“I’m good at it,” Neil told him with another shrug. “They come in handy.” Why were they talking about this?

Maybe Dan picked up on his unease, because she shoved the book Matt was reading a bit closer to her boyfriend. “Yeah, like when you don’t want anyone else to overhear your conversation. There’s times when I wish I’d stuck with my Spanish classes a bit better, too. Is that a Chemistry book in your bag? I’m not as good as Aaron, but I took it my first year.” She laughed a little. “Was told there was a grading curve in the class. Let me know if you want some help.”

Neil nodded in appreciation for her offer, and the rest of the time passed in quiet while he got the work he needed done completed before they had to head off to the afternoon practice session.

Tuesday it was Renee and Nicky joining him at the library, and Neil found himself relaxing a little better in the goalkeeper’s presence. Maybe it was the easy way that Nicky joked with her, maybe it was the lingering bruises from Andrew’s latest practice session, or maybe it was from the effort Renee had put in their latest game. Neil didn’t believe he’d ever think of her with the easy confidence that Andrew did… but he didn’t flinch anymore when Renee turned toward him, that slight smile on her face when she asked him a question or mentioned that they didn’t have much longer before they had to leave.

Once they were finished with their practice on Tuesday afternoon, Neil was surprised to find out that Nicky was driving them to what appeared to be the local mall. “Uhm, an early dinner?” he asked Andrew, who was sitting in the back of the GS with him for once.

“Did you forget that I’m on tight pants duty?” Nicky called out from the front seat. “We need to find you something to wear for Saturday.”

“Shit,” Neil swore as he combed his fingers through his hair; the fall banquet was that Saturday, and he was more than happy enough to not think about the damn thing. While it wasn’t quite the formal event as the December one, it still required something more than the clothes that Neil wore to the club on Fridays – the only things he had remotely resembling something decent for the event were what he’d worn to Tilda’s funeral and Kathy Ferdinand’s show, and both sets of clothes had disappeared soon after those occasions. Still, he tried. “Do I really have to?”

“What, go or get new clothes?” Andrew asked as he turned to look at him. “Yes.”

Well, that was rather definite, wasn’t it? Neil sighed as he sat back in the seat. “This isn’t going to end well,” he warned.

“We already figured that out,” Aaron remarked while he played with something on his phone.

“I could always not go,” Neil tried again as they got out of the car. “Say that I came down with something.”

“Shut up, you’re going,” Kevin insisted, even though Neil knew he had to be dreading the event just as much as Neil was. “It’s required by the ERC.”

“Wonderful.” Neil glared as Nicky led them into the mall, seeming to have a destination in mind. They reached some trendy store, where Nicky eyed Neil up and down before starting to go through a rack of pants.

“You don’t want to lose face, do you?” Andrew asked as he began to tug items off of their hangers, one by one, and let them drop to the floor, much like a bored child. “You taunted Riko right in front of his face on national television. If you don’t show up, it’ll make him think that you’re afraid of him.”

“I would think that the last thing you’d want is me to be in the same place as him,” Neil argued as he tugged Andrew away from the clothes rack. “And stop that.”

Andrew caught Neil’s chin with his right hand. “I think there’s consequences for your actions, and this is one of them. I also think that you don’t want him to believe you’re afraid of him, because he feeds on that as well.” He leaned in as he switched to German. “I also think that I’m going to be very, very happy to have him in arm’s reach while he’s busy eyeing you up, hmm. Do me a favor, keep your mouth shut for once while acting as a pretty distraction.”

Neil’s breath caught as he fumbled at Andrew’s wrist. “No… no bloodshed. That’s not… no.”

“No promises,” Andrew breathed out, his expression blank, before he let go.

Meanwhile, Aaron reached into his pocket for a slip of paper to hand over to Kevin, who was busy going through another rack of shirts, as if he hadn’t heard what his brother had just said. “Before I forget, here.”

Kevin stared at the slip in confusion. “What is this?”

“It’s a list of the single Vixens.” Aaron frowned at Kevin. “Dan and Renee said that you wanted it, right?”

Outrage replaced the confusion. “Why would I want that?”

Nicky laughed as he snatched away the piece of paper. “Oh Kevin, maybe we need to sit you down and have a talk someday soon. There’s this thing known as the birds and the bees, and the bees and the bees. Either is fine… well, I personally find the first rather icky, but there’s more to life than your hand and an Exy racquet. You and I really need to sit down and talk sometime, I have videos I can show you.”

“You know what, I’m done here. Come find me in the food court when you guys are finished,” Aaron declared as he turned around and left, his expression one of disgust.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s face became even more flushed with anger. “I- there’s- this is-“

“I think you broke him,” Andrew remarked to his cousin. “How fun. Do it some more.”

“Go to hell,” Kevin finally managed to grit out as he gathered several shirts and then stomped away, probably to hide in the changing room for the next hour or so. Neil wanted to join him, especially when a smiling Nicky turned to him with several pair of pants held in his hands.

“Go try those on, though all of them should fit.” Nicky puffed his chest out in evident pride. “I’m good at what I do, especially after picking out stuff for you so long.” Then he glanced at Andrew. “But I do believe that someone wants something specific so maybe he should get the deciding vote, yeah?”

Neil gave Nicky a look of long-suffering. “I thought I was supposed to be your baby brother or something, you traitor.”

“Aw, you are! And it’s my duty to make sure you look good enough to get laid, right?” He laughed as he reached over to give Neil’s right cheek a quick pinch.

“I didn’t think the whole sibling thing worked that way,” Neil complained as Andrew snatched up the pants and began to lead him toward the changing rooms.

“We’re not exactly a normal family,” Nicky reminded him. “I’ll keep looking for shirts,” he called out to them.

Andrew found a changing room for them and came inside with Neil, which wasn’t that big of a surprise. Once in there, he motioned for Neil to take off his jeans, then started to hand over the pants one by one.

“You’re not really going to take out Riko at this damn thing,” Neil asked as he pulled on the first pair, then gritted his teeth over how tight the pants fit.

Andrew made him turn around a couple of times before he answered. “The less you know, the better.” When Neil glared at him, he shook his head. “Let’s just say that I’m open to possibilities. Hmm, not bad.” He motioned for Neil to try on another pair.

“Is this some sort of revenge or something?” Dammit, Nicky really had picked out the most form-fitting pants he could find, hadn’t he? Neil felt his face heat up as he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

“Revenge for what?” Andrew gave him a slight, chilling smile. “For feeding the monster? For mocking Riko on national television? For getting beat up yet again? Oh, I can go on for a while here.”

“Never mind,” Neil sighed as he tried on the third pair of pants. Maybe they had alcohol at the thing, something to help Neil get through the night.

Andrew had decided on the second pair of pants when Nicky showed up to hand over the door several dress shirts, and the torture was prolonged a little longer. Neil was more than willing to just go back to their suite by the time Andrew had found an outfit to his satisfaction, and it looked as if Kevin had gotten over his fit as well when they left the changing room to go pay for the stuff.

They swung by the food court before they left to get something to eat and to collect Aaron, and then headed back to the dorm. Aaron headed out to the ‘library’, Nicky ended up playing a game and Kevin sat down to study, so Neil went into the bedroom to hang up his new clothes; Andrew followed him in there, closing the door behind him.

Neil turned from the closet and noticed the bland look on his boyfriend’s face, then the closed door behind him. He was quiet for a moment, then walked over to Andrew until there was barely any space between them. “I don’t want you to do anything that’ll get you in trouble this weekend,” he said. There was still a few months left on Andrew’s probation, and Riko had to know that Andrew would be upset with him after the other weekend. “Don’t let him goad you into doing anything stupid.”

“Funny, hearing that from you.” Andrew reached up to brush his fingers along the bandage covering Neil’s left cheek, then left them there, his hand cupping Neil’s face. “This is going to keep dragging on while he’s out there, you know.”

“I don’t care,” Neil admitted as he trailed his hand along Andrew’s right arm. “It’s senseless if you take him out and I… I lose you in return,” he forced himself to say. “You’re no good to me or Kevin in jail.” Or worse.

Andrew stared at him for several seconds before he gave a slight snort. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

“You better,” Neil said as he wet his lips. “So, yes or no?”

“Yes,” Andrew told him as he reached behind to lock the door, and Neil got to forget all about the damn banquet and Riko for a very enjoyable time.

That Wednesday it was Dan and Reynolds – was Allison in the library, waiting for Neil. He had to start thinking of Reynolds as a teammate, especially after the effort she’d put into the game last Friday. Still, he was nervous about being there with her because of the whole Gordon thing, when she was still a bit quiet at practice and everything – especially with him. She eyed him up and down as he joined them at the table, and gave a slight huff as she flicked her manicured nails in his direction.

“At least you look semi-decent today.”

He was wearing one of the newer outfits that Nicky had picked out for him, tired of hearing his friend’s complaints. “Why does it matter what I look like? I’m just going to class.”

“Because you’re a Fox,” Allison informed him as she tapped her bright red nails against the table. “You represent us, and I refuse to let people think we recruited someone who lived on the streets or something before we found him. The rest of the monsters manage to clothe themselves in a respectable manner, I don’t understand what your problem is.”

“Enough, Allison,” Dan warned her. “Not everyone cares enough to look as if they just stepped off a runway.” Then she glanced over at Neil. “Though yeah, it’s nice if you at least look as if you hadn’t raided some poor guy’s closet who’s two sizes bigger than you for clothes since you’re too poor to buy your own.”

“Especially since we know that’s not the case with your boyfriend. Well, he’s not that much bigger than you.” Allison spread her hands out a couple of feet. “That way, at least.”

Neil felt the beginnings of a headache come on. “Uhm, are we going to talk about my clothes the entire time? I thought we were here to study.”

“We are, in part.” Dan was quiet for a moment, then a serious expression came across her face. “Look, Neil, you’re a good kid, and we’ll gladly help you out, will keep meeting up with you so you can come to the library whenever you need. But seriously? I’m hoping for a little more than that here.”

Those words instantly put Neil on edge; he should have known that there was more to this than a ‘teammate’ helping him out. “Like what?” he asked as he prepared to gather his stuff and leave.

Dan seemed to notice his wariness and held up her hands. “It’s nothing bad, honest! Just listen to me, all right?” She glanced at Allison for a moment before she took a deep breath and continued. “We had a good thing going for our last game, and I’d like for things to continue. I’d really like for this season to work. For too long the team’s been divided, and right now? What I’m seeing is a split right down the middle – there’s the ‘monsters’… and the rest of us.”

Neil stared at her for several seconds. “And where do I come in?”

“Because you’re new to the team, so I think you’re the best place to start – you’re not so set in anything yet.” Dan gave him a slight smile. “And I’ve been watching you, you and the others. I think if you try and reach out to the rest of us, you can convince the other ‘monsters’ to do the same. I’ve never seen anyone reach Andrew like you do.”

Was she insane? “I think you give me too much credit.”

“Does she?” Allison asked. “I heard about last Wednesday, how you kept Andrew from going off on Kevin when the prick kept pushing. I’ve also seen you step in when Nicky gets on your psycho boyfriend’s nerves.”

“He’s not psycho,” Neil snapped, forgetting his discomfort with Allison long enough to glare.

“We’ll agree to differ on that,” Allison said, “but Dan’s right, he tends to listen to you better than anyone else, and you and Kevin speak the same geeky Exy language. That’s better than we’ve managed.”

“You took on Riko and stood up for the Foxes, that makes me think that you want this team to win,” Dan said. “I don’t know what’s all going on there,” she gave a pointed stare to his bandaged left cheek, “but I believe you want us to keep winning, to make it to the finals. We need to be unified to do that.”

He sighed as he scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I do want us to win,” he needed them to win, “but I don’t understand what you want from me.”

Dan smiled at him. “Just help us bring the team together, all right? Don’t let the others shut us out. That’s all we’re asking.”

Neil still didn’t understand it… but he’d do what he could. Nicky would probably jump at the chance if offered it, Neil could tell he didn’t like how the ‘monsters’ were segregated, not when he was the outgoing, friendly type. Aaron… yeah, Aaron would be a tough sell. Kevin was a mixed bag – he held the rest of the Foxes in contempt, but if it made the team better? There were possibilities there. But it would be Andrew who would take the most work, since Andrew already had his small group and didn’t care about anyone or anything else. “I’ll try,” Neil agreed. “Not sure it’ll work out, but I’ll try.”

“Great!” Dan winced when she realized how loud that had come out, but was soon back to smiling. “We’ll figure out something, you’ll see. It’s too important not too.”

“Okay,” Neil agreed, not seeing any other choice.

Dan merely shook her head at his lack of enthusiasm, then urged him to pull out his Chemistry notes so they could take a look at them.

*******

Friday night was the game against USC-Columbia, and even though Nicky had argued against Wymack about them driving there separately, the idea had been vetoed and they were stuck on the damn bus; Wymack had said there was no chance in hell he was risking the five of them getting in trouble in Columbia the night before the fall banquet, not when he knew about the cracker dust and everything. The ERC would be at the banquet, along with the Ravens, so the man was taking no chances of surprise blood tests… of surprise anything. So yeah, no partying for Andrew and his crew after the game. Good thing they had some alcohol in their suite – that and Wymack would owe him another bottle of whiskey for playing the entire game.

USC-Columbia wasn’t that great of a team, even if they were in the Class I league, so despite the Foxes pulling the same line-up as the previous week, it was an easier game. Reynolds was in less of a fugue, Kevin and Neil were getting used to playing longer on the court, and Renee was adjusting to defense. Andrew could look out over the court to see Neil racing around with a bit more ease this time around, a slight smile of satisfaction on his face whenever his idiot scored a goal, a frown whenever the backliners attempted to slam Neil against the wall to slow him down or force him from the game. Maybe Kevin’s rant last week had taken effect because there were no more stupid stunts this time – that or Columbia just didn’t put up that much of a fight.

All that mattered in the end was that it was a win, that it was a way for Neil to prove that the Foxes were improving with Kevin Day in their line-up, that there was a reason that Neil Josten still continued to be the third most popular searched striker on the internet in the NCAA bracket… that Ichiro hadn’t been wrong to allow Neil to join the Foxes. That it wasn’t a mistake to continue to allow him to remain a Fox. Andrew took great delight in texting Riko the 9-3 score in the Foxes’ favor once the game was done, while he and Neil waited for the others to finish with their showers so Neil could take one, then grabbed the front of Neil’s sweaty jersey to pull his idiot in for a quick yet passionate kiss.

“Not bad,” Neil laughed as he pulled away.

“That better not be in reference about the game,” Andrew warned.

“Hmm, I don’t know, I thought you liked challenges,” Neil taunted, his blue eyes flashing and a wicked smile lingering on his lips. Unfortunately, that was around when Aaron and Nicky chose to come out of the showers, letting them know that it was all clear for Neil to go wash off.

They made it back to campus, and after a few shots from the bottle of whiskey, Andrew led Neil up to the rooftop where they looked up at the stars for a few minutes before he pinned Neil against the wall and asked ‘yes or no’, and enjoyed the taste of Neil’s clean skin against his lips and tongue and Neil’s hand stroking him off while he returned the favor, Neil’s fingers clutching his shoulder so hard as if his boyfriend was terrified that he’d vanish at any moment. The sense of peace that filled him after he came was so, so complete that it almost scared him, but Neil was still there, still holding him up and resting against him, so he took some satisfaction in the hickeys he’d left on Neil’s pale skin and sacrificed his t-shirt to clean them both up before they returned to their suite where he could have a couple more shots before going to bed.

Saturday… wasn’t quite the happy day that Friday had been, not with the Foxes due at the banquet. Neil and Kevin anxious about the event, both of them dealing with it in their own way. Kevin not well at all, and Neil trying not to show it but never being too far from Andrew. That was something Andrew didn’t have too much of a problem with, since he didn’t intend to allow Neil from his sight at all that evening. Right before they were to report to the stadium so they could get on the bus to ride out to the Blackwell campus for the event, Andrew found Neil in the suite’s bathroom, staring into the mirror. Which was odd for two reasons; Neil didn’t spend much time getting ready for anything, and he hated his appearance.

“If you’re about to punch the damn thing to get out of tonight, Abby’s just going to patch you up and make you go,” he warned while Neil seemed to stare at a spot in particular.

“I….” Neil sighed and closed his eyes, before he reached up and removed the bandage on his cheek to reveal the ‘4’ tattoo, then turned to face Andrew with a solemn expression.

Andrew considered him for a moment. “So is this a fashion statement or what?” His fingers twitched, but for what, he didn’t know, so he went for a cigarette instead.

“I… I’m tired of hiding it, everyone knows it’s there,” Neil started to explain. “But maybe if I show it while surrounded by Foxes, *as* a Fox… it’ll lose its power.” Neil reached out to twist his fingers in the hem of Andrew’s t-shirt, which he always did when he was anxious. “I’m not going to be a Raven, but I’m not going to let Riko use this against me. Let him see it when I’m a Fox, and let him know it means nothing to me.”

Andrew shifted the cigarette to his left hand so he could reach out with his right hand to press his thumb against the tattoo. “Damn right that it means nothing,” he ground out before he dropped his hand to grasp at the neck of Neil’s long-sleeved t-shirt. “He can look at it all night and see what he’ll never have.” That said, he pulled his boyfriend in for a bruising, possessive kiss.

Neil moaned as their lips mashed together, his fingers clenching around Andrew’s t-shirt and pulling on it until they broke apart. His cheeks were flushed and lips reddened, and Andrew wanted nothing more than to shove him into the bedroom then lock the door – but they needed to go. “Later,” he promised.

Neil laughed at that. “Can’t wait to see when.” Still, he smiled and let go of Andrew’s shirt. “Maybe the locker room locks in Blackwell.”

Andrew kept that in mind, especially when they got to the stadium and Katelyn was there, all smiles when she saw Aaron get out of the GS. Andrew narrowed his eyes at the girl, but Neil was quick to tug him toward the bus, which made him narrow his eyes at his boyfriend, instead. Was he running interference for Aaron? Hadn’t Andrew warned him to not to get involved?

There was Nicky’s date as well, some guy he knew from his classes, but the rest of the Foxes were either paired up or going solo. There was Matt and Dan, Andrew and Neil… and Renee had surprised him the other day by saying that she was pairing up with Allison. “She doesn’t have a date anymore, and you’re taken,” Renee had explained with a bright smile. “Besides, I thought it would be a nice solidarity for the team, yes? Then you and Nicky aren’t quite all alone.”

Andrew had given her a flat look for that bit of nonsense. “If I see a single rainbow flag, I’ll make you eat it.”

Renee had continued to smile. “Nothing quite that extreme, no.”

As soon as they were all there, Wymack ushered them onto the bus so they could get going; the banquet was supposed to last two days, but all of the Foxes had agreed to only stay for the first night. Andrew and Neil settled at the far back seat with Kevin in front of them. Andrew took out a book to read, while Neil worked on some homework, and the ride passed with some idle chit-chat amongst the rest of the passengers.

As soon as they started seeing signs for Blackwell, Neil began to tense up and Kevin began to hyperventilate, which of course made Neil began to tense up some more. Andrew reached up to rub the back of Neil’s neck, which helped with his idiot, but as the bus inched closer to Blackwell, he sighed and leaned over the back of the seat to look at Kevin’s flushed face. “Hey, coward,” he told Kevin. “You’ll tear something if you continue to breathe like that. Then how will you play?”

Kevin had a leg bent up on the seat with the knee hugged to his chest and his face hidden into the crook of his arm; the coward was probably panicking at the thought of not only facing Riko, but Tetsuji as well – the man he still referred to as ‘the master’ if he didn’t force himself to say something else. After watching him for a few seconds, Andrew could tell that he was trembling in fear.

“Look at me,” he commanded. “It’ll be fine, yes? You do believe me.”

“I believe you,” Kevin said after a slight pause, head still bent down.

“Liar,” Andrew told him, but didn’t push the issue.

Since they had reached the Blackwell campus at that point, he sat back in his seat and peered out of the window to see what teams had arrived already; he noticed that they weren’t the last team to arrive, but they weren’t the first. Of course, Edgar Allen was already there, with three fancy black and red buses already parked in the lot to herald their arrival. Neil noticed them as well, and once more became tense.

Wymack parked as far away from those buses as possible, removed the key from the ignition and then grabbed Abby’s travel bag as he headed toward the back of the bus. “Get off of the bus,” he ordered the upperclassmen and the dates as he walked past them.

As soon as he got to Kevin’s seat, he reached into the bag to pull out a bottle of vodka to hand over to Kevin. “You have ten seconds to drink as much of that drink as possible,” he warned.

While Kevin latched onto the bottle with blatant desperation, Wymack continued on to Andrew and Neil, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “You need to hand over your knives,” he told Andrew.

“Excuse me?” Andrew gave him a flat smile at the demand. “I think there’s something wrong with my hearing.”

“I’m serious – we got a message that they plan to check you before they’ll let you in the event. No weapons at all, something about what happened at the Kathy Ferdinand show.” Wymack’s eyes flickered toward Neil before he gazed once again at Andrew. “No weapons allowed, or the Ravens will raise the issue with the ERC. I’m sorry.”

Why was Andrew not surprised that Riko had figured out that Andrew would be coming for him at the event, at someplace where Riko couldn’t be so obvious about his bodyguards? He bared his teeth at Wymack while Neil went all silent and Kevin continued to drain as much as the bottle of vodka as possible. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The knives,” Wymack gritted out. “Hand them over to me now, or Tetsuji will kick you out of the event when his men find them on you.” He glanced at Neil. “Do you want the rest of the Foxes to go in without you?”

Andrew stared at Wymack for a few seconds – way past the ten seconds that he had told Kevin – before he let out a sharp breath and forced himself to reach for the arm guards. “You’re going to regret this.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Wymack admitted. “But it gets you in there.” He once again glanced at Neil as he accepted the guards, then turned to look at Kevin. “Give me the damn bottle,” he snapped, before snatching what remained of the vodka away from the addict.

“This is Tetsuji’s plan,” Neil murmured before he stood up so they could leave the bus.

Andrew grabbed onto Neil’s arm to make the idiot look at him. “So?”

Neil gave him a small yet hopeful smile. “It doesn’t change anything to me. If anything, makes me feel a bit better. Less chance of you being taken away in handcuffs.”

Andrew caught at Neil’s nape as they stepped into the small walkway of the bus. “Just wait until you see what I can do with a salad fork,” he warned.

Neil laughed at that, while Wymack hauled Kevin off of the bus. “Okay, more than I needed to know.” He grew quiet as they made their way across the parking lot. “Just… beat him at his own game.”

“That goes without saying,” Andrew assured.

Andrew gritted his teeth as he was wanded for any weapons – along with the rest of the Foxes – before they could entire the building, then escorted to a locker room where they could change into their dress clothes for the night.  By that time Kevin was good and drunk, the alcohol kicking into his system, and when the girls caught up to them, Renee gave him a loaded look as if she knew the importance of Andrew being stripped of his knives.

Wymack warned Andrew to behave, then tried the same thing with Neil before he led the team out onto the Blackwell court. Neil was as close to Andrew’s side as he probably thought was appropriate, until Andrew drew him closer; screw what anyone else thought. He didn’t care if anyone else knew that Neil was with him that night, that they were in a relationship – not if it kept Riko at bay. Not if it marked Neil as his.

The stadium turned banquet hall was quiet at that point, since it seemed that most of the other teams had already arrived. There was someone announcing that the Foxes had arrived, out on a court padded with cushioned mats to protect the hardwood floor and fancy lights overhead, with tables scattered about and music blaring over the speakers.

Wymack left them to go mingle with the other coaches, leaving them in Dan’s semi-capable hands. Andrew felt his temper rise when he realized that the Foxes were set at the same table – well, same tables as the Ravens, since those bastards outnumbered them.

Dan muttered a heartfelt “motherfucker” when she realized that, too, and didn’t slow down on her way to the long row of tables – if anything she gave the impression of stalking off into battle, head held high.

“Oh, how cliché,” Andrew remarked when he noticed the seating arrangement, which had him, Neil and Kevin near Riko. “Maybe this will be fun after all.” Or not. Maybe there would be bloodshed. “Come on Kevin. Let’s not keep them waiting.” He knew that Neil would be right by his side.

Kevin looked as if he’d rather chop off his precious left hand, but he followed along more or less on steady feet. Meanwhile, Neil paled a little but kept pressed to Andrew’s left side. To give Renee credit, she kept right on Andrew’s heels with that damn smile on her face, while Reynolds let out a faint curse.

It wasn’t difficult to find the Ravens, not when they were like twenty something groupies in black and red, all huddled together. They didn’t even seem to bring any dates, they just stuck together like pathetic losers.

Dan stepped up to Riko as if it wasn’t any big deal. “Riko, I’m Dan Wilds,” she said as she held out her right hand. Andrew secretly wished that she would punch him.

Riko stared at her for a couple of seconds before he offered her his hand in return in a terribly condescending handshake while he glanced in Andrew’s and Neil’s direction, a slight widening of the eyes at something, probably Neil’s exposed tattoo. He held his hand in a manner like a lord expecting a vassal to kiss it, but Dan grinned as she grasped it in a firm manner and gave it a shake.

“I know you, the woman who captains the Class I team despite all of your disadvantages,” Riko said in as patronizing a manner as possible.

Dan gave him a sharp grin. “What disadvantages?”

Riko gave her a leer in return. "Do you really want me to start listing them? This is only a two-day event, Hennessey." He put am emphasis on the last word.

Matt took to glaring at Riko for mentioning Dan’s stripper name, but all Dan did was give Riko a casual smile. "Careful, Riko," she said as she gave a light touch to Matt's arm to calm him down and pulled out her seat while her boyfriend sat to one next to her, followed by Renee and then Reynolds. Andrew got set next to Dan ‘for safekeeping’, with Neil next to him, then Kevin followed by Nicky and his date, and Aaron and Katelyn at last.

That set Neil much too close to Riko for Andrew’s liking, especially when the man to Riko's right stood up as soon as the Foxes were settled and walked behind the Ravens until he was across from Neil. He did something to the woman's shoulder that got her out of her chair and made her switch seats, so he could sit in front of Neil, as if that wasn’t suspicious at all. As the stranger switched seats, the Ravens lost some of their frozen demeanor, leaving the only one sitting rigid Riko. Neil's new dinner companion was leaning forward as he considered Neil, the ‘3’ tattoo obvious on his left cheek identifying him as Jean Moreau while. He was the Ravens' starting backliner and supposedly an old friend of Kevin's. "You look familiar," Jean said in heavily accented English as he fixed his gaze on Neil’s tattoo.

Neil started at the question. "If you watched Kathy's show you saw me there.”

 "Ah, you are right. That must be it. What was your name again? Alex? Stefan? Chris?”

Andrew felt Neil tense up at mention of the various aliases he’d used in the past, at something he didn’t want brought up before the Foxes. “It’s Neil,” he gritted out a moment later.

"Hmm?" Jean titled his head to one side as if that would help him see Neil better. "You don't look much like a Neil,” he drawled out in that French accent, while Andrew wondered if he could throw a glass of water on the bastard or something.

"Take it up with my mother," Neil said. "She named me." He managed to get the words out without too much of a problem, even as his left hand sought out Andrew’s thigh beneath the table.

"How is she doing, by the way?" Riko asked, his tone casual but his eyes bright with malice as he stared at Neil.

Before Andrew could throw something at the asshole, Dan spoke up. "Don't antagonize my team, Riko. This isn't the place for it."

"I was being polite," Riko insisted. "You haven't seen me antagonistic yet." He gave Neil and Andrew a threatening grin as he spoke.

As if to divert the topic, Jean looked at Kevin. "Hello, Kevin."

"Jean," Kevin said quietly, as if dreading what was to come next.

 Jean's smile was lazy, but the look in his gray eyes was pure ice while the two of them stared at each other, as if sharing a silent communication. So boring, Andrew found, especially if Jean was trying to intimidate the coward. “Hmm, Frenchie. Jean,” Andrew sang out after several seconds. "Hey, Jean. Jean Valjean." That seemed to get Frenchie’s attention, since Jean huffed a little in annoyance but looked at Andrew. He held out his hand and Jean was foolish enough to accept it, so Andrew’s knuckles went white as he did his best to crush Jean's hand – he wasn’t Riko, but he was a close substitute. Jean couldn't hide all of a flinch, and the smooth look on his face gave way to a pained scowl. Andrew only smiled wider at the sight of it. "I'm Andrew. We haven't met yet."

"For which I am grateful," Jean said with a hint of pain "The Foxes as a whole are an embarrassment to Class I Exy, but your very existence is unforgivable. A goalkeeper who doesn't care if he’s scored upon has no right to touch a racquet. You should have stayed on the sidelines like the- ah.” He feel silent as Andrew squeezed his hand until the bones had to grind together- until Riko sent a disapproving look his number 3’s way.

Renee gave the backliner a disapproving look as well, the ultimate sign of censure. “That’s a bit out of line, don’t you think?”

The girl to the right of Jean attempted to speak up. “It *is* unforgiveable, for someone like him to show such an unwillingness to cooperate. If he was with the Ravens, he’d be beaten for it.”

“If I was with the Ravens, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?” Andrew pointed out. “Even though you tried and I turned you down. But I’m not, since I have this thing called ‘free will’ which I don’t think you’ve heard about, I get to decide how to I’m going to play and why, so go fuck yourselves.”

“You’ll never win,” the girl told him, her teeth clenched together as if she was struggling to control her temper, while Neil sat beside Andrew with a slight smile on his face.

“Just watch me” Andrew shot back.

Renee shook her head. “This is the first time our teams have met, does everyone have to be so rude?” Then she seemed to think about something. “Well, everyone other than Andrew.” Andrew raised his water glass with his free hand at her as if in a toast. “We’re here to have fun.”

“Fun is for children,” Jean snapped as he stopped glaring at Andrew long enough to look at Renee… and seemed to blink in surprise. Andrew decided to let go of the asshole’s hand just then, but Jean didn’t immediately draw it away, not until Riko shifted a slight bit. Ah, someone was as on edge around his captain as Neil, interesting.

"At this level the game is supposed to be about skill, and your team is sadly lacking,” Jean insisted, but he didn’t have the former conviction of earlier as he tried to berate the Foxes. “You have no right to play with us."

"Then you shouldn't have switched districts," Matt said. “If you’re so disgusted with us, go back North, I’m sure no one here will be sad to see you leave.”

"You took something that does not belong to you," a Raven said while looking down the table at a silent Kevin – Andrew couldn’t be bothered with names, they were all much too much alike. "You brought this year's humiliation on yourselves, when we show you up as the pathetic rejects you are.”

"We didn't take anything," Dan said. "Kevin wants to be here. You act as if we broke into Castle Evermore and kidnapped him or something.” She rolled her eyes at that. “We’re not keeping him chained to the Exy court.” No, it was more the other way around.

The Raven across from Renee leaned forward to glare at Dan. "Kevin went to you because someone had to teach you what Exy is supposed to look like on a court. If he had stayed on as an assistant coach maybe he would learn to stomach your failures, but now that he's playing with you there's no way he will last the season. We know Kevin better than you ever will. We know how much your incompetence must grate on him."

Oh this was getting ridiculous, Andrew thought. Were they all trying to get points from Riko for arguing about how things would better for Kevin at Evermore? Had they taken their daily dose of the Kool-Aid? Was Riko moving on to the psychological torture and planning to drive the Foxes insane by subjecting them to this inane drivel all night long?

"So do we," Aaron said. "It's not like he's shy with his opinion." He glanced down the table at Kevin, who seemed to hope that if he didn’t say anything, no one would notice him, then shrugged. “Well, not normally.”

That seemed to jar Kevin out of his drunken misery. “The Foxes know how I feel, but words alone won’t fix everything. A team that needs this much work requires a serious commitment.”

Ah yes, there was Kevin, so supportive, so generous, so… hmm, how was the balance on the butter knife? Could it hit the coward from- nope, Neil took it away from him, the killjoy.

“You won’t stay,” Jean insisted, as if issuing an order. “You should reconsider our offer before we rescind it for good, Kevin. Your pet is useless and there will be no reason to stay once Josten-“

Andrew flicked a fancy pat of butter at the French bastard. “Oh, what’s this, Kevin? You have a pet? Why didn’t you tell us? I hope you’ve kept up on its rabies shots, would be a shame if it got loose and started biting people.”

Jean gave him a nasty look as he wiped the smear of grease from his face. “Don’t interrupt me, Doe.”

Ah, someone had learned that from their prick of a captain, hadn’t they? A captain who was being awfully quiet and letting others fight for him so far. Nicky drew in a sharp, offended breath while Neil went still, his blue eyes bright with anger and a hint of that cruel smile on his lips, while Andrew just shook his head. “Oh, nice try, but save your breath, Frenchie. A tip for you? It’s a waste of time, trying to cut someone down when they’re already in the gutter. Just puts you down there with them, too.”

It looked as if Jean was going to say something else, but Dan seemed to have had enough and stepped in; she snapped her fingers to get everyone’s attention. "Break it up,” she said, her voice low with obvious anger. “This is a district event and we have twenty officials on hand, in case you’ve forgotten. We're here to get to know each other, not to start fights.” She made a point to look in Riko’s direction, then Andrew’s. “If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all. That goes for both teams."

 "Is that why your new child is being so quiet?" Riko gestured at Neil. "He doesn't have anything 'nice' to say?" He stared at Neil, his expression hungry and possessive, his grin all white teeth, and Andrew wished more than anything that he still had his knives just then. “That doesn’t seem like the dear Neil that I know.”

"Leave him alone," Matt warned while Neil clutched at Andrew’s right thigh and Dan grabbed at Andrew’s left arm as if to keep him pinned; Andrew had instructed Neil to leave Riko to him as much as possible, to not ‘feed the monster’ tonight, and Neil had told Wymack he’d try to behave. The last thing they needed was Riko goading Neil on like this.

"He was very spirited the last time we met," Riko continued, still doing what he could to provoke Neil – Neil and Andrew, probably. "Perhaps that was just a show for the crowd?” When that failed to get a response, he frowned a little and leaned over to the table to get a better look at Neil “Hello, I am speaking to you. Are you really going to ignore me?" Neil shifted in his seat as Andrew pressed *his* right hand down against Neil’s on his thigh, aware of how Riko wouldn’t be pleased at Neil’s silence – at Neil ignoring him.

“Maybe he just doesn’t find you that interesting,” Andrew said with blank face. “Have you ever thought that maybe you’re not all that? Might be time to work on the personality or something.”

“Andrew,” Dan ground out. “Don’t.”

"Or maybe he’s coward," Riko said with exaggerated disappointment as he continued to stare at Neil with that hungry expression. "Just like his mother."

And there it went – Andrew knew there was no holding the idiot back now and prepared himself for the explosion about to be released, especially when he felt Neil tense up.

There was a slight pause before Neil spoke. "You know, I get it," he said as he looked back at Riko, sounding almost civil just then. "Being raised as a superstar all your life must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, and not a single person in your family thinks you're worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough.” Except Neil didn’t sound sympathetic in the slightest just then. “Kevin, Andrew and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. About how you’re this huge deal to so many people and yet your own father doesn’t give a shit about you even if you make it to the Olympics and win the gold.” Neil gave Riko that creepy, cruel smile of his while his eyes flashed with anger. “Keep on striving for something you’re never, ever going to get, ‘number one’,” he said, twisting the knife while Riko’s expression became that much hungrier the longer he spoke.

"Neil," Kevin said, low and frantic since he realized just how damaging the words Neil spoke were, and of course Neil ignored him; Kevin shot a look Andrew’s way, but there was nothing Andrew could do just then short of dragging Neil from the table. Riko had poked the beast, this was what he got.

"I know it's not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, because your sole purpose in life is to just go out and do well on the court,” Neil continued, letting loose all the pent-up anger he had against Riko while he twisted his hand to catch at Andrew’s beneath the table. “But that’s no reason that the rest of us have to put up with the sorry excuse of a human being you’ve become, and my patience for your many, *many* failings was breached… oh, so damn long ago it’s not funny. So please, *please*, just shut the fuck up and leave me alone. Leave all of us alone, in fact, and see if your family’s money can’t buy you some much needed therapy lessons before it’s too late.”

Well, Andrew had to hand it to his idiot, when he self-destructed, he went big. It was almost worth it to see that brief flash of utter disbelief on Riko’s face before it froze up, the way the rest of the Ravens stared at Neil in utter disbelief over the fact that someone was taking down their ‘beloved’ captain with such a nasty thoroughness that they broke their freaky formation, and the muffled titters among the Foxes as they attempted to stifle their laughs. As for Dan, she had her face buried in her hands as she moaned, probably in pain. Neil glanced at her and shrugged. “I said ‘please’,” he told her, as if it made everything better. “I tried to be nice.” He looked to Andrew as if seeking back-up; oh no, the idiot was in this all by himself.

"Matt," Dan said, almost choking on her boyfriend’s name. "Matt, Coach. Get Coach. Oh my god."

Matt left as fast as he could, his expression turn between amusement and ‘oh my fucking god what just happened’.

Meanwhile, one or two people at the table began to recover. "You can't say things like that," Jean said with evident horror as he refused to look at his captain.

 "Then he shouldn't have asked me to join the conversation. I was happy sitting here saying nothing,” Neil insisted as he sat back in his chair with a sullen expression, probably trying to figure out why everyone was so upset.

Jean turned toward Kevin and spoke in quick, furious French. "What the hell was that? Do you have any idea what the fool has done?”

"His antagonism is a personality flaw we're learning to live with," Kevin said while staring hard at his glass of water, as if mentally trying to will it to turn into vodka.

"Live with," Jean echoed, still sounding horrified. "No! You should have dealt with him two weeks ago when he first stepped out of line. We trusted you to discipline him. Why doesn't he know his place yet?"

Andrew was getting tired of the back and forth. “And what place would that be, hmm?” he asked in French. “This wouldn’t be another allusion to him joining the Ravens, would it?”

Jean stared at Andrew in surprise before he shook his head. “He was only allowed to be a Fox because of an amusement. Once it’s clear that the team can’t live up to the promises he made, he’ll be handed over to the Ravens.”

“He’s a Fox,” Andrew insisted with a flat look while Neil shifted next to him, probably annoyed at being talked about as if he wasn’t there.

“He’s not,” Jean argued. “Not for much longer.”

“I signed a contract with Palmetto State University,” Neil argued. “And I plan to honor it.”

"A contract does not change facts," Jean said, his expression almost pitying. "Did you forget who owns you? They can have it bought out and a new one written up in no time. You are to play for a winning team, and if the Foxes don’t win, you will be a Raven.”

It was what they had suspected, what Riko had insinuated on the tv show and ever since, but still, it was a punch to the throat, hearing Moreau say it out loud. Before Andrew could tell Frenchie to go fuck himself, a rather harried Wymack showed up at their table.

“What the hell is going on here?” He stood behind Andrew and Neil’s chairs as he glared at them, while Matt went to stand by Dan. “Come on, get up. Abby’s talking to the event coordinators about finding you a new table because *someone* can’t follow simple instructions.” His glare just then made it clear who he meant.

Neil didn’t have the courtesy to look guilty, but as he stood up, Jean leaned across the table to speak in a rush. “You will give Riko a few minutes of your time tonight,” he said.

“No way in hell,” Andrew answered as he went to tug Neil from the table.

“He will,” Jean insisted. “Or everyone here will know that he’s the Butcher’s son.”

Neil froze up at that, as did Kevin since he’d come over to stand by the two of them. Andrew gave the French bastard a narrowed look, and Jean had the courtesy to glance aside as if ashamed to meet his eyes now that the message was delivered. Andrew made a sound of disgust before he pulled Neil away so they could leave with the rest of the Foxes.

“Wonderful party so far. We should do this more often,” he said as they made their way across the floor to where Abby was waving.

“I-“

Andrew gave Neil’s left arm a tight squeeze. “Hush. No more from you right now, I think you’ve spoken enough, thank you.”

“Oh sure, *now* you shut him up,” Kevin mumbled as he rubbed at his face. “We’re dead. Oh my fucking god, we’re so dead.”

Neil scowled at the both of them, but by then they’d reached their new table, where the coaches had been sitting, so there wasn’t much of a chance to talk – especially since the rest of the Foxes were watching them. Andrew bared his teeth at Dan as they sat down in much the same seating arrangement as before.

“Why did you say those things to him,” Kevin asked in French. “And why did you let him, Andrew?”

Neil bristled at the question. “I didn’t realize that he had to approve everything I say!”

Meanwhile, Andrew just shrugged. “Riko was going to keep pushing until he got some sort of reaction out of the idiot. He got what he deserved.” He ignored the dirty look that Neil sent his way and all of the curious ones from the rest of the Foxes and their dates since they were speaking in French.

“But for Neil to say that in front of the other Ravens and…. Oh god.” Kevin shook his head as he got up from the chair in a rush, his expression one of obvious panic. Andrew just sat there and watched as Abby hurried over to him to see what was wrong; Kevin caught sight of her and motioned for her to follow as he almost ran out the nearest exit door.

Abby shot a confused look at Andrew and Neil, to which Andrew sighed as he waved her away. “Go after the coward,” he told her. “Bring him back after he gets enough liquid courage in him to deal with things. I’ve got Neil.” Neil didn’t look too happy about that, but he nodded to Abby as well.

“All right.” Abby hurried after Kevin, but as she did so, she glanced over in the direction of the Ravens’ table and gave a slight wave, and not long after that, Wymack was headed over to where the Foxes now sat, his expression thunderous. Oh yes, someone was having a *wonderful* time, weren’t they?

Meanwhile, Dan came over to sit in Kevin’s seat, her brown eyes fixed on Neil. “Are you okay? What was that stuff back there with Jean?”

Neil paled a little, probably at the reminder of the threat that Jean had passed on from Riko. “He’s fine,” Andrew told Dan as he rocked back onto two legs of his chair. “Doesn’t he look like he’s having a fun time?”

Dan gave him an unamused look. “I’m asking him, not you.”

Neil just shook his head, seeming to have used up his words for the time being and taken to tugging on his bangs as he closed his eyes. Oh yes, someone was definitely rattled by the threat.

“Just give him a few minutes and he’ll be back to causing mayhem like normal,” Andrew assured her. “What’s next on the list? Insulting Riko’s virility? Mocking his fashion sense?” That provoked a slight twitch to Neil’s lips.

“Sit down and stop egging him on, Minyard,” Wymack snapped as he came up to the table. Then he folded his arms over his chest and scowled at Neil. “I seem to remember asking you to behave tonight and you agreeing to not start a fight.”

Across the table, Nicky raised his right hand in a tentative manner. “Uhm, Coach, in his defense-“

Wymack cut him off. “Not talking to you, Hemmick. Talking to this particular idiot right here. Well, Josten?”

Neil continued to sit there with his eyes closed, his expression blank as if he hadn’t heard Wymack’s question or was too lost in his own head for a moment. Wymack continued to scowl at him for a few seconds, then he let out a breath as his expression changed into something more concerned. “Josten, is everything all right? Do you need Abby to take you outside or something?”

Neil opened his eyes as he shook his head, his gaze focused on Andrew as he spoke up. “No, I’m fine.” His hand crept over to brush against Andrew’s left knee. “Just… it’s just Riko.” He gave a slight shrug.

“You better not be thinking of running off somewhere,” Andrew warned in German as he caught at his idiot’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “You got yourself into this mess, deal with it.”

“I know,” Neil answered back. “I just… I didn’t expect him to use… I should have.” He closed his eyes again. “It’s always there, dammit.” For a moment, he pressed the fingers of his left hand against the damn tattoo.

Now Wymack appeared tired. “Is there anything I can do?”

Neil started at the question, his eyes flying open in surprise, but Andrew shook his head. “It’s being handled,” he told the man. Wymack didn’t seem to believe him, but Andrew stared him down until he sighed and shook his head; they didn’t need him involved in this, not with Riko threatening to tattle secrets.

Another team arrived, which helped to provide a distraction, and Kevin finally returned to the table, barely able to sit up straight, he was so drunk. Once all fourteen teams were accounted for, they were bored by some stupid speech the Blackwell’s coach made about the current season and then the food was served.

The Foxes were stuck with the coaches who hadn’t taken their seats with the Ravens, and Andrew noticed the odd looks sent his and Neil’s way from time to time, the stares at Neil over the damn tattoo and for how they kept most of their conversation in German. Neil wasn’t in that much of a talkative mood anymore, not when faced with the prospect of dealing with Riko after the meal, and after one coach had asked him about the rumor of him switching to the Ravens after the current season. Dan had been quick to change the subject, but Neil hadn’t had much of an appetite after that.

As soon as dinner was finished, staff came out to clear off the tables then collapse them and remove them from the court, so the middle of the large area was left open for several areas to be set up for people to mingle together. There was an area to dance and even a small volleyball court, and some bar tables for people to stand together and talk.

“Go on,” Wymack told them. “Have fun or whatever, just no more fighting, do you understand?” He gave Andrew and Neil a heavy look at that.

“I think we’re being picked on,” Andrew said to Neil in a loud mock-whisper. “Where’s the love?” He smiled in the face of Wymack’s glare while the rest of the team split up, Dan and Matt to play volleyball, Aaron and Nicky with their dates to dance, Renee and Reynolds to find a quiet corner somewhere. Kevin stood by Andrew and Neil as he swayed a little on his feet, still feeling the effects of however much vodka Abby had helped to pour into him.

Wymack gave the three of them a suspicious look. “Well? I don’t see you doing anything. Do I need to repeat myself?”

“Oh Coach, you can’t possibly imagine how much fun we’re having right now,” Andrew said as he slung his left arm over Neil’s shoulders. “We’re overflowing with it. Give us a moment or else our poor little hearts will explode with all of the joy and wonder inside of us.”

Wymack rubbed at the back of his neck as if he had a pain there. “I’m giving you thirty seconds, and don’t get my hopes up like that.”

Kevin swayed a little, then spun around and went off as if in a random direction so Andrew followed with his arm around his boyfriend’s waist to ensure that Neil tagged along, too. It was almost amusing, watching Kevin crash into conversations and annoy the hell out of people; it was clear that he garnered respect because of his talent, but even though he seemed to try to be less condescending than usual, he still didn’t have the hang of the whole ‘polite’ thing and ruffled a lot of feathers when it came to talking about Exy (and that was the only topic he wanted to talk about). There was no way he would sugar coat what he thought was a deficiency or lack of talent, so… yeah. They slowly made their way through each of the twelve other teams besides the Foxes and the Ravens, and each team was pleased to see Kevin go. A few people tried to talk to Andrew and Neil, but Andrew just gave them a flat look while Neil shook his head and would murmur a brief answer or two.

One of the players from the Blackwell team eyes the two of them, how close they were standing together and Andrew’s hand still loosely curled around Neil’s right hip. “So… uhm… the two of you?”

Andrew did more than give a flat look that time. “The two of us what?”

The guy – Andrew thought he was one of their backliners – sighed as if Andrew was being dense. “You two together or what?”

“Just letting him use me for sex,” Andrew replied, since it looked as if Kevin had annoyed yet another team and it was time to move on. “It’s unbelievable, the shit he’s into.”

Neil sighed as they walked away, while the backliner stared after them with mouth agape. “Thank you so much for that.”

“Hey, you get to say what you want, then so do I,” Andrew informed his boyfriend. “Feel like taunting Riko a little more now?”

Neil’s response was something inaudible but still rather amusing.

Andrew noticed around then that Reynolds had returned from wherever she and Renee had gone off to, and had taken to standing around the edge of the dance floor tracking something as Kevin made the rounds with the other teams. Not long after that, Neil noticed her, too, and looked at Andrew in confusion before he glanced over at the dealer… then tensed up.

Seemed that Neil realized that Reynolds was keeping an eye on the Ravens for them, and that the Ravens had been trailing after them for at least half an hour by then. Considering that the fun little shindig only had another hour or so before it ended for the night, Andrew figured that Riko had to make his move sometime soon.

“Andrew,” Neil murmured a little while later, his gaze flickering toward the ‘v’ formation in black and red that was headed their way.

“Finally,” Andrew said, “things were getting so boring.” He tugged Neil a bit closer while he called out. “Kevin! Look sharp, we have company coming. I think some old friends of yours want to talk.”

Kevin’s shoulders went stiff when he heard that, and he made a quick excuse to end his discussion with one of the Breckenridge’s Jackals so he could come over to Andrew’s right side. A few seconds later, Riko came to a stop in front of the three of them, a smug expression on his face, while the rest of the Ravens continued moving until they boxed them in. Clever fucks.

Before Riko could make any move, Renee managed to slip past the wall of Ravens – Andrew thought he heard a muffled cry – and slipped her left arm into Kevin’s right and gave everyone a smile – her false, too sweet to be true smile, while she held out her hand to Jean. “It’s Jean, right? My name is Renee Walker. We didn’t have a chance to talk before.”

The ‘I’m a Raven asshole’ mask on Moreau’s face changed into something more confused and uncomfortable as he accepted her hand. “Jean Moreau.” His fingers lingered on hers for a few seconds longer than necessary.

Meanwhile, two men and a woman came up to Andrew and Neil. “Neil Josten,” one of the men said as he sneered down at Neil. “We are the Ravens’ starting strikers.” His eyes narrowed as he took in the tattoo on Neil’s cheek. “We wanted you to see a proper offensive line, since you’ll have to compete with us for your spot soon enough.”

“Offense, or offensive?” Matt came to stand on the other side of Neil with a much better sneer on his face, and returned the favor of looking down on the asshole. “Matt Boyd, starting backliner for the Foxes – for *Neil’s* team. Take a good look, because I’m the one who’s going to be wrecking your goals this October.” He held out his hand then shook his head when no one accepted it. “Guess the pleasure is all mine.”

“We’re sure it is,” the one Raven’s striker said, “considering that you’re dating a prostitute.”

Oh ho, now this was getting interesting, Andrew thought as he smiled at the jab.

Matt made to punch the asshole, but Dan came up to his side right about then. "Stripper," she corrected as she wound an arm around his waist with her stilettos hung off her fingers by their thin straps. "I would hope that you're smart enough to distinguish between the two professions. If you're not, I have serious concerns about your academic standings."

"Hennessey, right?" the other male striker said. "Such a good name for such a fierce spirit, if a bit too high class for one such as you." He gave a derisive sniff as if to make it clear just what he thought of Dan.

"We were a little disappointed you didn't sign up as part of the entertainment tonight," one of the other Ravens. "We were looking forward to the show – even brought some dollar bills for you.” He patted the front pocket of his black pants while the others laughed around him.

“Fucking assholes,” Neil murmured, while it looked as if Matt was ready to punch the asshole who had made the comment the about show as he gave Dan a thorough and obscene once-over. Yet all Dan did was dig her fingers into Matt’s hip as if to warn him to rein in his temper, then slide around her boyfriend to get up close to the one striker.

Not bothering to think why Dan would do such a thing, the asshole smirked at Matt over Dan’s shoulder then tilted his head to sniff along her neck… only to recoil in agony a moment later when Dan brought her stilettos up between his legs with what looked to be all of her might. The asshole let out a sound not even remotely human as he crumpled forward, and Andrew smiled at the various cringes from the men gathered around.

"Yeah, Hennessey," Dan said, sounding rather smug right then as she settled back at a smiling Matt’s side. "Treats you right if you're willing to pay and will fuck you over the morning after if you're not nice enough to her. Sorry,” nope, she didn’t seem very sorry at all, “but this bottle's got a name on it. Hope you feel that one for a while, you lowlife asshole."

Beside Andrew, Neil turned a little to look at their captain. “What happened to being polite?”

Dan laughed at that. “Do as I say and not what I do, rookie.”

That provoked a laugh from Matt and a smile from Renee, but before anything else could be said, a deep voice called out Kevin’s name and the Ravens parted to allow Tetsuji Moriyama to step forward. Andrew felt Neil go still and Kevin begin to tremble, and caught a flash of white from Riko as he smiled at his uncle’s arrival. Then the asshole resumed staring at Neil as if he was some sort of prize.

“Master,” Kevin breathed out, voice as trembling as his body, and Andrew wanted to punch the coward. “It’s… been a while.”

Tetsuji studied Kevin for a moment as if drinking in his reaction, then motioned with his right hand; as if one, the Ravens moved, and Andrew inwardly cursed as the bastards worked to drive themselves between the Foxes and split everyone up. He had a choice then, to stay with Neil or go with Kevin, and he chose Neil; Tetsuji seemed focused on Kevin, and the man had been able to recall Kevin for the last several months and hadn’t. And if Tetsuji was focused on Kevin… yeah, that left Neil and Riko.

His suspicions were proven correct when Jean waved toward the two of them and called out in French. “Butcher.” Neil tensed at that word, making Andrew hold on to him all the tighter.

Jean motioned with his head, and Andrew could see Riko walking away, off of the court. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Andrew warned Neil, and got a weak laugh in return as they followed the Ravens into what turned out to the home team’s locker room. Aw, wasn’t that nice and private? Nothing suspicious about this at all.

At least it looked as if it was just the four of them, no pesky bodyguards, as Riko checked the rows of lockers for any annoying witnesses. The two of them stopped just inside of the door, until Riko gave a demanding wave for them to step closer; Neil looked to Andrew, making it clear that he wasn’t going to blindly follow Riko’s orders, and Andrew grinned at the look of rage that flashed across Riko’s face before he nodded and led Neil further into the room.

Hmm, the Jackrabbits had a much fancier locker room, with couches and throw rugs with their stupid mascot on them. Something to bitch about to Wymack later. Riko waited until they were in the center of the room and pretended to be surveying some of the pictures on the wall before he gave a derisive snort, then chose to focus his attention on Neil. Once again, Andrew felt a burning rage in him at the possessive, hungry look and wished that he had his knives. That wasn’t good, wasn’t good at all.

“Nathaniel, it’s been much too long.”

Neil flinched upon hearing his birth name. “My name is Neil,” he insisted.

“Don’t lie to me again – I don’t care about the deal you made with the FBI, about the foolish life you’re making right now.” Riko’s gaze flickered toward Andrew, heavy with contempt, before he once more locked onto Neil as if he was the only thing of importance in the room. “Nathaniel is who you really are, Neil is just the lie. Don’t think you can run so easily from your past, from who you are. You are a Wesninski and a Hatford. Does the mutt really know what that means?”

Neil shifted against Andrew’s side and shook his head. “Andrew knows the truth.”

“Does he?” Something much too gleeful blossomed across Riko’s face. “Does he know about Cologne? Edinburgh? Montreal? Stockholm? Does he know just what you’re willing to do when you’re backed into a corner?” He laughed as Neil went still, his face a perfect mask. “Oh, how very clever you are when they track you down on a train platform, yes? I hear that man is managing well, with the prosthetic. Though the poor man who came upon you with the aerosol and the lighter.” Riko made a tsk’ing sound. “Your father put him out of his misery, wasn’t that nice?” Neil’s face drained of blood upon hearing that. “Your mother trained you well, didn’t she? Your mother *and* your father. Such a perfect blend of the two.” He turned that pleased, vicious grin on Andrew while Neil’s breathing sped up. “You think you’re protecting him, I’m sure, but he can be quite capable when necessary. It’s in his blood, you know.” Riko reached up to tap his left cheek, where the ‘1’ tattoo was. “That’s why it’s so fitting, him being my four. My lovely angel of death and destruction.”

Andrew gave the asshole a flat look as he reached up to grasp the back of Neil’s neck and gave it a rough squeeze. “You’re growing boring, do you know that?”

Riko cocked his head to the side as he regarded Andrew through narrowed eyes for a moment. “That’s right, it was after he met you that the talented Malcolms disappeared. Still trying to piece that all together, but it was after Oakland.” Andrew refused to show anything at that revelation, and squeezed the back of Neil’s neck hard. “Just how far will you go for him?”

“Try me and see,” Andrew told him as he bared his teeth. “How’s the one bodyguard doing?”

Riko gave him a cold look for a moment before focusing on Neil once more. “How far will you go for *him*, hmm? For your precious mutt?” He smiled as he said something in Japanese, his tone vicious.

Neil shook his head as he glared at Riko. “No. *No*. I don’t expect a sick, twisted fuck like you to understand!”

Pure rage flashed over Riko’s face just then, and Andrew caught Jean wincing off to the side. There was another spat of Japanese, even more vicious, and this time Neil answered in the same language, his cheeks flushed and eyes flashing.

Whatever he said, it made Riko step closer, step within reach, and Andrew took advantage of it; he put all of his strength behind the punch that had Riko flying backwards, onto the ground, and then let go of Neil so he could reach for the asshole’s throat. The look of shock on Riko’s face was worth it alone, even if Jean was scrambling for him, was prying at his hands to pull him off of the asshole.

“No, you can’t!” Jean screamed. “It’ll be both of your deaths!”

It was around then that the door to the locker room slammed open, and Matt’s voice called out. “What’s going on – what the fuck!”

Jean never would have been able to pull him off of Riko, but with Matt’s help they both could, damn the bastard. Andrew cursed him as he was pulled off of the asshole, and had to take some satisfaction in the way that Riko sputtered for air, his gaze venomous when he looked at Andrew.

He managed to spat out something else in Japanese, his voice rough, but Neil just shrugged it aside. When Riko went to grab onto Neil, Matt was there to block him even as he held onto Andrew’s arms. “Ah, ah, I think there’s been enough excitement tonight. Leave my team alone,” Matt told Riko. “Start anymore shit and we’ll be sure to let the ERC know, and you can explain your suspension once you’re benched for a few games.”

Riko ignored him as if Matt wasn’t worthy of his attention, along with Andrew, as he stared at Neil as if he was the only thing of importance in the room. Once again, Andrew felt something crawl up his spine in that gaze, felt something that made him want to grab Neil and hide him away. “Later you will be on your knees in front of me, begging for forgiveness, for me to end the pain. Don’t be surprised when I deny you,” he promised.

Neil gave him a blank look in response. “I’ll never give you what you want.”

Riko just smiled in response. “Soon.” That said, he turned around and left, with Jean trailing behind him, a distinctly unhappy expression on his face. The three of them watched them leave, Matt not letting go of Andrew until the Ravens were gone; Andrew punched him, hard, in the stomach once he was free.

“Fuck!” Matt gasped as he bent over. “Fucking… helping you,” he gasped out.

“World would be a better place without that asshole,” Andrew hissed before he went over to Neil. “What the hell did he say?” When Neil paused, Andrew grabbed onto his shoulders. “What the hell did he say!”

Neil shuddered as he switched to German, reluctance clear in his entire demeanor. “He wanted to know if I let you, something so broken and tainted, fuck me because you made some ridiculous promise to keep me safe.” He reached for Andrew when Andrew’s face went blank. “You know that’s not true!”

No, their deal was made long before anything had happened between them. Still, Andrew didn’t like this sudden interest of Riko’s in their personal business. “And what else?”

Judging from Neil’s continuing reluctance, it wasn’t good. “He….” A flush came over Neil’s cheeks. “He said that the other Ravens were asking about me, if…” Neil let out a sharp breath and scrubbed at his face. “He said if something so used as you was allowed to touch me, maybe he should-“ Neil shook his head, his lips pressed together.

Andrew thought he got the gist of it, and turned to glare at Matt. “Don’t ever fucking interfere again, if you want to live,” he snapped.

Matt held up his hands, a look of panic on his face. “Whoa, where did that come from? I kept you from going to jail there!”

“You kept me from killing a shitty asshole, it would be worth it.”

Neil tugged on Andrew’s left sleeve. “Not sure about that.” He appeared stressed and tired, his eyes shadowed and shoulders hunched. “Find a better place with no witnesses, and where we can hide the body without any trouble.”

Matt stared at Neil in shock. “You’re kidding, right? That’s a joke?” He looked as if his mental image of Neil was tarnished a little, just then. Oh, what a fool – there was a reason that Neil was a ‘monster’, after all.

Andrew thought about what Riko had said early, thought about Reno and smiled as he draped his left arm over Neil’s shoulders. “We’re not telling. Are we going now?” He motioned toward the court, done with the whole banquet and just wanting to get out of there so he could sleep.

Matt stared at the two of them as if trying to figure out some unique type of life-form, then gave up. He focused on Neil as they headed back to the court. “You know Coach isn’t going to be too happy with you – with the two of you.”

“Should we care?” Andrew asked.

“This is serious, Riko seems to have it out for you.” Matt frowned as he glanced back at them. “Just why is that?”

“He also had it out for Dan,” Neil mumbled as he slumped a little against Andrew. “And Kevin. That’s almost half the team.”

“Dan doesn’t give a shit about her past, she did what she had to in order to survive,” Matt snapped, a furious expression on his face. “And Kevin had to get shitfaced to deal with whatever Jean said to you, earlier. So I’m thinking… something’s going on with you.” He gave a pointed stare Neil’s way until Andrew glared at him.

“It was in reaction to me insulting Riko earlier,” Neil said, which was the partial truth.

“Which doesn’t explain why Riko’s after you so much in the first place.” Matt sighed when Neil just gave him a blank look in return. “All right, I get it, you’re not going to tell us anything right now. But just know that we’re here for you, and you can trust us.”

Nothing else was said as Matt led them over to the rest of the Foxes; as Andrew had expected, Renee was right by Kevin’s side, along with Dan and Reynolds, and Wymack was talking to Tetsuji off to the side, with obvious displeasure.

As soon as Wymack was done chewing Tetsuji out, he motioned for the Foxes around him to gather together, and they tracked down Aaron and Nicky, along with their dates, and finally got the hell out of the damn place. They changed out of their formal clothes for the drive back to campus, and with Neil curled up at his side, Andrew sat in the back seat of the bus and thought about what Riko had said and how he had looked at Neil for much of the ride home.

*******

They got back late at night on Saturday, so Neil and Andrew crashed as soon as they returned to the suite, along with the others. After sleeping in Sunday morning, they got up and went out for something to eat, eggs, bacon and hash browns for Neil, a completely disgusting stuffed waffle sugary whipped cream mess for Andrew, and then they headed to the stadium for practice with Kevin.

Kevin appeared to have recovered from all the alcohol that he’d drunk the night before, even if he was a little quieter that day. The two of them focused on drills for about an hour while Andrew ran up and down the steps.

“So, yesterday,” Kevin commented after a while.

“Yeah, fun event. Wish it happened every month,” Neil drawled.

Kevin shot him a sour look. “You do realize that Riko’s going to come down on us in October. He can’t let your insolence slide after you spoke up like that in front of the other Ravens.”

“I didn’t think he was going to go easy on us anyway, not with you playing on the team,” Neil shot back. “Or was Tetsuji talking to you about old times and checking on your wellbeing?”

Kevin sighed at that. “He was… well, he seemed to be checking up on me. I don’t think he believes that I can come through this season.” He focused a little too much on shooting the ball at a cone.

“Then he’ll be surprised when you do, right?” Kevin could be an asshole at times, but Neil didn’t doubt for a moment that Kevin was still one of the best strikers out there, if not the best.

That earned him a grateful smile. “I think he doesn’t want to acknowledge that he made a mistake, letting me go.” A frown tugged down the corner of Kevin’s lips. “Of course, that means he’ll even be more determined to make the Ravens’ win against us.”

Neil scoffed at that. “They’re gunning for us, one way or another.” He hadn’t forgotten about Jean declaring that Neil’s contract with the Foxes was null and void if the Foxes didn’t win. “We’re not ready for them right now, but if we can make sure that they don’t beat us too badly….”

“Yeah.” Kevin stared off into the distance. “If we win against the other teams… we can make it to the finals if Nicky starts pulling his weight and Andrew cooperates.” He paused then as he fiddled with his racquet. “The problem will be the big three.”

That meant Edgar Allen, Penn State and USC, which always made the top three in ranking, with Edgar Allen usually in the first spot and Penn State and USC fighting it out for second and third place. They would be tough teams to beat, considering how established they were… and that they had at least double the roster as the Foxes. “Guess that’ll have to be good enough.” Neil hoped that would appease the main branch, the Foxes making it that far this season.

A new noise made him turn around, that of Andrew running around the court doing laps; normally his boyfriend just curled up on the bench taking a nap or reading a book or something, but Andrew was actually working out for once. “What’s he doing today?”

Kevin shrugged as he watched Andrew. “I don’t know.” Then he cast a sideways glance at Neil. “But it probably has something to do with Riko and you.”

Neil frowned at that, uncertain about what Kevin meant just then. When all Kevin did was smile at him, he sighed and focused back on their practice session.

There was a message from his uncle Stuart waiting for him afterwards, but Neil didn’t call him back until he returned to the dorms; he was in the bedroom with Andrew, tucked onto their bed. “You left a message?”

“Yeah, there’s been some interesting shite going down.” Uncle Stuart sighed on the other line. “I think the little lord might be leaning toward you being off your rocker, considering what you’ve done the last few weeks.”

Neil winced upon hearing that, and ignored the displeased look Andrew was giving him just then, since the call was on speaker phone. “But Riko-“

“I called because of Riko,” Stuart explained. “The twat’s trying to bring in pressure for you to be assigned to the Ravens, do you know that?” At Neil’s stunned silence, Uncle Stuart huffed. “It’s not going down too well, which is in your favor, but your team better start winning, is all I’m saying. There’s been mention of endorsements and a bunch of other shite, I think he’s talking out of his arsehole, but he’s determined, he is. Got a hard on for you. Don’t go putting your fool neck in the noose, all right?”

“Got it,” Neil gritted out.

“Where the fuck is the little prick during all of this? Thought he’s supposed to be watching out for you?”

“Some people seem to think it’s a bad idea, me killing Riko,” Andrew sang out. “Your thoughts?”

Stuart was silent for a few seconds. “No comment, not on this line.”

“Well, at least you’re not bitching about burying bodies,” Andrew snarked. “I think your nephew has been seriously coddled.” Neil glared at him and considered kicking him out of the bed. “And that he never learned to keep his mouth shut.”

“And you won’t even consider the McCormick boy? Really? He’s a good lad, could support you in style and-“

“Not going there,” Neil ground out as he felt a headache coming on. “Thank you, but we’ve early morning practice tomorrow. Gotta go.” He hung up the phone and glared at a rather displeased Andrew. “Coddled?”

“Ooh, ‘support you in style’. What, so does that mean a new Exy racquet a year? Or someone to bury the bodies for you?” Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and gave Neil a bland look. “Do tell.”

“Why do I put up with this?” He could be… oh, Spain was just lovely. Or Wales. Hmm, so many places he could be, living a quiet life, and here he was, putting up with Kevin, putting up with *Andrew*, and…. “I’m not coddled,” Neil complained as he attempted to shove Andrew off of the bed, the heavy bastard.

Andrew snatched at Neil’s hands and pulled him forward. “You bitch about a relatively simple thing like digging a grave. Yes you are.”

“And I keep asking you, how many graves have you dug!” Neil glared at the bastard even as he settled on top of Andrew’s solid, muscular body; he pushed aside all thoughts of California just then, all thoughts of Europe and-

Strong, thick fingers slid through his hair. “Who’s the one who bitches about me leaving any messes behind, hmm?” Andrew pulled Neil even closer as he gave him a heavy-lidded look. “Even if it would make our lives a bit easier?”

Neil’s breath caught in his throat as he felt his hips align with Andrew’s, as his lips hovered above Andrew’s full ones. “Too many witnesses. I keep telling you, not sure how much it’ll cost for me to have Uncle Stuart break you out of jail.”

“Hmm, he might have you go out with that McCormick asshole or something.” Andrew’s fingers tightened in Neil’s hair. “Can’t have that, can we?”

“I can’t even imagine that,” Neil admitted as he relaxed against Andrew’s warmth and solidness. “It’s….” His right hand splayed against the center of Andrew’s chest while his left hand curled up on the pillows near his boyfriend’s head. “Everyone else is just an abstract,” he tried to explain. “And then there’s you.” It didn’t make much sense, he supposed… but Andrew was the only person who stood out to him, when it came to things like ‘desire’ and ‘want’ and ‘sex’. Anyone else… anyone else he just looked at and didn’t get it, just saw as someone pleasant and okay and maybe decent, but not worth the fuss. Andrew? Oh yes, he was worth the fuss. Was worth the frustration and aching and everything else Neil put up with, just for those moments of ‘yes’.

Andrew’s expression was still that awful blank just then, but his fingers grasped Neil’s hair almost tight enough to hurt. “Imagine that,” was all he said before he pulled Neil in a little closer. “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil told him, and shivered when Andrew pulled him in close enough for a kiss. A kiss that started slow, as a gentle pressure of lips, and then it began to build, to tumble out of control as Neil was rolled onto his back. Clothes were yanked up and away, hands stroked and scratched and soothed, mouths nibbled and sucked and nipped…. He was desperate to have Andrew closer, to have more of him, as much as Andrew would give; judging from the way that Andrew’s fingers clutched at him, Andrew’s lips and teeth on his neck and shoulders, the way Andrew thrust into him with a relentlessness that made Neil gasp and pull him in even closer… both of them needed something, were spurred on by more than the addicting, delicious pleasure coiling inside of Neil with each motion between them until it completely twisted up his insides in the most delirious way and he was crying out Andrew’s name.

Afterwards he was lying on his stomach and trying to decide if he had enough energy to get up and wash off, when Andrew ran his hand along Neil’s spine and made him shiver. “Hmm?”

“What are you going to do if Riko does try to use your past against you as a weapon? You can’t keep freaking out about that like yesterday.”

Neil groaned as he lifted up on his forearms, the good mood from moments ago gone. “I don’t really want to think about everyone knowing about my father,” he admitted. “It makes me a target, and them.” He didn’t want to put the Foxes in danger, not when they were offering him a home. “But in the end… I’m not giving this up without a fight.”

“Damn right,” Andrew agreed. “No more running. You stay here and deal with things for once.”

“Or?” Neil asked as he smiled.

“Or I kick your ass. Scrawny idiot like you?” Andrew snorted as he leaned in. “You’re going down.”

“I know a few tricks,” Neil insisted even as he tilted his face up for a brief brush of the lips. “Hmm, let’s see you kick my ass when you’re deprived of your morning coffee. Or your precious ice cream,” he offered when Andrew pulled away.

“Even more incentive to take you down. 302%,” Andrew told him as he shoved Neil off of the bed, resulting in Neil letting out a loud yelp. “Shitty reflexes, too, Josten,” he pointed out with a great deal of smugness as he slid off of the bed and snatched up his shorts.

Neil glared at his asshole boyfriend from his spot on the floor and threw a t-shirt at him, before picking himself up and rubbing his now sore right hip. “I hate you.”

“Feeling is mutual,” Andrew shot back as he went over to the dresser to grab some clean clothes. “You gonna stay there all day?”

“Just dreaming of my future hubby, McCormick,” Neil taunted as he pulled on the first pair of boxers he found – Andrew’s, of course - then limped over to grab some clothes himself. He let out another yelp when he got smacked on the back of the head for his snide comment. “Aw, I thought that was funny.”

“You also think it’s fun to poke a psychopath, so I wash my hands of you.” Andrew glared at Neil as they headed to the bathroom.

Neil almost commented ‘why not, I live with one’, but figured that he’d already suffered enough abuse. They managed to wash off without another fight, returned to the bedroom to clean up then went to the kitchen to look for something to eat. At that point, Kevin was in there grabbing a bottle of water to drink; Neil noticed that his face appeared flushed and that he refused to look at either of them.

“Dammit, I think Aaron ate the last of the take-out,” Andrew complained as he searched through the fridge. “We’ll have to order something.” He looked up as he closed the door after grabbing some water to find Kevin staring at the far-off cabinet as if fascinated. “What? Have something to say?”

Neil paused in pulling out some of the take-out menus from the one drawer to look over at the two of them, puzzled by Kevin’s odd behavior; it wasn’t like him to be that quiet over nothing.

“Uhm… ah, you forgot to lock the bedroom door,” Kevin said as his face became even more flushed. “Ah, earlier.”

Neil felt his own face become heated as he thought back to the past half an hour or so, and realized they’d gone into the bedroom, he’d called his uncle and… oh shit.

Andrew just clicked his tongue. “Congratulations, you now know how two men have sex. Do you expect me to quiz you on it or something? Just know that Mommy Neil likes what Daddy Andrew does and that everything you saw was all right,” he explained in a highly patronizing manner while using explicit hand gestures.

“Oh my god,” Neil said as he slapped the menus against his forehead. “Seriously?” Maybe Uncle Stuart was right, after all.

As for Kevin, he looked ready to cry or something. “Please, *never* forget to lock it again. I have to… I have to deal with the two of you. Every day.”

Now Andrew appeared angry. “You’re the pervert who walked in on us, I don’t want to hear it.”

“It’s *our* bedroom!” Kevin began to shout. “Why do you-“

“Whoa, what’s going on in here?” Nicky frowned at the three of them as he came in with an empty soda bottle in his hands. “Ooh, take-out, yes please!”

“Kevin the voyeur caught us in the act,” Andrew told Nicky, his face now blank and tone flat. “I feel violated.”

“I was just trying to get my History of Ancient Greece book!” Kevin insisted. “And they were… were… aah!” He threw his hands up in the air, at an evident loss for words.

Meanwhile, Nicky gasped and went over to hug Neil. “You peeped my baby bro?! How could you, you filthy pervert!” He glared at Kevin while Neil felt both embarrassed and smothered. “I haven’t even seen the goodies, yet.” Neil ducked in time to avoid the bottle of water that Andrew threw at the pest. “Hey!”

“I think I’m going out for something to eat,” Neil said to no one in particular. “In Savannah. I’ll take my time.”

“You’re not going anywhere, especially after the shit you pulled last night,” Andrew snapped. “We’re ordering sandwiches.” He gave Neil a cold look as he snatched up the menus. “Argue with me and it’s going to be pizza.”

Neil sighed in defeat and went to the fridge to grab something to drink, while Nicky took to teasing a groaning Kevin about ‘foot longs’.

*******

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, reworking/intermixing some of Nora's amazing stuff in here. But trying to make sure there's still some new material all the same (especially since there's changes to the plot).
> 
> Next up, the Ravens/Foxes game. Fun fun!
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are so greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Riko being utterly adorable. What can I say? Hmmm.  
> *******

*******

Neil threw himself into schoolwork and practice after the banquet, doing his best to not think about the upcoming Ravens’ game in October. The university was slowly rallying around the Foxes as they continued to win, each game getting a little easier as the Foxes grew accustomed to their smaller roster, as Kevin and Neil got used to playing longer and longer on the court. Their fourth game they barely won, but the fifth they increased their point lead, and the team was feeling confident heading into the sixth.

It was feeling odd, walking around without covering up the ‘4’ tattoo on his cheek, but after the initial stares the first couple of days, the other students appeared to have accepted it, appeared to take it to mean that their team was good enough to lure two ‘Ravens’ strikers away from Edgar Allen. Wymack even addressed that fact during the interview after their fifth game, shooting down Riko’s talk about Neil ‘returning’ to that team in the near future by stating that Neil was a Fox and would always be a Fox.

When not on the court, which some days seemed to be the majority of the time, between team practice and Kevin dragging him out there during the night, Neil had class and homework, had time in the library with at least a couple of the Foxes. The upperclassmen were still helping him out with that, allowing him to study there while keeping his promise to Andrew. If some days he didn’t seem to get much studying done… he was learning more about his teammates, was learning about Dan’s goals once she graduated, which wasn’t to go pro but to become a coach like Wymack (just like him, in fact, since she wanted to take over the Foxhole Court when he retired), about Matt’s past with his parents (about how his dad was responsible for his drug habit and that Matt adored his mother for justifiable reasons), about the first few years that the girls had been on the team and things about that. He got a better feel for Allison as well, now that she was talking more, slowly recovering from Gordon’s death, and seeing Renee as more than just Andrew’s friend.

He still didn’t know how he was supposed to help bring the team together, but since Nicky tagged along to ‘help’ study a couple days a week, that meant that Nicky started to hang out more with the upperclassmen, too. At first Nicky had been a bit hesitant, had clung to the ‘us and them’ mentality… but Neil could tell his friend was tired of the constant separation and in the end, Nicky’s innate need for being friendly won out.

Nicky, Dan and Neil were sitting at a table in the back corner on the first floor one day, more or less studying when they saw Aaron walk past with Katelyn. “Aw, someone’s here for a make-out session,” Nicky proclaimed as he watched his cousin purposely ignore them. “Isn’t it cute?”

Dan shook her head as she randomly flipped through the pages of her sport’s therapy book. “I don’t understand why he doesn’t just ask her out. She’s cute, she’s smart, and she’s showing a lot of patience so far, sneaking around with him.” She stared at Neil beneath her lashes. “I mean, Andrew’s got you, so what’s the problem with his brother dating?”

Neil shook his head, unwilling to get into the conversation right then. “It’s between them, okay? And anything between them is… complicated.”

That prompted a bitter laugh from Nicky. “That’s putting it mildly.”

Dan continued to look at Neil and then sighed. “Well, it’s Aaron’s life, in the long run, I just think it’s a shame, and I’m not the only one.”

“You mean you bet on it and you want to know what’s going on to see if you’ll win,” Neil muttered as he finished another math problem.

That made Dan laugh as well. “All right, you got me.” She reached over to tousle his hair. “But I’d like for those two to be happy, too.”

“You’re just pushing your hetero agenda, I know better,” Nicky complained. “Even going for the classic jock and cheerleader pairing, so disgusting,” he teased.

Dan laughed again. “Well, Neil landed the bad boy on the team for your side, we *have* to do something!”

“Wait, what?” Neil looked up from his homework to find the two smirking at him. “Why am I in this conversation?”

Nicky leaned over the table toward Dan as if in a conspiratorial manner. “And they’re even high school sweethearts, did you know that?”

“No!” Dan’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth since that had come out a bit loud. “Do tell! You know those two don’t say anything personal,” she gave Neil a disapproving frown as if it was his fault or something.

“Uhm, Nicky, *no*.” Neil started shaking his head, for all the good it did.

“Yep.” Nicky exaggerated the last letter in the word, his face lit up with an unholy glee. “Started ‘dating’, if you want to call it that, when Neil was a sophomore and Andrew a junior. Been inseparable ever since.”

“Aw, they’ve been together so much longer than me and Matt!” Dan gave Neil a tender look as she set her text book aside. “So what, did you date anyone else before you got together with Andrew?”

“Why are we talking about this?” Neil asked as he sunk lower down in his seat. “Isn’t it time for practice yet?”

“Not yet, and I’ll take that as a ‘no’. Figures, it explains a lot about the two of you.” Dan grinned when Neil glared at her. “Come on! You have to get used to this stuff, what’s going to happen when you make it to the pros and you’re stuck in front of the reporters? You think they’re not going to ask you things like this?” Both she and Nicky laughed when panic hit Neil at the thought.

“I… that’s… oh shit.” He wouldn’t really have to do interviews, would he? At least, just stuff on games, right?

“That’s okay, just look pretty and continue to play well,” Dan told him as she reached over to give his right arm a pat. “Someone else will figure all of this out for you.”

“Andrew, most likely,” Nicky volunteered.

“Why do I put up with the two of you?” Neil asked as he glared at them, suddenly wishing he’d gone back to the dorms to study.

“Maybe because I helped keep the one Rams backliner from smashing that pretty face of yours into the wall last Friday?” Nicky reached out to touch Neil’s cheek and laughed when Neil pulled away. “I think he liked you.”

“I think he liked causing pain,” Neil said with a wince, his ribs still sore from the monster who had about a foot on him and at least seventy pounds.

“Hmm, Andrew seemed to have fun targeting him, though. Such a good boyfriend.” Dan laughed when Neil winced again. “He’s so fun to tease, isn’t he?” she said to Nicky.

“One of my favorite things, I have to admit.”

“We have to study,” Neil ground out as he held up his Math book.

When it was finally time to head off to practice, Dan left to find Matt while Nicky and Neil headed over to the café to grab something to drink before leaving the library. Nicky wanted some kind of frappucino, while Neil figured an iced coffee would help with the still warm weather and he might as well pick up something for Andrew. When it was his turn at the register, the girl taking the order gave him a huge smile and leaned a bit too close to him while he told her a medium iced coffee and a large double chocolate frappucino with extra whipped cream.

“Oh, is that for your girlfriend?”

“No,” he told her, wondering why she had asked that.

“Oh!” Her smile brightened as she leaned forward a bit more. “So, you come here a lot?” She stared at his tattoo and her fingers brushed against his when he handed over the money for the drinks. “You’re on the Exy team, right?”

“Yeah.” Shouldn’t she just be taking his order and hurrying up so she could get to the people in line behind him? “Uhm, yeah, heading practice right now.” Maybe she would get the hint. Off to the side, Nicky was stifling a laugh about something.

“I really like Exy, think you guys are doing great this season.” She kept smiling and once again touched Neil’s hand when she gave him back his change; his skin was beginning to crawl at the unwanted contact. “My name is Sheryl.”

He could tell that from her badge – did she think he was short-sighted or something? “Yes.”

She seemed to be waiting for something, and after a few seconds sighed so Neil figured he could step away and go wait for his drinks. Nicky just looked at him and shook his head while grinning. “What?”

“I’m beginning to think it’s going to take several charts, a couple of detailed diagrams and at least three videos to explain it to you, and then I’m not sure that Andrew wouldn’t kill me if I did. I think he prefers you to be this way.”

That didn’t make any sense. “You’re being extra annoying today,” Neil felt it should be known before he stepped up to get his drinks, then they left to head to the stadium.

Andrew appeared happy to get his dose of sugary coffee, though he frowned at the cup for some reason as he turned it around in his hand. “Josten, what the hell is this?” He held it up to show off what appeared to be several heart shapes around Neil’s name.

“Uhm….” Neil frowned and took a look at his own cup of coffee, and noticed that there were a couple there as well. “Huh, that’s odd.” He turned to Nicky. “They on yours?”

Nicky burst out into laughter as he shook his head. “Nope, just you, baby bro.” He glanced at Andrew. “He has no clue. It’s utterly adorable.”

Aaron paused in digging through his locker to stare at the three of them. “I thought you were kidding about it. Maybe he needs to lay off the hits to the head or something.”

Even Kevin seemed a bit disgusted at the moment. “That’s not going to bode well for your future interviews. We need to do something about this. We-“ He blinked when all of sudden Andrew was in front of him. “What?”

“You’re going to do nothing,” Andrew informed him in a very level voice, yet there was a hint of a disturbing smile on his face. “He’s fine as he is.”

Kevin gulped once then nodded. “Whatever.”

Andrew went back to his own locker while he drank down his chocolate drink and Neil decided that maybe he really didn’t want to know.

The rest of the week went mostly well, except for some reason more of the upperclassmen wanted to hang out at the library with Neil, especially Allison, and insisted that he go back to the café a lot. There were more big smiles from Sheryl whenever she was behind the counter, more hearts on his cups (he was beginning to figure things out, especially when Andrew got that particularly flat look on his face upon receiving his drink), and Allison seemed to be collecting a lot of money from the other Foxes.

“I’m so glad that I’m here to amuse you,” he told her on Friday, when Andrew took to stomping off toward the locker room in a rather irate manner.

“You’re not half bad,” she told him with a scornful sniff. “Still think you could clean up a lot better, but imagine the monster would have his hands full then.” She frowned at Neil when he pulled out his phone when he heard it ping, only to see that Anna had texted him. “Hey, is that a new phone? Didn’t you have a silver one last week?”

Maybe it was much better when she didn’t talk to Neil. “Thank you, I think.” Neil heard the sound of lockers being slammed shut and decided to go see what his boyfriend was doing, and ignored the question about his phone.

The Foxes were playing the Georgia Academy Hornets that night, the team flying in to Palmetto for the game. Considering that the team had beaten them last year, the Foxes were excited about a rematch, and on their own court at that. Wymack went through the line-up, Kevin and Neil set to spend most of the time playing save for a couple of breaks, and when they went out to start warming up they found the stadium awash in orange and white.

Neil noticed Katelyn waving to Aaron and turned to Andrew to distract him as they started to do laps. “So, Columbia after the game, right?”

Andrew gave him a look as if he was mentally deficient. “Unless you want to put up with Kevin’s whining, then yes. Why, you have other plans?”

“Not really. Uncle Stuart said he might try to stop by sometime in the next couple of weekends, but he doesn’t know for certain when.”

“Lovely, gives me lots of time to dig up a nice spot for him out back,” Andrew drawled, to which Neil just shook his head; it probably was a good thing the two of them didn’t get along together that well.

By the time they circled around to where the Vixens were warming up, Aaron had moved on already, though Neil noticed the way that Andrew gave the cheerleaders a flat look. He debated trying another distraction, but didn’t want to overplay his hand; fortunately Kevin caught up to them and started harping on Andrew about putting some effort into the night’s game, which worked out just as well.

The Yellow Jackets had been establishing their Exy team over the last several years, and while they were good, they weren’t as much of a challenge that the top-ranked teams posed to the Foxes. No, the main issue Neil had once the game started was that they had several muscle-bound players more than happy to throw their weight around, keeping him on his toes as he ran around the court catching the balls Andrew lobbed his way. He had just fired off a shot to Kevin, a perfect line-up for another goal in the Foxes’ favor toward the end of the first half, when around two hundred pounds of backliner slammed into him hard enough to knock the breath out of Neil. He saw stars for a moment and couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even tell up from down, as he was pinned against the hard court wall.

“Like that, don’t you, Princess?” the backliner sneered before pulling away, and Neil struggled to remain standing up, confused by what had just been said as much as the balance issues.

The backliner – Timmons – was issued a yellow card while Wymack pulled Neil off of the court for the last minute or two of the first half. He was still a bit dizzy when the buzzer sounded, calling for half-time, and Andrew came stomping up to him. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” Neil admitted. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“Yes, astounding deduction ability there. What did you say to him?”

“Nothing,” Neil insisted. “Been too busy to say anything.”

“Uh-huh.” Andrew appeared doubtful on that, but was distracted by Wymack appearing and rounding everyone up to go over their performance in the first half; they were leading in points, but he didn’t want anyone to get sloppy and overconfident in the second half.

Neil felt better when the game restarted, though Wymack still made him sit on the bench and had Dan start the first few minutes of the game. Everything looked good, until Neil got subbed in for her and the same thing as in the first half started all over again; the Yellow Jackets strikers and backliners gave Kevin a good bit of grief, did their best to block him from the ball and their goal, but Neil seemed a particularly favored target. He didn’t know if it was because he was smaller, because he was the ‘rookie’, but he was getting tired of it and did start mouthing off at them. Andrew seemed to be getting annoyed of the targeting as well, because his return volleys took on a rather vicious edge, hitting the Yellow Jackets with a painful accuracy that made even Neil wince. He shook his head as he caught the ball after it rebounded off of Timmons’ helmet, the backliner staggering from the blow, and raced on to score a goal – only to be slammed into once again in a blatant foul since the ball was out of out of his racquet. Wymack came out on the court to yell at the Yellow Jackets’ coach about how his players were acting, while Kevin and Allison came over to make sure that Neil was all right. He was beginning to feel a permanent ache from all of the hits, but he refused to give up on the game so easily and shook his head while assuring them that he was… that he could continue to play, he caught himself as Kevin frowned at him. Noticing Andrew standing outside of his goal, he waved to his boyfriend and nodded to Wymack that the game could resume.

He made it a little more than halfway through the second half when Timmons took him down again, that time knocking him into the floor so hard that he blacked out, and the next thing he knew, Abby was kneeling over him with a worried expression on her face. “Neil, can you move your limbs? Are you all right?”

He groaned as he went to sit up, dizzy and feeling as if a block of cement had slammed into him; Abby chided him for moving and went to help him with his helmet while he breathed through his mouth to quell the sudden rush of nausea. It was when he felt a calloused hand on the back of his neck that he realized that Andrew was beside him, and slumped in his boyfriend’s direction. “What happened?”

“I think we can agree that someone on that team really, really doesn’t like you.” Andrew’s voice sounded mild, but there was an awful light in his hazel eyes just then. “Isn’t it curious?”

“Especially since I’ve barely met them before.” There was the banquet a couple of weeks ago, but Neil didn’t remember saying more than two words to a couple of them while Kevin was making the rounds.

“Come on, you’re done for the night,” Abby told him as she motioned for Andrew to help him stand up. “I’m not allowing you to take any more hits.”

Neil started to complain about that, but Andrew jerked him upright in a sudden motion, which made him moan and hunch over as his stomach rebelled.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Abby said with some satisfaction.

“Told you he was so much fun with a concussion.” Andrew continued to help Neil off of the court, while Dan hovered off to the side.

“Just take it easy,” she assured him. “We can handle it from here on out.”

At least Timmons had been red carded for the rest of the game, but Neil sat with an ice pack on the back of his head and Nicky chatting his ear off while the Foxes secured their sixth victory of the season, defeating the Yellow Jackets ten to six in the end. Nicky helped him stand back up when it came time for the two teams to line up on the court, and Andrew was right next to him glaring at the Yellow Jackets as they shook hands. One of the strikers gave Neil a sneer when it was his turn, his eyes roving up and down. “That rough enough for you, number four? Get you going yet?”

Neil stared at him in confusion while Andrew reached over to shove the striker away, who just laughed at him. “What, you don’t want to share? Not what I heard.”

Matt had to latch on to Andrew at that point, while Neil felt another wave of nausea and he didn’t think it was from the concussion.

Dan came over to break up the line and pushed Neil and Andrew toward the locker room, while Wymack was once more stomping over to the Yellow Jackets’ coach.

Once in the locker room, Neil slumped down on a bench and combed his fingers through his hair as he attempted to figure out what that had been about, while Andrew went over to punch a locker.

“Hey! Be careful,” Matt chided. “Don’t break anything.”

“Don’t get in my way again, Boyd,” Andrew told him in a cold voice.

“What, like keeping you from ripping some guy’s spleen out? We can’t afford to have you be red carded, you idiot,” Matt told him. “We’re playing the Ravens next week, remember?”

Aaron came over to stand near his brother. “So what, this week some guys suddenly start targeting Neil.” He frowned. “What did that one say back there, huh?” When Andrew ignored him, he turned toward Neil. “What did he say?”

Neil tugged at his bangs, so sore that he just wanted to lie down somewhere and not get up. “Something about things being rough enough for me yet.” He frowned as he thought back to earlier in the game. “Timmons also said something earlier, about me liking it when he slammed me into the wall the one time.”

Andrew whirled around to face Neil. “And you didn’t tell me?” His face had gone blank but his hands were clenched into fists.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time,” Neil admitted. “There’s always some sort of talk during a game.”

“But not when you’re treated like this,” Matt pointed out. “Those guys didn’t seem to care if they got carded, as long as you took the hits.”

“I might have noticed that.” Neil winced as he stood up so he could take off his gear. “It’s done, all right? We won, and hopefully we won’t face them again in the finals.” He just wanted to put the game behind him and move on. Nicky helped him strip off the padding, and he was in the shower when Wymack showed up from talking to the other coach and probably the media. He didn’t seem too happy when Neil came out, even with the Foxes winning their fifth game in a row.

“Don’t go all psycho on me,” Wymack told Andrew when everyone was finished with their showers and out in the lounge, which yeah, made Neil stiffen up and Andrew fold his arms over his chest with his fingers brushing along his arm bands. “I talked to Arnie, the Yellow Jackets’ coach… and it’s not good.”

“Explain ‘not good’,” Andrew snapped.

Wymack let out a slow breath as he glanced at Neil. “There were rumors at the banquet after we left. Rumors to do with the two of you.” He motioned at Andrew and Neil. “But mostly Neil. Let’s just say from what I could get out of Arnie after he tore into Timmons for the shit he pulled out on court today… well, there’s a reason Neil’s with you, and it’s because of… let’s just say ‘alternative lifestyle’ fits it.” A slight blush colored Wymack’s cheeks, the first time Neil had ever seen the man flustered like that.

Neil could only stare at him as he attempted to figure out what exactly that meant, while to his left, Kevin took to groaning.

“Okay, please don’t tell me that means what I think,” Nicky pleaded.

“That someone, probably a certain psycho we all know and loathe, is spreading gossip that Neil’s into pain and that I’m only too happy to dish it out? Yeah, I’m thinking we’re all on the same page here,” Andrew said, a hint of a cruel smile on his face. “Boyd, you suck.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what I didn’t want to hear,” Nicky said.

“Hey, why am I dragged into this?” Matt asked.

“Because you didn’t let me kill him when I had the chance.”

“Oh for – there were like six hundred witnesses outside the damn locker room,” Matt complained. “At least!”

Neil gave his bangs a harsh yank. “Please tell me this is all part of the concussion. I’m hallucinating, right?” Maybe he was still lying unconscious out on the court.

“This is why team relationships aren’t a good id- ow!” Kevin doubled over from where Andrew had slammed an arm into his stomach.

Wymack sighed as he wiped his right hand over his face. “I don’t know if Riko spread this through all of the teams or just targeted a few of them – we didn’t have a problem with the Rams or the Bobcats. Maybe he’s trying to rattle us before the game.”

“Well, kudos for originality,” Dan spat as she came over to Neil to hover around him in a protective manner. “Is there any way to prove he’s behind this?”

“Maybe to say it came from the Ravens, but then they’ll just argue that they were passing on gossip, that they heard it from someone else.” Wymack shook his head. “You know they won’t let Riko take the fall.”

“Can we just not… enough of this,” Neil pleaded. “We know now… enough.” He didn’t want to think about what those players were saying about him and Andrew right now – especially Andrew.

Wymack gave him a look loaded with pity. “I’ll reach out to some other coaches this weekend, see if we can’t nip this in the bud. They’re not happy about the Ravens in the first place, and if they know that this bullshit started with them… they’ll talk it out with their players.”

Great, just what Neil wanted, people *talking* about it. About him and Andrew. “Wonderful,” he said as he hunched over some more.

“I’m not going to let you be targeted the moment you walk out on the court because of this shit,” Wymack insisted. “It gets dealt with.”

Neil closed his eyes and nodded, since there didn’t seem to be anything else he could do about the situation. “All right, let’s wrap up this game,” Wymack said while clapping his hands together.

As soon as Wymack finished the post-game review, everyone was out of there, with Andrew tugging Neil toward the GS as if not confident that he could manage walking on his own. They made a quick detour to the dorms to drop off the Nissan and change into outfits suitable for Eden’s Twilight, and then were on the road to Columbia, with Nicky driving and Kevin in the front passenger seat.

Neil sat in the middle of the back seat, slumped down enough that his head could rest against Andrew’s shoulder, and sighed. “How bad do you think it’s going to be?”

“Wymack seems determined to stop it before it gets out of hand,” Andrew argued as he draped an arm over Neil’s shoulders, his fingers at first tapping gently against Neil’s sore head before they began to massage his scalp.

“If need be, the ERC will step in,” Kevin said from the front seat. “Tonight’s behavior is really close to harassment, and that’s not something the ERC will condone. I think….” He paused as if considering something while he stared down at his left hand. “I think Riko’s trying to either rattle Neil before the game next week or do something to get either one or both of you off the court for it. You’re two of the strongest players, after all, and you’ve both upset him.”

“Hmm, so feeling the love right now,” Neil murmured as he closed his eyes; Abby had given him a couple of meds for his head to help with the pain, and while he hadn’t taken all of them, the one he had was taking effect. “I’m hoping that however my uncle had my father killed, it was really, really painful.” It was all Nathan’s fault, in the end, for having handed him over to the Moriyamas.

The car swerved a little just then, and Nicky let out a loud sigh. “That’s not very nice.”

“Neither was my father handing me over to a bunch of psychopaths,” Neil insisted. Among other things. “I’m not… I’m not terribly happy right now,” he said as he rubbed at his forehead. His head hurt, his body throbbed from the abuse it had taken out on the court earlier, and the one time he actually wanted to get drunk, he couldn’t because of the concussion and the meds. Riko was being even more of a prick than normal, and… and he just wanted a few days where he didn’t have to deal with any of this shit. Where he could just pretend that things were normal – whatever that was – or at least didn’t blow up in his face. Yeah, it was a nice fantasy.

“It’ll work out,” Nicky promised him. “You’ve got us.”

“Yeah,” Neil said after a few seconds. He could only hope that Riko didn’t attempt to drag any of the others down with him again, it was bad enough that Andrew was being targeted as well in the latest attack.

Nicky tried to cheer everyone up by telling some stories about what had happened that week in his classes, but the others seemed relieved when they reached Sweetie’s, eager to get out and grab some crackers, that much closer to drinking and dusting and dancing the night away. They didn’t spend much time in the restaurant, just long enough to get what they needed and Andrew to scarf down some ice cream, and soon were on their way to the club. It was busy, as always, but Nicky dropped them off at the door so they could head inside and find a table. Considering the press at the bar and that Neil was feeling each and every one of those hits by now, Andrew left him with Kevin and Aaron while he went off to get the drinks.

Aaron turned to Neil as soon as his brother had left. “He say anything about Katelyn yet?”

Neil blinked at that and gave Kevin a warning look. “No, but he’s been watching her, so be careful. It’s obvious that he wasn’t happy about you taking her to the banquet.”

“Yeah, he said something to me about it afterwards.” Aaron glared at his phone, which he held in his right hand. “Told him that I wasn’t going to spend the night by myself while you two played your psycho games, and at least I could talk to her about school stuff. Don’t think he bought it, so I’m trying to be careful.” He turned the virulent look Kevin’s way. “Don’t repeat any of this, or something will happen to your precious alcohol supply.”

Kevin held up both of his hands while he scowled at Aaron, probably for the threat. “I’m not about to get involved in a fight between the two of you, it’s bad enough dealing with them all the time,” he said while motioning toward Neil.

“Yeah, and you’re a real sweetheart yourself,” Neil muttered as he eased down on a high stool.

“Lock the damn door,” Kevin ground out.

“One time,” Neil shot back as he propped his elbows up on the table then hung his aching head between his hands. “Meanwhile, you’re the one who doesn’t think it’s anything to walk around the damn place looking for a clean towel when he gets out of the shower.”

“Yeah, no one needs to see that,” Aaron agreed as he kept texting someone, probably Katelyn.

“Oh, what are we talking about? Everyone looks so happy that it has to be good,” Nicky asked as he joined them at the table, a little out of breath.

“Kevin’s exhibitionist tendencies,” Aaron explained while Neil wondered if he could just go back out to the GS and stretch out in the back seat.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen how many times in the showers,” Kevin said with an offended sniff.

“The showers is one thing, but when I’m trying to eat breakfast? Totally another.” Aaron paused to give Kevin one of his disgusted looks. “Maybe I should see if Matt’s willing to take on a roommate since he has that room all to himself now.”

“Andrew would never allow it,” Nicky warned. “Meanwhile, I enjoy the free show. Helps me deal with Erik being so far away.” He leered at Kevin as he leaned across the table. “Forget your towels as much as you want.”

Kevin stepped back a little at that and glanced around. “Where are our drinks?” he asked in a plaintive manner.

“Where is the sanity?” Neil asked instead, and sighed when Nicky tousled his hair. “Ow.”

“Sorry, forgot about that. You going to be all right?”

Not really, the loud music wasn’t doing Neil’s head any favors, nor were the flashing lights, but he knew that the others looked forward to their Friday nights and he could put up with it for a couple of hours if it meant a quiet weekend at the house afterwards. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, knew you were going to say that,” Nicky sighed. “Try to let us know if it gets too bad, you stubborn fool.”

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t much longer after that when Andrew returned with a very full tray of drinks, and Neil watched as his friends descended upon them like starved lions upon a downed gazelle. He blinked in surprise when Andrew set a bottle of water and a tumbler of something in front of him. “But I-“

“It’s nothing strong,” Andrew argued. “Not tonight, but’ll help take the edge off.”

Neil hesitated just a moment before he picked it up; it tasted like something fruity, but that was it. Whatever alcohol was in it, it wasn’t strong at all, like Andrew had said. He set the empty glass aside and continued to watch the rest toss back their drinks and the cracker dust while he leaned a bit against Andrew, content to just feel the warmth of another body for the time being.

It wasn’t that much longer before Kevin, Nicky and Aaron were out on the dance floor, and Neil breathed in the scent of Andrew’s burning cigarette with his eyes closed. They didn’t need to talk just then – Neil didn’t know if he wanted to, in all honesty. He was tired and sore and fed up with a great many things at the moment. Best to just live in the moment and the feel of Andrew’s fingers brushing along the bare skin of his right hip, having slipped beneath his shirt, the scent of burnt tobacco and the warmth soaking into his left side.

Despite the loud music and everything, he had managed to fall into a sort of dazed lull so someone jostling into the table made his eyes fly open and body tense up, which, *ouch*. He looked at a flushed Aaron, face glistening with sweat from dancing, and a wide-eyed Kevin not far off behind him. “Come on, we need to leave,” Aaron insisted.

Andrew stubbed out his cigarette in a tray already half-filled and glared. “What are you talking about? I haven’t even gotten a second round yet. And where’s Nicky?”

“He’ll meet us outside.” Aaron reached over to grab onto Andrew’s left arm. “Come on, we can finish up at home. Let’s just get out of here.” Neil thought he sounded a bit desperate, which was odd. Odd and worrying.

Andrew shrugged off his brother’s hand as he glared at Kevin. “Did you do something?”

“Nuh-nothing,” Kevin stuttered out. “We should go. Now.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion at the two of them. “What the fuck is going on? I’m not going anywhere until-“

“Huh, look at that, the rumor was right, the freaks do hang out here.”

Neil stiffened as he caught sight of the large forms moving toward him, wearing jackets in the yellow and black color of the Georgia Academy Yellow Jackets. Leading two others was Timmons, and he thought he recognized the one striker who had insulted him in the line-up off to the right, along with another backliner who was responsible for a couple of nasty hits during the game.

“No, no, no,” Kevin took to chanting while Aaron once more reached for his brother, who was giving the Yellow Jackets a flat, almost dead look which never boded well.

“Your probation,” Aaron ground out in German. “Think about it,” he rushed out with now blatant desperation. “Remember what happened last time!”

Meanwhile, Neil almost fell off of the stool in his haste to stand up, shifting as much as he could in front of Andrew; the last thing he wanted was a repeat of that awful night in February, with Andrew being taken away in handcuffs. “Pl- don’t,” he pleaded. “Don’t let Riko do this,” he also said in German. It was clear that Riko was behind this, that he must have somehow let the Yellow Jackets know about Eden’s Twilight, hoping to get Andrew in trouble. Neil refused to let that happen.

Andrew’s gaze flickered at Neil for a moment, his jaw clenching a little before he pulled Neil in close; it looked affectionate, looked like an embrace, but Neil fought not to wince as his sore ribs and muscles were squeezed in an obvious warning for him to keep quiet and out of the Yellow Jackets’ reach. Yeah, okay, don’t feed these particular monsters, he got the point.

“Why, if it isn’t such a pleasure to see your faces again after kicking your asses earlier tonight. Did your coach take pity on your pathetic playing and allow you out to lick your wounds?”

What, Neil couldn’t taunt them but Andrew could? Aaron grimaced as he came to stand on Andrew’s left side, Kevin flanking Andrew’s right.

Timmons’ face grew flushed and the striker glared. “We’re not leaving until tomorrow,” he said as he eyed Neil and Andrew up and down. “Figured that gave us time to blow off some steam, see if a few things were true.” He once more sneered at Neil. “Heard if we came out here, could find you and the pretty boy, all happy to put on a show for anyone willing to pay.”

“What the *fuck*,” Aaron gasped, looking about to get sick. “How does someone come up with this shit?”

Neil felt Andrew tense up behind him and grabbed at the arms wrapped around him, but all Andrew did was shake his head. “So sorry, someone’s been feeding you lies. No shows, no nothing, other than seeing how fed up Neil gets if I make him do more than three shots a night.” He almost sounded polite just then… almost.

“He’s a lightweight,” Kevin said, voice tense because he realized how close to losing it Andrew was.

Timmons scoffed at that. “Right, as if we’ll believe you. What, you don’t want word to get out about how your boyfriend really got that special tattoo of his?” He approached the table and placed his hands on it so he could lean forward, his broad face twisted with anger and disgust. “That he only gets to play with Riko Moriyama and Kevin Day by going down on his knees each night? While the rest of us bust our asses to make a team?”

Kevin took to chanting ‘no’ again during the rant while Neil dug in with his feet as much as he could and braced his sore body, as he did his best to keep Andrew from lunging forward, as Aaron spoke out in German about the police and losing scholarships and don’t be stupid, dammit!

“The only one on his knees is going to be you, after I break them,” Andrew ground out, his arms loosening around Neil even as Neil latched onto them with all of his might. “I’m going to-“

“There they are!” Nicky’s loud, panicked voice broke through the thumping bass in the club, and Neil caught sight of two very tall, broad-shouldered people following him – Ned and Shawn, a couple of the club bouncers. Two very disgruntled bouncers, judging from their expressions. “These are the guys I was telling you about,” Nicky said as he pointed toward the Yellow Jackets. “The ones who’ve been harassing Neil.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Andrew snapped at his cousin.

Nicky waved him aside. “They practically beat him up on court and were bashing him and everything, and now they’re here.” He shot a look at Aaron while the three Hornets took a couple of steps back. “Still doing their shit, are they?”

“Oh yeah,” Aaron was quick to agree. “Him and Andrew, it’s really bad, you should hear what they’re saying.”

The striker held up his hands. “Whoa, wait a minute, it’s a big misunderstanding, we’re not-“

Ned grabbed him by the front of the shirt. “Nope, it’s a big mistake,” he said, his deep voice low and threatening, while Shawn waved over another bouncer, Karl. “You don’t start shit in our club, you definitely don’t start shit with regulars, and you *never* start shit with staff.” Ned gave the now terrified striker a huge grin with no humor in it. “You boys just broke all three rules, so we’re gonna have fun showing you the error of your ways.” As Karl and Shawn grabbed the other two, Ned looked over at Andrew. “We got this, all right? Don’t worry about it.”

Andrew let out a frustrated breath as he slowly relaxed against Neil. “Make it good.” He glared at the striker still trying to argue with Ned, who just ignored him. “I don’t like leaving this shit to others.”

“I’ll give them an extra special lesson just for you, short stuff.” Ned laughed as he hauled the striker away.

Neil watched the bouncer leave and then slumped against Andrew. “Can we leave now?” He didn’t want to chance anything else happening, not if Riko had already gone through this much trouble.

Andrew made a tsk’ing sound as he gave Neil’s ribs one more squeeze. “If it’ll shut you guys up.”

“Oh god, yes, let’s get out of here,” Nicky agreed. “Too much bad karma out here tonight.”

“Let’s just hit a store.” Kevin checked as if to see if there were any shots still left on the table before he turned around in the direction of the front door. “Come on.”

Andrew shook his head as he pushed Neil in the same direction, but kept a hand on Neil’s hip as if to either steady him or keep him close. Neil made sure to watch out for yellow and black as they left, and felt relieved when he didn’t see anything; he took that as a good sign that it wasn’t the entire team who had bought into Riko’s lies, just a select few. Or at least just those three who were motivated enough to come to Columbia to do something about them.

Andrew took over driving and stopped by a store where Nicky could go in and grab a few bottles so the others could get through the night since they had left the club early. Once they reached the house, Neil groaned as he pushed himself up out of the car, feeling pretty much done for the night and only wanting to climb into bed. He waved to the others as soon as he got inside and headed to the bathroom to wash off and get ready for the night, then went into his bedroom where he pulled off his clothes with some difficulty before getting into the large bed.

He had just laid down when Andrew came in, a bottle of whiskey in his right hand and his face barely showing any emotion. He stared at Neil for a few seconds then undid the button and zipper of his jeans before pushing them down his legs and kicking them off. Once that was done, he crawled onto the bed next to Neil and sat propped up against the pillows while he drank straight from the bottle.

“Just gonna sit there?”

“Hmm.” Andrew lowered the bottle as he stroked the fingers of his left hand through Neil’s hair. “Tired of dealing with idiots tonight.”

“Thank you.” Neil smiled as he closed his eyes.

“Oh, I’m used to putting up with you.”

“Asshole.” Neil mumbled. “Still, thank you for not trying to kill those guys.” He pushed aside the anger he felt upon thinking of them, of what Timmons had said back at the club. At anyone thinking he’d gotten as far as he had in Exy by… he let out a slow breath as he forced himself to relax.

“Have to admit, it was close.” Andrew’s fingers curled up in Neil’s hair for a moment before they resumed combing through it. “Wanted to show that prick his kidneys.”

“Hmm, but that would just have made Riko happy. He’s getting back at you for the banquet.”

“And I barely throttled him.” There was a pause and the sound of Andrew swallowing. “Remind me to target Boyd on Monday.”

“Hmm,” Neil repeated. “Try to keep the damage to a minimum for the week. We need him for next Friday’s game.”

“Oh, that’s right, I get another shot at dear Riko.” Andrew’s deep voice dripped with menace just then. “What fun.”

“See, silver lining. Always knew you were an optimist.” Neil was losing the battle with sleep between his eyes being closed and the feel of Andrew’s fingers in his hair.

“Such a little shit,” Andrew told him as he gave a slight yank to Neil’s hair. “Go to sleep, you annoy me.”

Neil gave a slight hum in agreement before he gave up on trying to stay awake, tired and more than willing to end the day.

*******

The week of the Foxes and Ravens game was one long annoyance to Andrew; the campus seemed determined to put its best face forward, considering all of the publicity the game would bring Palmetto State, with the groundskeeping crew out en masse scrubbing and sweeping and trimming everything in sight, hanging up all these stupid banners that some of the students had designed as well as a flurry of obnoxious orange and white, and that stupid fox mascot barging into classes throughout the day. Even the Vixens were out and about during the week, passing around temporary tattoos and foam paw prints; Andrew gave Katelyn a cold stare when she tried to give him a tattoo.

There were concerts and a mandatory pep rally that the Foxes had to attend (Neil and Kevin remained within a foot or two of Andrew at all times, and Wymack refused to let any of them near a microphone), color days that nearly made Andrews’ eyes bleed, and reporters crawling about (Andrew and Neil were given strict orders to keep their mouths shut around them. Neil took to wearing a hoody pulled over his head at all times when out on campus, his head ducked down to hide his tattoo).

It was understandable why Neil and Kevin were nervous, considering that Riko and Tetsuji would be on their campus come Friday, but by Thursday Andrew was amused to watch Dan slowly come unraveled as well, by the campus supporting her of all things. Abuse she was used to, for her being one of the rare women captains out there, for heading a team with one of the worst records in the Class I division and so forth. But people congratulating her on the Foxes’ success and reporters wanting to interview her? Well, better her than someone else, like a certain idiot prone to self-destructive fits whenever he opened his mouth….

She wasn’t the only one finding all of the attention nerve-wracking, so by Friday almost all of the Foxes were anxious for the game to be over and done with, for the attention to come to an end so their campus could quiet down and things return to normal. Andrew just wanted to face off against Riko then go off to Columbia, to no longer put up with a Kevin who needed to drink himself to sleep each night and a boyfriend who overanalyzed everything as if looking for a new attack from Riko. So it was a relief when Wymack signed them out of their afternoon classes and had them report to the stadium at three o’clock in the afternoon in an attempt to avoid the fucked up traffic thanks to the media and massive influx of fans arriving for the game, as well as the reporters trying to catch them for a pre-game interview.

Dan put on a movie to for her, Renee and Reynolds to watch while Matt and Aaron focused on their homework, and Neil and Kevin went out to the court sit moping on one of the benches. Andrew watched over them while reading a book to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid, and went through several cigarettes until Wymack called them in to eat the food he’d ordered for the team. Once they’d finished the quiet meal, Dan pulled out the Ravens’ roster, as if the team hadn’t spent the whole season pouring over the thing in anticipation of the night’s game. They all knew what to expect by then, knew how the Ravens had honed themselves to near perfection with their freakish mindset and torturous training regime.

Kevin had explained to them all about how the Ravens were paired up as soon as they joined the team, how they never went anywhere without at least one teammate and how school was a secondary concern to them, how the team always came first. In return for their dedication, to them basically cutting out everyone in their lives except their teammates, they could be assured of signing to a pro team once they graduated.

They even lived in the damn stadium, in Evermore, the ‘house’ that the Moriyamas had built to help fund their criminal empire, which they barely left outside of classes. The entire concept of the team made Andrew want to smash their faces in, to break their uniformity and stupid mindset. He couldn’t stand people who didn’t think for themselves, who gave over such control so easily, for something so cheap. Oh yes, how he wanted just a few minutes alone with Riko.

About an hour before the game started, people started to pour into the stadium while Wymack gathered the team in the foyer so they could gather their racquets and head out to warm up. Abby, ever the concerned one, asked Kevin if he was ready for what lay ahead.

“As long as I’m breathing, I can play,” he assured her as he stared down at his two racquets as if they were the only thing that mattered. “This is my game, too.”

“Words to live and die by,” Wymack said, which made Andrew roll his eyes. “I expect a double-digit score from my offensive line,” he told Kevin and Neil. “Kevin, you know their defensive line better than anyone else and they’ve never played you right-handed, so run them into the ground.” He then turned to Neil, who had remained blank-faced for most of the afternoon. “Neil, get at least five points or I’ll have you running marathons every month until graduation.”

As if that was much of a punishment for the idiot, Andrew thought as he scoffed.

“Five points?” Neil asked as he continued to give the man a flat stare. “Really?”

“You got four points last week before being knocked out of the game, I think you can manage five this week,” Wymack insisted.

“The Hornets aren’t Edgar Allen, Coach,” Neil pointed out in a rather dry manner.

“Ask me if I care,” Wymack said while waving Neil away as if he was a pest. “Five points or twenty-six miles, you do the math and decide which one you like better.”

Right then, Neil looked as if he preferred the miles, but Nicky just grinned and tugged him away before his mouth got him into even more trouble.

Wymack then turned his attention to Reynolds and Dan, who were smiling at Neil’s ultimatum. "You ladies let offense drown if you have to. They're not your concern. Your focus tonight is keeping the defense line afloat. Get me?” He paused as if letting the importance of that sink in, while Dan got a fierce look on her face and Reynolds tapped her nails together as if looking forward to tearing into something. “We know the Ravens are faster and bigger and better than us. We only have a chance so long as we can control their score.” Then Wymack turned to Nicky, Aaron and Matt. “Your guys’ job is to keep the strikers away from goal. Period, end of story. Understand?” He waited for them to nod before he turned toward Andrew. “Andrew, for once in your miserable, midgety life play like you want us to win, would you? Is that so much to ask?"

“I’ll consider it, but only because you ask so sweetly,” Andrew told him, which provoked an annoyed sound from the man right before the warning buzzer went off to signal that they were due out on the inner court in a minute. Several of the Foxes started at the sound, including Neil and Kevin, the strung-out idiots. Abby gave Kevin another worried look, but he refused to meet her eyes, so she reached over to pat a twitchy Neil on the shoulder.

"Let's do this," Wymack said. "The sooner we kill these bastards, the sooner we can get roaring drunk at Abby's place. I spent all damned morning stocking her fridge."

*Now* the man was talking; Andrew gave him a slight salute and Nicky whooped in excitement while the rest of the Foxes who didn’t have a stupid tattoo smiled; oh yes, it was a bad thing when the mention of alcohol didn’t excite Kevin.

Andrew went over to Neil and gave him the usual neck squeeze to center him, and felt Neil shiver a little before some of the tension left his body. A moment later, Wymack opened the doors leading out onto the court and Dan offered the team a tight-lipped smile before the two of them led the Foxes out, into the noise and the lights; every seat was full, and the fans started screaming as soon as the Foxes were sighted. The Vixens started waving their pom-poms and jumping up and down, the Orange Notes played the Foxes’ fight song… and the Ravens’ fans began to boo – they filled up the entire reserved section over by the away team’s bench, a solid wall of black.

The heavy beat of drums was the only warning that the Foxes had of the Ravens arriving, that and the crowd’s cheers turning into boos and hisses, save for the loud cheers from that large section of black. Andrew caught a glimpse of the players, of their black uniforms, but Wymack kept the Foxes moving and quickly had them doing their warm-up laps around the outer part of the court while the Ravens ran along the inner court. Neil was at his side and Kevin in front of them, both of them focused straight ahead as if refusing to look at the Ravens – at Riko – but Andrew kept his head turned to the right to watch those assholes while he ran and caught Riko watching them in return each time they passed. It wasn’t until about the third pass that the prick deigned to look at him instead of either Kevin or Neil, and caught the cold smile Andrew had ready for him. The next time they passed each other, Riko held up four of his fingers and gave Andrew a mocking grin back.

They finished with their laps and moved on to drills, but Tetsuji kept the defensive line running laps for some reason while the strikers and dealers took shots at the goal; with the figures running around, it was difficult for Andrew to keep track of a certain prick and so manage an ‘accidental’ ball to get lose and cause any damage, oh no.

When it came close to the drills coming to an end, Andrew went over to the two idiots; Kevin kept alternating between shooting at the goal and glancing at the other end of the court while Neil remained *too* focused, no smiles or teasing for once. “Don’t let them fuck with you,” Andrew told them. “They’re here to make you both look bad, remember?”

Kevin let out a shaky breath and clutched at his racquet as if it was a lifeline. “It’s not going to be difficult, we’re not ready for this.”

“Keep thinking like that and you might as well just lay down out on the middle of the fucking court and let them walk all over you,” Andrew snapped before turning to his boyfriend. “What about you? Giving up already or too busy thinking up new ways to piss off Riko with that mouth of yours?”

Neil finally looked at him, blue eyes bright with anger and lips pressed together. “I’m about to kill him for you, I’m so pissed off with him right now because of the shit with the Yellow Jackets. I know tonight’s going to be more of the same, it’s just how he is… and I’m tired of it. I just want to play.”

“Then play,” Andrew told him. “Keep your mouth shut and play.”

Neil lifted his mask so he could rub at his face. “Easier said than done.” Then he let out a harsh breath. “Five points.”

That was when the referee called for the players to leave the court so the captains could do their thing and have their coin toss. The three of them went back near the doors leading inside to wait for their teams to be called out, and Andrew gave Neil’s helmet a light tap with his large racquet. “Don’t let him get to you.”

“Don’t commit homicide in front of a full stadium,” Neil said back, a hint of a smile on his face for the first time that day.

“No promises.”

The Foxes were called out one by one, and Andrew watched while first Kevin then Neil went out to the loud roaring of the crowd. He was the last player out on the court and took his place in his goal, then stood there as the Ravens made their way onto the court; the crowd went wild when Riko sauntered out as if he owned the place, as if the Foxhole Court was *his*. As if to prove that, he broke tradition by pulling off his helmet as he went not to his position out on court but first to talk to Kevin, which caused the crowd to once more go wild, especially when Kevin pulled off his helmet, too, and then Riko went over to Neil, a huge, friendly smile on his face. Neil kept his helmet on during the exchange, and Riko’s right hand raised toward the face guard, right around where Neil’s eyes, no, where a tattoo was.

Andrew stepped forward, only to be checked by Matt’s racquet. “Boyd, what did I tell you about interfering?”

“He’s just talking, don’t do something to get you red-carded before the game even starts!”

While Riko talked, the rest of the Ravens were called out onto the court, and it wasn’t until the last one was in position that Riko finally broke off and resumed his proper spot out on the court. When Neil just stood there as if frozen, his hands clenched around his own racquet, and Kevin with his helmet held in his hands, Andrew whipped his own racquet behind to smack it against the goal post, the resulting noise loud enough to jar the two idiots out of their thoughts. Kevin jumped at the sound while Neil turned to look at Andrew, who smacked his racquet a second time to prove a damn point – just what, he wasn’t sure, but he pretended that the post was Riko’s neck.

The referees waited until Kevin had his helmet back on and was in position before one of them handed over the ball and all of them left the court, the door bolted shut behind them.

The game was off to one of the quickest starts Andrew had ever seen, which made sense when one considered the Ravens’ abilities. Frenchie of course was picked to shadow Kevin as a backliner, while Neil was stuck with someone bigger than him, as usual, who used brute force to batter the ball away at the first opportunity. But Neil was determined and faster… and dealing with players who outclassed the rest of the Foxes. The ball was soon in Riko’s racquet, and he blew past the Foxes’ defense with a shocking ease. The next thing Andrew knew, his goal was lighting up before he even had a chance to react, and it was just two minutes into the game. Two fucking minutes. He stared back at the red light in shock, then turned to see Riko giving him that mocking grin again. “Something wrong, mutt?” the prick asked as he turned away.

The teams lined up again, and Andrew caught a hint of Japanese before he saw Neil’s back go stiff. This time, Neil took his backliner’s abuse and didn’t go down so easily, and managed to get the ball to Kevin. This time, it was the Foxes that scored, and Andrew felt a slight smirk turn up the corners of his lips when the nearest Raven by his goal stared in surprise to see the score tied within the first five minutes of the game.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Neil didn’t need to say anything to ‘feed the beast’, because his actions were more than enough. There was more Japanese, Riko’s voice harsh and low, before the ball was dealt again, and it was almost as if Neil’s backliner was trying to make up for his failure before because he was even more determined to check Neil, while Moreau didn’t give Kevin any breathing space. It didn’t take very long for Riko to end up with the ball once more – what the fuck was the other striker doing? – and for Andrew’s goal to light up again.

The prick stepped forward until he stood just outside of the goal, his gaze intent on Andrew even as Andrew waved him off as if shooing away a pest, mindful of how he had no excuse for swinging out with his racquet to bash the asshole’s brains in just then. “Are you volunteering for target practice?”

“You’re making this too easy,” Riko told him. “I thought a loyal mutt like you would fight harder, knowing what’s at stake, but it’ll be easy to prove my point.” He gave Andrew a pleased grin until a referee thumped a fist against the Plexiglas in a clear warning to restart the game.

Wishing that he’d taken the shot, sixty-some thousand witnesses be-damned, Andrew watched him walk away and imagined shoving a knife in the prick’s back.

The next time that Riko made an attempt on Andrew’s goal, he was ready for him and blocked the damn thing; the look of sheer hatred on the prick’s face made Andrew smile, and the block seemed to rally the Foxes a bit, since Neil and Kevin managed to keep the ball away from the goal for about another fifteen minutes, but not without great expense. When Riko finally scored again, Andrew told him, “not too bad for a mutt, huh?” before he could walk away.

“Still not enough to save your master,” Riko taunted.

Even so, the Ravens switched out the other striker – as if he’d done much – and their dealer, while Wymack put in Matt and Aaron for Nicky and Renee. Andrew looked forward to the stronger defense, especially since Riko had to be getting tired, and looked forward to the next time when the prick attempted to breeze his way toward Andrew’s goal.

Riko thought he could just waltz on past, like he had with Nicky, but Matt did a fancy twist and bod-checked the prick, slamming Riko into the ground. That caused the ball to fall as well, free of the two men, and Andrew saw his chance since he was the closest person to it; he decided to leave the goal vulnerable and snatched it up before one of the Ravens could get to it.

Andrew knew where Neil was, as always, and he knew that Neil would be on the look-out for any return shots from the goal, especially after all of their years of playing together, after all those years of practices and balls aimed at his head, his legs. He huffed when he noticed that the idiot was around the hall-court mark and had all that open space in front of him, perfect for running, and lobbed the ball through the air with ease before anyone could knock it from his racquet, and caught what had to be a smile as his boyfriend raised his own racquet to catch it. Meanwhile, Kevin was already running into place.

Neil caught the ball and was moving, too fast for his brute of a backliner to catch up, and as soon as he took his allotted number of steps, threw the ball against the wall for Kevin to catch it on the rebound and fire it right away into the Ravens’ goal – it was using one of the Ravens’ tricks against them, using a trick that the Ravens had used against the Foxes earlier in the game. The crowd went insane over the tactic while Riko… oh, someone wasn’t happy at all.

A few minutes later, Riko was back at Andrew’s goal, and Matt managed to trip him before he could take the shot. Except Riko came up and got in his face, and moments later the two of them were fighting, and when the referees pulled them apart, it was Matt who got the yellow card for throwing the first punch – Matt, and not the prick. Andrew hadn’t been close enough to tell, but somehow he doubted that the referee had made the right call. Since Matt took the blame for the fight, Riko got to take a penalty shot on the goal, and Andrew felt like punching the prick when the ball went in the goal because he’d been off on catching it by a fucking half an inch. Half an inch.

The game went downhill from there, with the Ravens out for blood because of the Foxes daring to score on them and in such a manner. Andrew couldn’t remember the last time when every player on the court had been yellow carded (he managed to nail the dealer in retaliation for checking Neil when his boyfriend hadn’t even had the ball; he wished it was that bastard backliner Johnson, but Johnson never made it close enough to his goal). Everyone was going to be sore as well as black and blue come the next day, and Neil nearly got his nose broken when Johnson managed to nail him beneath the safety visor of his helmet.  From what Andrew could see, the idiot was arguing with Abby as she checked out his nose, and was allowed to stay on the court to take his penalty shot then keep playing.  That earned him two of his owed five points, at least.

By the time the first half of the game was over, the score was six – four in favor of the Ravens, and the Foxes were battered and exhausted. Andrew pulled off his helmet with trembling fingers, his face covered with sweat, and stumbled toward Neil, who was being checked once again by Abby. “It looks better now, but you let me know if it starts bleeding again,” she chided Andrew’s boyfriend before handing Neil something to drink.

The liar nodded before collapsing on one of the benches in the locker room, his face flushed and orange bandana soaked through, hair darkened with sweat and nose reddened from the blow earlier. Still, he smiled at Andrew, the expression tainted with exhaustion, and moved his helmet so Andrew could sit next to him. “Having fun yet?”

“I hate you so much right now,” Andrew insisted. “You couldn’t have gone for the chess club or something?”

“Ha!” Neil closed his eyes for a moment and let out slow breath. “I can see you threatening to stab someone if they tried to take your king.”

“Whatever works.” Andrew rubbed at the back of his neck and grimaced at the feel of sweat. “What the hell did the prick say to you? You and Kevin,” he asked in German. He looked up to see Abby holding out a cup of sports drink to him, a worried look on her face.

Neil paused to accept a new drink from her as well. “He went after Kevin by telling him that he’s going to fail, that he’ll never be what he was before.” He shook his head before he took a couple of sips. “As for me…,” he gave Andrew a nervous side glance. “First he told me to pay attention, to see how a real team, how *my* team, properly plays. Then he told me the discipline would begin tonight to teach me my place.” He stared into the half-empty cup. “Moved on to the usual shit about me knowing my place, which is me down on my knees. I think he has a fetish about that.” That was said in a light tone, but judging from the way that Neil’s jaw had clenched just then, it had pissed him off. Considering what had happened last week… oh yeah, it had *really* pissed him off. Wymack better make sure that no one managed to get a mike in front of the idiot’s face tonight, or else dear Riko was going to get another explosive earful.

“What are the chances of us arranging something to make it look as if he slipped on something in the shower before they return to West Virginia, hmm?”

Neil was quiet for a moment, then turned around to look at Andrew with a huge smile on his face. “Well, if you can figure out a way to get through what I’m sure is a ton of security and a bunch of Ravens and all their staff, we can probably think of something. Awful slippery, those floors. And all those hard walls.”

Andrew thought about it while Aaron came over to sit by them. “Pulling the fire alarm wouldn’t work, dammit.” That would make them all leave and put security on high alert.

“Hmm, willing to bet sneaking through the air ducks only works in the movies,” Neil offered. “Plus, probably too noisy.”

Aaron paused in sipping his own drink to look at the two of them. “You know what, I don’t think I want to know,” he said in English and got up to go sit over by Nicky.

Andrew sneered at his twin, but before they could go back to their plotting, Wymack and Kevin entered the locker room, and the rest of the break was taken up in trying to figure out how to keep the Ravens from crushing them in the second half. The Foxes had no hope of beating the other team, especially since the Ravens had more than enough players to come out with all new ones when they went back out onto the court, but the Foxes were determined to hold the score down as much as possible; looking at Kevin and Neil, they were going to give it their all. That determination, as well as the fact that the Ravens were only leading by two points so far, seemed to give the Foxes some much-needed heart.

Andrew thought of Riko’s taunts, about the threats against Neil, and rested up as much as possible before the buzzer went off to warn them to head back out onto the court. He had an idea about the prick’s playing style now, so if and when Riko decided to step back out onto the court, Andrew would be ready for him.

*******

Neil struggled to breathe as the first part of the second half wrapped up; his assigned backliner this time around, Phillips, was even bigger than Johnson had been, and more willing to slam him around. For a moment Neil spared a thought to curse out his Hatford genes, for the fact that he couldn’t have gotten just a *few* more inches before his growth had stopped, dammit, then Andrew had fired off another ball from a blocked goal and there wasn’t any time to be wasted on useless regret.

Without Riko on the court, the Foxes managed to block the Ravens trampling all over them, but it was costing Kevin and Neil. If Neil had thought that the game with the Hornets had been rough, it had only been a preview of tonight – he probably was going to spend tomorrow alternating between hot showers and lying around in bed, trying to sleep away the pain. Kevin wasn’t faring much better, though he had the mass to shove back a bit better than Neil, who was relying more on *not* being caught at the moment.

Still, the score was currently seven-six, and the Ravens were frustrated as hell at being blocked from budging the points in their favor. Neil grinned at Phillips as he intercepted the ball and swung it over to Kevin, but the Ravens’ dealer slammed into Kevin *hard* and managed to snatch the ball away before he could line up the shot to the goal.

However, Allison was there to trip the other dealer with her racquet, a sweet smile on her face as she did it, which apparently the Raven didn’t appreciate. Already yellow carded during the game, it was the final straw when the dealer attempted to smash his racquet into her in return, especially since she didn’t have the ball at the moment – Kevin had snatched it back up.

While the dealer was thrown off the court with a red card, Tetsuji used the break to sub in a new dealer… and Riko back into the game. Neil had been expecting that, especially after the way that the game had been stalled, point-wise, but he felt anger bubble up inside of him at the sight of the arrogant striker striding forth with such confidence, at the cold look he gave Kevin and the indecipherable one he threw at Neil. The ball was given to Allison as the game resumed, and if Neil thought the Ravens had been fiercely determined before, it was nothing compared to now; they were *not* going to let the Foxes show them up while their captain was on court to watch them fail. Phillips became even more brutal, enough to earn another yellow card, their goalkeeper would have bruises from the way she flung herself about to stop the balls, and Allison was soon swapped out for Dan because of a nasty tumble to the ground (and yet another yellow card).

Riko managed another goal on Andrew after a few tense minutes, much longer than it took him in the first half, and that appeared to put him in a foul mood; he spat something to Andrew, something that made Andrew smile in return as he spun his racquet between his gloved hands. Neil winced and prepared himself for things to get even worse – how, he wasn’t certain, but somehow Riko always managed.

As they lined up for the ball to be served again, Riko gave Kevin a chilling smile. “Do you think you’re redeeming yourself today?” he asked in Japanese. “You’re only showing how far you’ve fallen.”

“I’m not ashamed of anything today,” Kevin dared to tell him, refusing to look away and surprising Neil with that bit of backbone.

“Yes, I thought you were supposed to crush us,” Neil shouted, before Riko could come up with a retort that would wipe out Kevin’s confidence.

“So eager for your beating, are you? Maybe there is some truth to those interesting rumors about you.” Riko gave Neil a sharp grin before he motioned to his dealer that he was ready for the game to proceed. Neil had to push aside the anger and focus on the game, when all he wanted was to strangle the bastard.

Riko once again had control of the ball, but Matt managed to check him and knock it free, which Aaron took advantage of and threw to Kevin, who had been following his ex-teammate. Still on the Ravens’ side of the court, Neil watched as Kevin struggled with Jean and tried to position himself so he would be in a good spot for the ball to be handed off to him, all the while darting around Phillips. Dan stepped in to try to check the backliner, which left Neil open. Kevin got clear of Jean and threw the ball, and Neil had to twist a bit while jumping to make sure he got it instead of the Ravens’ dealer. He ducked to avoid the guy’s racquet, swerved around them – and couldn’t even gasp as he was slammed into the wall, his back and head hitting it hard as Riko ran into him straight on.

“Not quite your knees, but a good start, Nathaniel,” Riko told Neil in Japanese as he slumped forward struggling to breathe. “Soon enough I will break you, so thoroughly that you won’t be able to imagine a time you weren’t down on them, waiting to please me. Enjoy these last few moments of defiance.” He hovered over Neil as he spoke, as if making sure that Neil was recovering from the hit, his hands lingering on Neil’s shoulders, near his throat, then pressed too tight against the base of Neil’s throat before he was gone.

Neil stumbled forward, his racquet held loosely in his hands, and caught Dan’s worried gaze; he knew he could pause the game and call for Abby, could ask to be subbed out but he refused to do that, to let Riko win. So he pushed past the pain and the unsteadiness, his steps growing more certain after a few seconds, and forced himself onward.

He managed to hold out for the rest of the game, but Kevin only got one more goal, while Riko landed two more, which put the final score at eleven-seven.

It wasn’t the total rout that the Ravens had hoped, but it was still a loss, and Andrew had to be smarting to have given up so many goals in one game. It also cast in doubt the Foxes’ ability to advance too far into the finals at their current state, which was probably what Riko had hoped to draw attention to tonight, to prove to the main branch. It left no doubt that the Ravens were still the best team out there… but the Foxes had proven themselves to no longer be the worst, at the very least.

Their fans were more subdued at the end of the game than at the beginning, the Ravens’ jubilant at their team’s win, but Neil didn’t care at the moment. The awful game was over, he didn’t have to run anymore, didn’t have to fight or force his body onward. He ached so damn much, muscle and bone, and just wanted to lie down on the court and never move. It hurt to breathe, to move, to even swallow. Maybe Wymack would just allow him to stay out on court until morning….

However, Dan came to haul him upright and drag him over to the rest of the Foxes, to an equally exhausted Kevin. They slumped against each other, clearly needing support after having put up with the abuse dealt out by the Ravens’ defensive line, after spending the entire game on their feet unless having them knocked out from beneath them. Neil struggled to keep his breathing even, still short of air from all of the exertion and promised himself he could pass out once safely off of the court.

Then it occurred to Neil that Andrew wasn’t there, that he was missing *that* safety, and he straightened up to turn around, causing Kevin to rumble out a complaint, and saw Andrew still in front of his goal, appearing just as exhausted as Neil and Kevin, fumbling to pick up his huge racquet. The crowd seemed to reacting to something, and when Neil looked up, his tired brain seemed to register the stats of the game being displayed, the fact that out of about one hundred and thirty shots, Andrew had managed to block all but eleven of them.

Andrew managed to pick up his racquet that time, and used it as support to slowly make his way over to the team. Neil stepped forward a little to greet his boyfriend, a tired smile on his face once he pulled off his helmet. “I don’t know if I should tell you that you’re amazing or that you suck,” he teased.

Andrew gave him a narrowed look and let his heavy racquet fall forward to bump into Neil’s shoulders; thank god for padding, even though it still hurt because of the many hits he’d taken. “If you want the second to happen any time soon, it better be the first.”

Right then the court doors opened, and the rest of the team joined them, along with Abby and Wymack. As the team gathered together, excited despite their loss, Kevin came over to Neil and Andrew.

“So, did you have fun tonight?” Kevin asked as he took in Andrew’s exhausted appearance. “You seemed mildly into it.”

“Go to hell,” Andrew told him as he leaned against Neil, who had a problem supporting his boyfriend’s solid weight.

Kevin smiled at the insult, but just as he went to say something else, Riko’s voice rang out, causing the expression to falter and Neil to stiffen despite the pain to his sore and strained muscles.

“Foxes.” Riko came to a stop near Kevin and Neil, mindful to keep Neil between him and Andrew. “I admit that tonight’s game wasn’t quite the pathetic loss as I’d expected, but if it wasn’t for these two,” he gestured to Kevin and Neil, “it would be a complete embarrassment for your team. Even then, Kevin, I have to admit that you’ve fallen so far from what you used to be – this one,” he motioned to Neil, “ is still rising, still training, but you’re just a shadow of what you used to be.” He shook his head, his expression one of exaggerated sadness. “You should have stayed down and saved us the trouble of forcing you back to your knees.”

Andrew stared at Riko with open disgust. “Yeah, I’m seeing it now, definitely a fetish,” he murmured in German, while Neil reminded himself that if he didn’t let Andrew kill the bastard in front of witnesses, he couldn’t do it either. Unfortunately. Dammit.

Kevin took a few deep breaths as if to center himself while Dan held a furious Matt back, then shook his head. “I’m satisfied,” he told his ex-teammate, his cheeks flushed from strong emotion rather than exertion. The answer surprised all of the Foxes except Neil, who had heard him talk to Riko earlier. “They still need a lot of work,” okay, yeah, that was typical Kevin there and got the Foxes to stop gaping at him, “but they’ve got spirit. I’m right about them, about there being something here for me to work with.”

One of the Ravens standing behind Riko glared at the Foxes. “What have you *done* to him?!” He sounded torn between anger and tears at the moment.

Kevin merely continued to smile at the rest of the Foxes, who were still a bit dubious about his sudden attitude change, and reached over to pat Andrew on the shoulder. Andrew allowed the familiarity, probably because it would look bad to punch Kevin in front of the Ravens just then when Kevin had praised the Foxes. Well, sorta praised the Foxes.

“Thank you for the game tonight,” Kevin continued, which made Neil wonder if Kevin had sustained some sort of head injury during the game or something. “We’ll see you again at the semifinals. I promise it’ll be a much better rematch.”

“One man can’t carry you that far,” Riko said with such a final air, and it took a moment for the meaning of that to sink in, for Neil to latch on to Andrew’s arm and prevent him from going after the bastard. “Even you aren’t so delusional to believe that. Just give up now,” he ordered Kevin while he stared at Neil with obvious intent.

“It’s not going to be just one person.” Kevin insisted. ”You’ll see.”

“As I said, delusional. All of you.” Riko flick his fingers out toward Kevin and Andrew. “Just accept it now.”

“Listen, you obsessed pri-“

“Thanks for nothing and good night,” Dan called out, cutting off Andrew as she stepped right in front of Riko as if to block him from Andrew’s sight. “We’re out of here.”

She led the disgruntled Foxes off of the court without the teams exchanging handshakes, which was probably for the best; Neil couldn’t imagine what would happen if Andrew got his hands on Riko, if *he* got his hands on Riko. Wymack cut short his interview with a couple of reporters when he saw the team coming, and motioned for Andrew and Neil to get inside the locker room. Dan, Kevin and Allison stayed out to talk to the reporters while Matt, Nicky and even Aaron waved to the crowds.

“You didn’t want to stay out there with them?” Neil asked Renee as she came inside with them.

She gave a slight shrug as she set her racquet and helmet down on a bench. “It’s nice to get away from the noise. Besides, I think Coach feels a bit better knowing that someone’s watching over you two.”

Neil winced at that. “Why does everyone assume that we’re going to cause trouble?”

Andrew, stretched out on top of a bench, snorted at that, while Renee gave Neil a slow, sweet smile. “I think having the son of a major crime boss obsessed with you might have something to do with it.”

“Obsessed with Neil,” Andrew called out. “I just annoy the shit out of him.”

“Oh yes, that’s so much better,” Neil said as he sank down by Andrew’s head. “Oh fuck, can we not move anymore tonight?”

“Wuss,” Andrew chided.

“You try getting slammed around for an entire game,” Neil grumbled as he combed his fingers through Andrew’s damp hair.

“You try dealing with having balls flying at you for an entire game,” Andrew shot back as he closed his eyes, his hand wrapping around Neil’s wrist lightly in a clear sign for Neil not to stop anytime soon; he even scooted up a little until his head rested on Neil’s thigh.

Renee started humming, as if amused or happy, and went to fetch some sports drink for her and Neil while they waited for the rest of the team to show up. It took a few more minutes, and they burst into the room with more energy than Neil could summon at the moment.

Wymack motioned for everyone to calm down, appearing in a rather good mood for a coach of a team that had just lost. “You know, when I told you back in June that you’d be facing Edgar Allen, you said there was no way you could do it. But you faced them on your court tonight and you didn’t let them push you around. You took seven points from the first ranked team in the nation, and I think you should be pretty fucking proud of yourselves about that fact.”

“Proud of losing?” Aaron asked, as always one to see the worst in the Foxes, almost as bad as Kevin. “In front of all those people and on television?”

“Just be glad it’s over,” Nicky told him. “Those Ravens… they’re terrifying, no wonder everyone fears them.” He let out a yelp when Andrew, still lying down and with his eyes closed, reached to the floor to fetch one of his massive gloves and threw it at his cousin.

“Well, I’m proud,” Allison said, appearing the most back to her old self that Neil had seen since Gordon had died. She gave Aaron a condescending smile for a moment before she dismissed him with a wave of her manicured fingers. “This is only your second season with us, so I don’t expect you to understand what a game like tonight means. Or how far we’ve come.”

“Allison’s right,” Dan agreed. “We might have lost, but it’s not a total loss. We wouldn’t have even managed a single point against them last year. Tonight?” She smiled at Kevin and Neil, then at the rest of the team. “This is the strongest we’ve ever been, and we’ll only get better from here on out. Kevin’s already said it; when we meet the Ravens in the semifinals we’re going to knock them down a peg or two.”

“Couldn’t have said it better.” Wymack nodded as he folded his arms over his chest. “Kevin, Neil?”

Neil bit back on a groan as he expected what was coming next. “Those marathons, huh?” He’d failed to get his five goals, after all.

“Something even better.” Wymack gave him a quick grin before becoming serious again. “Starting next week, everyone’s back to their proper spots out on court. I think that if the two of you can run a full game against Edgar Allen, you can handle any other team.” He nodded to rest of the Foxes. “Everyone else, thank you for your patience and cooperation while Kevin and Neil adjusted, especially Renee.” He gave her a proud smile. “You’ve been a damned good sport this year, and welcome back to the goal. Andrew, thank you too for what you did, and no, no more whiskey.”

Dan let out a whoop of joy and hugged her roommate while Renee gave one of her small smiles, and Andrew muttered a ‘about damn time’ while Neil scrubbed at his scalp in appreciation for his boyfriend’s efforts.

Wymack waited for the upperclassmen to finish congratulating Renee – everyone knew better than to bother Andrew – to hold up his hands to show that he wasn’t finished. “We’ll go over details of tonight’s game on Monday morning, so meet me here instead of at the gym. Dan and Kevin, you’re on press duty.” Wymack paused to give Neil a dirty look as if to say ‘don’t even think of it’. “The rest of you go wash up, and make it quick, because there’s all that alcohol at Abby’s waiting for us.” He gave everyone a minute to cheer at the reminder of the party waiting for them. “Make sure to take everything important home with you tonight, since I have a cleaning crew coming in tomorrow to wash the Raven stench off of our court.” Neil imagined that the stadium would need it with all of the fans out there tonight.

He pushed a groaning Andrew off of his lap as Wymack once again yelled at them to hurry up, then needed his boyfriend’s help to stand up. “We’re going to the party, aren’t we?”

“Tell you what, if you can convince Kevin not to go, we’ll head back to the dorms.” Andrew gave Neil a slight, knowing grin, well aware that the only way Neil would win that fight was if he picked up his racquet and smashed it into the back of Kevin’s head. “Yeah, thought so.”

“What joy.” Neil sighed as he finished taking off his gear then grabbed his clean clothes and shower kit from his locker.

At least the hot water felt good on his sore body, and he stayed in there as long as he could before Andrew banged on the door of his stall. Sighing again, he cut off the water and barely dried off before he pulled on his clothes and arm bands, only giving his hair a casual swipe or two to get rid of most of the dampness.

The others were waiting impatiently for him by the time he was done and had returned his stuff to the locker, then dumped his dirty uniform in the laundry. He still ached like hell, but Abby should have some ibuprofen he could take at her place.

The drinking began as soon as they got there, with Kevin, Aaron and Nicky acting as if it was a race to see who got drunk first. Neil found a comfortable spot and curled up, more amused at his friends’ and teammates antics than anything, while Andrew grabbed a bottle of whiskey and sat next to him. It was the first time that the upperclassmen got drunk with them, so Neil at least had Renee there who abstained as well (though Nicky did urge him to have a shot or two in celebration).

He left the idiots to it at some point during the night and went off into his old bedroom, partially woke up to Andrew joining him in bed and then again later in the morning, just as stiff and sore as he’d feared. It took some effort to get out of bed without disturbing Andrew too much because of his body’s unwillingness to cooperate, but he crept out of the room and into the kitchen, where he found a bleary-eyed Abby brewing a pot of coffee and a cheerful Renee making toast, so the three of them quietly sat down at the table and waited for everyone to wake up.

Once Andrew got up and came searching for Neil, as if expecting him to have disappeared or something, Neil got some sweetened coffee into his boyfriend and then watched with some amusement as Andrew woke the rest of the gang up with what seemed to be some sort of twisted satisfaction – especially Kevin. Andrew wanted breakfast – though it was almost lunch at that point, and wouldn’t rest until everyone was more or less up and in the GS, where he drove them to a local restaurant for something to eat.

Of course once there, only Neil and Andrew were able to actual eat anything, since Nicky, Aaron and Kevin were still too hungover from the night before. “Oh god, you’re inhuman,” Nicky complained as he managed to eat a couple of fries and then gave up, his hamburger untouched. “Tell us the truth, Neil. Andrew’s dead and that’s really some demon lookalike you summoned from hell to take his place. It explains so much.”

Neil smiled over the rim of his coffee cup. “I don’t know if that says something about me or him.”

Andrew gave his cousin a flat look as he grabbed a fry from Nicky’s plate and threw it at him. “So funny, you are. How about we send you to hell so you can check and see?”

“Speaking of hell.” Aaron tried a bite of his quesadilla then seemed to change his mind. “Halloween is coming up soon. We’re going to the club again this year?”

Neil let out a groan as he thought about the party, which would be held the Friday before the 31st since the actual date for Halloween was during a weekday that year. “No,” he told Nicky, who had perked up at mention of the party. When Nicky just smiled, Neil turned to Andrew. “Why does he get to buy the costumes?”

“Because you refuse to buy anything, and your idea of a costume would probably be a name tag or something.” At least Andrew then took to glaring at his cousin. “But you better do something other than that stupid wizard costume this year.”

“Hmm, how about a saucy maid costume?”

Yeah, someone was recovered from his hangover, Neil figured, as Nicky laughed and scurried as far back in his booth as possible while Andrew flung as spoon at him. They managed to get through their meal without too much bloodshed, though Kevin started yelling about them being noisy, and then went shopping for the damn costumes.

Neil gave Andrew an annoyed look for making him go through the whole thing rather than just letting him return to the dorms so he could rest; he felt every one of those hits from the Ravens last night even more today, and was ready to just grab the first costume in the store. Yet Andrew kept dragging him past the rows of costumes up front, toward the back of the store where there were various display items that he guessed were for people who liked to decorate.

“I’ll buy you a whole cart full of candy if you just let us grab something and leave,” he pleaded, not above resorting to bribery.

Andrew sneered at him and pointed to the rack of costumes. “Are you willing to put up with me when I don’t have my chocolate?” When Neil sighed in defeat, Andrew nodded once. “One non-pathetic costume, either you pick or Nicky does.”

Neil resigned himself to his fate, and while sorting through the stupid things – a cereal box? seriously? his phone alerted him to a new text. Cringing at the thought that it might be from Riko, he pulled it out and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was from Dan asking where he was, then let her know that he’d text her when he was on the way back after he said that they were at the costume store.

Left puzzled by the exchange – she didn’t usually check up on him during the weekends since she knew he was hanging out with Andrew and the others, an idea occurred to him, having to do with the request she had made a few weeks ago. He frowned when he noticed that Andrew was doing his childish act of removing items from their hangers and dropping them to the floor. “Stop that, you’re going to get us thrown out.”

“I thought you wanted us to leave. Just pick a damn costume.”

“I’m trying.” Neil sorted through a few more of them. “Hey, why don’t we invite the rest of the Foxes to the Halloween party?”

Nicky paused in searching for his own costume to stare at Neil. “What? Am I hearing things? Did you just ask about inviting the others?”

Aaron shook his head. “No, we don’t go out with them.”

“We hung out with them last night,” Neil reminded Aaron. “And we need them. Talent alone won’t get us to the semi-finals.” He paid attention to Andrew, who was still messing with the costumes and didn’t seem bothered with the topic – at least just yet. “It didn’t get you there last year, after all. It’s time for you guys to stop breaking the team in half.”

“We don’t have to do anything,” Andrew said, still appearing unaffected by the topic.

“I’m not asking you to be friends with them,” Neil tried. “Just… just try giving an inch or something. Bend a little.” He winced even as he said that. Yeah, Andrew didn’t ‘bend’ well.

It was Aaron who spoke up first. “Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.” Okay, make that ‘Minyards’ didn’t bend well.

“You really think that they’ll manage to get anything out of Andrew, let alone a mile?” Neil went after the most difficult case first – and he hoped that by targeting his boyfriend, that maybe Aaron would realize that if he got Andrew to give in a little on this, he would give in on other things. “I just think it’s hurting us, being so *isolated*,” he stressed while giving Aaron a significant look. “Kevin told Riko that we’d make it to the semi-finals.” This time he stared at Andrew while he spoke. “We need to get our act together before we can do that. We need to learn to cooperate and work better together.” Because if they didn’t, there was a good chance that Neil wouldn’t be a Fox much longer.

Nicky gave a nervous laugh. “You honestly think they’ll come if we invite them? After what happened last year?”

“Because of Matt, you mean.” Neil winced at that. “It doesn’t hurt to try, right?” If Dan wanted the team to pull together, then the upperclassmen would have to take that chance, wouldn’t they?

Andrew stared at Neil for a moment and then picked a striped inmate’s costume from the rack. “Go ahead and ask Boyd. If he actually says yes, tell the others to come along if they dare.” Then he started to walk away. “And pick a damn costume.”

Nicky stared at Andrew in shock. “Wait, are you serious?”

“It won’t make a difference, you know,” Andrew called out as he kept walking.

They would find out, wouldn’t they? Neil smiled as he watched Andrew head up to the register, then decided on a costume that would annoy the hell out of his boyfriend before he regretted the choice; he went to a separate register to hide it from Andrew, who gave him a suspicious look about it.

They made it back to the Fox Tower, and Neil waved to the others after handing his bag to Nicky to take it in for him before he stopped by the girls’ room to see what was going on with Dan since he'd texted her that he was on the way back. She answered right away as if she’d been waiting for Neil. “You’re back”, she said, and looked down the hall as if checking to see if Andrew was around.

“What’s going on?” Her demeanor put Neil on edge, and he hoped that whatever was going on, that it was quick since he was serious about taking a long, hot shower and crawling into bed for the rest of the day.

“Someone came by looking for Andrew.” That made Neil tense up immediately, which didn’t do his sore muscles any favors. Dan pitched her voice low, as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear what she was saying. “I sent him to the café in the library to wait, and he should be on the way here since I called him to let him know that you guys were on the way back.”

“Who is it?” Was it Luther or someone from California?

“I’m surprised he’s not here yet,” Dan said as she checked the hall again. “It’s that cop who called a few weeks ago.” While she spoke, the elevator dinged to announce its arrival, and the doors opened so an older man could step out, dressed in jeans and a casual, button up shirt; Neil recognized him as a cop by his walk, the way he held himself and his arms – after so many years of living with criminals and being on the run, it was ingrained into him.

“Officer Higgins,” he breathed out, and Dan nodded in acknowledgement. “Shit.” Andrew would *not* be pleased.

Dan stepped out into the hallway. “Neil, this is Officer Higgins from the Oakland PD.”

Neil gave the man a cool look. “But this isn’t Oakland, California, so I fail to understand what he’s doing here.”

Officer Higgins acted as if he was amused by Neil’s comment. “I’m not here on official business, not really. I just want to talk to Andrew Minyard in person since he won’t do it over the phone. It’s rather important. Is he here now?”

Neil was about to say ‘no’ when Dan gestured down the hall, damn her. If there was any way for Andrew to make it safely out of their suite other than the door, Neil would call him and tell him to run, but he didn’t think that Andrew could manage a drop out of a window without hurting himself. So Neil had to settle for following the two of them, his gaze on Higgins the entire time.

Of course it was Andrew who opened the door, probably drawn to the firm, rapid knock. He opened it halfway and paused for a moment once he recognized the man, then jerked it open the rest of the way; he glanced beyond Higgins at Neil, who gave him an apologetic shake of the head.

“Pig Higgins, I must be dreaming. Or more like having a nightmare. You’re much too far from home for this to be real.” He summoned a blatantly false smile that was at odds with his flat tone of voice and didn’t invite the man inside.

"No, I’m real.” Higgins paused as if waiting for Andrew to let him in the suite. “Andrew, we need to talk."

"But we already talked, remember?" Andrew said, false smile now gone and tone still flat. "I told you not to bother me."

"You said not to call you," Higgins argued. "Just give me a few minutes, won't you, for old times' sake? I came all the way out here to see you. Doesn't that get me any sort of consideration?" He summoned up a smile, as if that would help.

Andrew shook his head while he gave a slight huff. "You didn't come out here for me. You came on a witch hunt I already said I wouldn't help you with. Give me one good reason to not cut your throat, would you?"

Dan hissed under her breath, but Higgins looked completely unfazed by the threat. "I was wrong. I know that now. The investigation on him turned up nothing." Neil wondered who the man had looked into, and why he hadn’t listened to Andrew all those years ago when they had last been together. No wonder Andrew didn’t want anything to do with him.

"I warned you," Andrew said, unsympathetic. No, Andrew didn’t do second chances. Neil skirted around the police officer so Andrew could see him, could know that he was there if he looked aside. Andrew twitched a little, probably because he had, but kept his attention on Higgins.

Higgins held out a hand like he thought Andrew would shut the door in his face, which was very likely considering how the conversation was going. "We were looking at the wrong person, weren't we? I think I've got it right this time, but I can't do anything without a complaining witness. The other kids won't speak up. They don't trust me that much. You're all I've got." He was almost pleading just then.

Neil could tell when Andrew lost it over that statement, even if it looked as if outwardly not much had changed. "Kids? Kids, plural.” Oh yeah, things were *not* good. “You only mentioned one last time, Pig. How many are you talking about? How many has she had?" Andrew had told Neil that he’d done what he could to ensure that Cass Spear didn’t have any more foster kids, and now Higgins said that she’d had multiple?

"You wouldn't care about the number unless there really was something there for me to find," Higgins said, quiet and accusing – as if the abuse was *Andrew’s* fault. "Just tell me yes or no, Andrew. That's all I want.” Something inside of Neil twisted to hear their phrase used like that. “That's all I need right now. I'll give you a name, you give me an answer, and I promise I'll go away."

Andrew was quiet for a moment. "You promise." Andrew sounded highly entertained by the notion. "You'll break that promise inside a week, Pig. Don't pretend otherwise.” He gave the man a cold smile. “Do I have to walk you out to make sure you leave or will you—"

"Drake," Higgins said, and mention of that awful name made Andrew shut up. Higgins stretched his hand out further as if waiting for something violent to occur and stared down at Andrew. Hell, even Neil waited for an explosion.

Andrew was silent, but not for long. When he next spoke, his voice was rough and low. "How many kids, Pig?"

"Six, since you," Higgins said, and Neil winced to hear that many – one was too many, but six? How could the authorities be that *stupid* and *blind*? He watched as Andrew pushed his door further open and stepped out, ready to move in case his boyfriend lashed out, yet all Andrew did was stalk past Higgins so he could head to the stairs. Higgins froze in surprise before hurrying after him, and the sound of the stairwell door slamming shut behind them echoed through the hallway.

“Okay, what the hell is going on here?” Dan demanded to know. “Who the hell is Drake?” She glared at Neil, obviously expecting some sort of answer.

Neil just stared back at her, willing to help her bring the team together, to help the Foxes win, but unwilling to betray Andrew and his secrets. She let out a frustrated snarl and ran her hands through her cropped brown hair before leaning against the wall, appearing to be ready to wait out Andrew’s return along with Neil.

Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes before Andrew reappeared, and he paused to take in the sight of the two of them; Neil he gave a slight nod, while Dan he greeted with narrowed eyes and flat lips. “This the welcoming party or the inquisition?”

Dan didn’t say anything, she just moved to stand in front of the door to their suite in a clear sign that she wanted answers before she’d allow them inside. Andrew went over to her, with Neil at his back, and grabbed her by the arms, his intent just as clear – he would physically throw her out of his way if she didn’t move by her own volition.

Dan wasn’t their team’s captain for nothing; she held her ground and spoke up. “Why was that cop here to talk to you?”

Andrew stepped back enough to look up at her. “Oh, no worries, captain my captain. I’m not in trouble for once, this is all about him being too incompetent to solve a case without my help. So don’t try to make this your business, I won’t let you.” There was a blatant warning in that last part.

“Don’t let it interfere with my team and I won’t have to, all right?” Dan gave a slight twitch to her arms, then Andrew let her go. “Do you need Renee right now?”

Andrew made a mock gasping sound. “Is that concern for me? How touching.” He glanced behind at Neil. “I don’t need anything right now.” He waved her aside, and she had the sense to get out of the way that time. Neil gave her a grateful smile as he followed Andrew into their suite.

They found the others quiet and gathered in the living area, casting worried glances toward Andrew as Neil’s boyfriend headed straight to the bedroom; considering how Andrew had stood in the open doorway, Neil suspected that they’d overheard much of the conversation and so knew what had gone on. He gave the three of them a weak wave as he continued to follow Andrew, and wasn’t surprised when Andrew went over to the one window and pulled out a cigarette. Neil locked the door behind them for privacy’s sake and then went over to Andrew but still left some space; close enough to stop something rash, but not enough to crowd his boyfriend.

“So, Higgins.”

“Higgins, Pig Higgins.” Andrew paused to light the cigarette, inhale deeply then let out a lungful of smoke. “Hmm, stubborn Pig Higgins.” Things were quiet for a minute or two after that. “Stubborn, slow Pig Higgins. He finally figured things out, how many years too late.”

“He’s going after Drake Spear,” Neil said, and winced when Andrew’s jaw clenched at mention of his abuser’s name.

Andrew huffed as he flicked ash from the tip of his cigarette. “He was thinking it was Richard, Cass’ husband, at first. That’s why he called me. But then it didn’t add up. The dumb *ass*. All this time, all those kids.”

All those years that Andrew had lived there, all that abuse. Neil forgot about his own pain, which was nothing like what Andrew had suffered, had put up with in the hopes of finally having found a home. “He’ll arrest him now?”

“We’ll see. Incompetent as fuck, all of them.” Andrew took a few more drags on his cigarette before flicking it out the window. “Come on, I barely got any sleep last night and you’ve been whining all morning long.” He reached out to grab onto the sleeve of Neil’s shirt to tug him toward the bed. “Time to forget about this shitty day for a while.”

“Okay.” A bit surprised that Andrew didn’t want to be alone just then, Neil went along with him, pulled off his clothes with more than a few painful twinges until he was wearing just his underwear and a short-sleeved t-shirt, then crawled into the bed. Andrew didn’t pull him close, but he didn’t lie down too far away, either, so Neil figured that he was still processing everything that Higgins had brought up but that it should be okay, soon enough.

Grateful for a chance to rest, finally, Neil closed his eyes and hoped that the both of them got a bit of a break from their pasts and the demons determined to haunt them for a while.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, more merging stuff w/ the great Nora (and will be for the next few chapters).
> 
> Hmm, have to look at my notes, but I've a feeling something big happens in the next chapter. Just how much bigness happens, we'll have to see. Depends on how long I make it and how much gets crammed in....
> 
> And yeah, I made up a university here. I was going to use an existing one for the Hornets, but then I felt bad. They're mainly pissed at the thought of Neil (thanks to Riko's slander) getting where he is by... well, yeah, you can figure it out, than honest bashing, after working so hard for their own scholarships, but I still felt bad about any negative association to a real school.
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are so greatly appreciated! (have to catch up on a few).


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Yeah. This chapter. OMFG. It would not end. I just kept typing and typing and *sobs*. I really hope there's not too many mistakes here. I was rereading through it and just gave up at the end. So exhausted right now (extremely hectic weekend). Let me know if I messed up too much.
> 
> So long. Sorry (seriously, feel bad. so much reading right now. take a break with this one.)  
> *******

*******

Neil waited until Andrew went off with Renee on Sunday to go talk with the rest of the upperclassmen about the Halloween party; his boyfriend seemed to have recovered a bit more from his talk with Higgins, but Neil was certain that Andrew’s weekly sparring session with Renee would do him some good. Might not be the best thing for Renee, but it would help clear Andrew’s head. As for Neil, finally getting some physical rest and a couple of hot showers had helped with some of the soreness, and practicing later with Kevin should work in some looseness. Would hurt like a bitch at first, but…

He went over to the girls’ suite, having a feeling that they would all be there if they were in the Tower. Dan opened the door and gave him a cool look at first, probably over his refusal to tell her anything to do with Andrew yesterday, but quickly ushered him inside and asked him if he wanted anything to drink, which he declined. Matt was sitting on the couch and smiled at him, and Allison was curled up in the one chair, checking something on the phone.

“Am I disturbing something?”

“No, we’re just trying to figure out what movie to watch,” Matt told him. “Do you want to join us?”

“Uhm, no thanks.” Neil rubbed at the back of his head as he stood there in the large room. “I just, uhm….” How did he go about this?

Dan shook her head. “We’re not going to yell at you or anything. We understand that he’s your boyfriend and you’ve got his back. I just wish that you – either of you – felt that you could trust us with these things, you know.”|

Well, that was good to know, Neil supposed. “Ah, thanks, but I’m not here about that.” Neil glanced at Matt and ducked his head. “It’s about, well, the library thing.” He wasn’t doing this very well, was he? There was even an amused smile on Allison’s face right now.

“What library thing?” Dan gave him a puzzled look while Allison put her phone aside, her attention focused on Neil as if she didn’t want to miss a thing.

“You know.” Neil waved his right hand in the air a couple of times. “The thing you asked me to do.”

“I’m beginning to see why we don’t have him do interviews, the whole Riko thing aside,” Allison said with a big grin. “This is priceless.”

Neil glared at her while Dan started grinning. “Oh hush,” she told her friend. “What did you get them to do?” she asked Neil.

“Uhm,” he glanced at Matt again, who was smiling as well. “There’s this party at Eden’s Twilight the Friday before Halloween. Andrew said I could invite all of you to it – Renee, too.”

The room was quiet for several seconds after that, while Neil wondered if it had been a mistake to try, considering what had happened to Matt and Dan the year before, and then Matt finally stopped gaping at him. “Bullshit,” Matt said at last, his tone more of surprise than anger, at least.

Dan hurried to sit beside her boyfriend. “Andrew said this? Andrew, who refuses to have anything to do with us?”

Neil nodded. “To be honest, he doesn’t think you’ll come, but he doesn’t care if you do. I know there’s a game that night, but we should be able to get to the club by ten.” He gave them a nervous smile. “Will you come?”

Dan and Matt were quiet, as if thinking about the last times they’d gone out with Andrew, but Allison had a thoughtful look on her face as she clicked her nails together. “A chance to party with the monsters. Hmm, this could be interesting,” she said as she regarded Neil for a moment. “It’s been so boring, here on campus lately, so I say we’re going, Dan.”

Dan started at that declaration, then stared at Neil. “How the hell did you get Andrew to agree with this?”

Neil shrugged again. “I asked.”

“And he just what, agreed to it?” Matt sounded as if he didn’t believe it. “I know you two are close, but really?”

“Like I said, he didn’t think you’d come.” Neil paused for a moment. “Especially you,” he told Matt.

Matt’s jaw clenched at that, then he let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, he sorta has a point. But I don’t… I don’t blame him or the others for what they did.” He reached over to hold one of Dan’s hands when her expression turned stony. “It worked out for the best, that whole mess, and I’m so much better off now. I’m no longer tempted.”

“You better not be,” Dan muttered.

He laughed at that. “No.” He leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “So I’m fine with going. Could use a fun night out, have some drinks and do some dancing, yeah?” He smiled at Dan until she smiled back at him.

“So it looks like we’re all going – I’m sure Renee will agree if everyone else will be there.”

“Okay.” Neil nodded, a bit surprised that they were all coming that night despite the fact that he’d asked.

“Just one thing.” Dan’s smile slipped away. “No funny stuff, right?” She gave him one of what he considered her ‘captain’ looks, where he knew that he better listen or else. “None of Andrew’s tricks or games that night.”

“None,” Neil agreed. “It’s nothing like that, he did what he set out to do last year,” had made sure that none of them were willing to sell out to Riko and so forth, “and only cares about going out for Halloween this time. I can’t promise that he’ll even speak to you that night, but he’s letting you come along.”

Dan studied Neil’s face as if looking for any sign of doubt before she nodded. “Then okay, we’re definitely going, I’m not passing on a chance like this.”

“Yeah! So, guess that means we’ll need to get some costumes right away, before all the good ones are gone.” Matt grinned at Neil.

“Yes, what are you guys going as?” Allison asked as she resumed typing on her phone. “It better not be anything stupid.”

Neil frowned as he tried to remember what the others had picked, but had only really seen Andrew’s. “Uhm, I need to check with Nicky.”

Allison waved him away with an imperial flick of her hand. “Go, and text me once you know.”

Amused with her attitude despite himself, Neil nodded to Dan and Matt, who were already discussing couple costumes, and saw himself out of their suite.

With the Ravens’ game behind them, October went by quickly; either the fact that they made a semi-respectable play against the team or that it was only their second loss of the season seemed to spare Neil from any censure from the main branch, though Riko’s continuing harassment cost him several more phones. Wymack must have convinced the other coaches to talk to their teams about the rumors regarding Neil as well or Riko had only targeted the Hornets and maybe one or two other teams, because there wasn’t another repeat of the targeting as with the Georgia Academy team. Things were almost peaceful… which in an odd way put Neil on edge, because he wasn’t used to peaceful. Peaceful was when you let your guard down, was when they crept up on you and bad things happened. Too much was at stake then for peaceful.

It came the night of the Halloween party, and everyone rushed after the game to get into their costumes so they could get to Columbia as quickly as possible. Andrew didn’t have much of a problem getting into his prisoner outfit, while Aaron planned to put on his zombie make-up in the back seat of the GS. Kevin went as some dark wizard – Neil thought he just wanted to wear black all night. Nicky went as a space cadet, which was oddly appropriate. Neil started to have regrets about his costume, but told himself it was too late as he slipped a pair of running shorts beneath the plaid kilt and walked out of the bathroom dressed as a Scottish Highlander. Andrew took one look at it and turned away without saying a word, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Uhm, am I missing something?” Nicky asked as they headed to the car.

“Private joke,” Neil told him.

Nicky gave him an odd look. “I don’t think Andrew finds it very funny, just so you know.”

“Yeah, I get that impression, too.”

The upperclassmen were waiting for them in the parking lot: Dan and Matt were dressed as Greek gods, Allison as a flapper and Renee as a 40’s gangster, as if paired with Allison. The four of them piled into Allison’s Porsche, while the five got into the GS – Neil was bemused to find out that he was relegated to the back seat with Kevin and Aaron while Nicky drove and Andrew sat beside him. Oh yes, someone was *not* amused.

Andrew had made a reservation for them at Sweetie’s, since there were so many of them and they got there after ten on a Friday night, and they had to cram into a booth meant for eight people. Considering that three of them were on the smaller side, it helped, but Neil was made uncomfortable about being pressed together and imagined that Andrew only managed since he was tucked between Neil and Aaron, even if Andrew still hadn’t said a word to him.

Most of the time they just got their ice cream and cracker dust, but since none of them had eaten before the game, they all ordered a late dinner. Having something to eat seemed to help break up the ice – well, for some of them. Aaron refused to talk to the people he had no problem dealing with when on the court or when traveling, appearing angry for some reason; he didn’t even answer any questions directed to him. As for Andrew... well, he was being Andrew, and only spoke to Renee out of all the upperclassmen. At least Nicky and Kevin were making some effort. Kevin of course was patronizing half of the time, per usual, but Nicky seemed to be throwing himself into the intent of the night out, refusing to let the conversation lag and bringing up new topics whenever the previous ones would sputter out. Dan, Matt and Renee went along with him, to the point that even Allison and Kevin got into the spirit of the thing. Neil felt a bit bad that he didn’t participate some more, but he had never been good at social interactions and preferred watching instead, as well as keeping a close eye on Andrew, who had taken to stealing his fries. He pushed his plate closer to his boyfriend in a silent peace offering. When a warm hand snaked beneath his kilt to pinch him on the thigh, he sighed and just gave Andrew an annoyed look in return, figuring that he was slowly being forgiven.

They were all working on their desserts (again, Neil only could eat about half of his before giving up on the sweet thing, and pushed it toward Andrew to be finished), when Andrew’s phone chirped with an incoming text. Neil started at the sound, unwilling to put up with Riko just then, while Nicky moaned when Andrew pulled out the device from a pocket in his outfit. “That’s not Coach, is it? We’re allowed to have some fun after winning another game.”

Andrew’s expression was carefully blank as he checked the phone, then he gave a slight smile. “It’s just Bee.” His full lips curved a little more. “Huh, Bee being stupid. Look,” he told Nicky as he threw the phone at his cousin.

Nicky frowned as he caught the phone, and soon laughed as he looked at it before handing it to Kevin, who just shook his head before handing it to Aaron, who smiled for the first time in what seemed to be hours. Aaron passed it past Andrew to Neil, who was a bit puzzled then, especially since he didn’t care at all about Betsy. He accepted the phone and looked down at an image of the team’s psychologist wearing a bee costume, then handed it to his boyfriend. Andrew’s face smoothed out as he typed back a message.

“She’s with Coach?” Dan asked, an interested light in her eyes, probably because of the ongoing bet.

“Coach and Abby invited her over for a Halloween party,” Andrew said as he continued to type.

“So she sent a photo to you?” Neil knew that Andrew got along with the woman, but that seemed a bit odd.

“Yeah, she does that sometimes.”

“Okay.” Neil guessed that Andrew got along a lot better with Betsy than he’d suspected. He’d go out on a limb and say that maybe Andrew would be willing to extend the therapy sessions once his probation was finished. “And you’re fine with that?”

“Not everyone dislikes her,” Renee said as she finished her ice cream.

Dan acted as if surprised to hear that. “Wait, you don’t like Betsy?” she asked Neil. “Why? She’s great.”

Neil gave her a flat look. “She’s a psychiatrist. I don’t like people who make it a point to figure others out.” Among other things.

Matt gave Neil a pitying look. “Just give her a chance, she’s nice.”

“She has to be something special, considering that she’s lasted this long with Andrew. You know how many psychiatrists he’s gone through before settling with her. Was beginning to worry that he’d lose his bargain and all.”

“I don’t care, I don’t like her.” Neil glared at Nicky, challenging him to argue.

“And you wonder why you have issues,” Nicky muttered as he scooped up more ice cream. Neil just folded his arms over his chest and waited for everyone to finish their desserts so they could leave, which they did after a few more minutes, with Andrew mindful to take the stack of ‘napkins’ left on the table with him.

Once they reached the club, Nicky pulled up to the curb so Andrew could get the VIP passes for the GS and the Porsche, though Allison chose to park at a nearby parking garage rather than at the club’s lot. Kevin gave her some instructions, and then everyone else headed to the club, the bouncers acting surprised to see Andrew’s lot show up with so many extra people.

The place was crowded that late at night, but they managed to find a table with only two stools left not too far away from the bar where Roland served drinks; no one was too worried about the lack of seating since most people preferred to dance. Andrew grabbed onto Neil so they could get the drinks for everyone, and as always cut a path through the crowd without too much of a problem.

Roland spotted them after a minute and nodded that he’d be with them, while Andrew tugged Neil close since the bar was packed. “You’re going to regret this,” he told Neil as his hand tugged on the kilt.

“But, uhm, I’ve always been a fan of the culture?” Neil tried to argue as he shivered at the feel of Andrew’s warm breath on the back of his neck.

“Such as?”

“Ah….” It was difficult to think all of a sudden, between Andrew’s solid presence against his back, Andrew’s fingers brushing along his lower thigh, Andrew’s warm breath… dammit. “Bah-bagpipes? Shortbread?” What was the name of the one poet, dammit….

“Yeah, I thought so.”

Barnes? No, Burns, wasn’t it Burns? Neil had just started saying the name when Roland came over to the bar. “Okay, you two look interesting. There’s gotta be a story here.”

“Someone has decided that he wants to drink tonight, isn’t that fun?” Andrew gave Neil a pat on the shoulder as he spoke.

Roland frowned at Neil. “Huh, are you celebrating anything?”

“My pending engag-ah! Nothing, just a good season.” Neil glared at Andrew as he rubbed his now sore left shoulder – sheesh, someone sure couldn’t take a joke, could they?

Roland gave Neil an odd look, sort of as if something was his fault, then shook his head. “So what, the five of you came in costumes?”

“Nine,” Andrew was quick to correct, not about to miss out on some free shots; he motioned back to the table where the rest of the team was sitting.

“Aw, look at that, you made some new friends,” Roland said in a sickeningly sweet tone. “I never thought I’d see the day come. So proud of you right now.”

“I’ll tip you double if you never say such stupid things again,” Andrew told him while giving him a flat look.

Roland grinned, glanced back at the table as if to verify who all was there, and then got to work on mixing up their drinks. “Any DD’s tonight?”

“Just one,” Andrew said, which prompted a sigh from Neil since he realized that Andrew was serious about his ‘punishment’; Roland gave him that odd look again, so Neil knew there was no sympathy coming from that front. When the tray was about to overflow with around twenty drinks and a can of soda, Neil turned around to lead the way while Andrew carried it back to their table. The soda was given to Renee, and everyone else stared at the drinks but didn’t grab any until Nicky and Allison made it to the table; Allison arched an eyebrow at the selection as if impressed.

Now that everyone was there, the first round disappeared fast – Andrew made sure to slide two shots over to Neil, who grimaced a little at their potency but knew by then to drink them down without complaint; he trusted that Andrew would stop before things went too far. The only night that Andrew had ever made him drink ‘too’ much had been that time with Matt, and there had been a reason for it.

As soon as the drinks were gone, Andrew went back to the bar for another round, and that time Renee went off with him. As soon as he was gone, Dan leaned over the table to grin at Neil. “So, what’s with the costume? Not that I’ll ever complain about a cute guy in a skirt, especially with those legs of yours-“

“Hmm, gotta love runners,” Allison added.

“Oh yes,” Nicky agreed as he fanned himself, and Aaron took to grimacing in the usual show of disgust.

“-but you usually don’t seem keen to pissing off your boyfriend. So what gives?”

“It’s a private joke,” Neil said as he toyed with the plaid sash that crossed his chest.

“Except it doesn’t seem to amuse Andrew,” Allison pointed out. “Unless you’re going for the whole ‘angry sex’ thing, in which case I’ll have to revise my opinion of you.” She gave him a considering look that made Neil want to blush for some reason.

“Please don’t bring up those two and sex,” Kevin pleaded. “I’m not drunk enough for that yet.”

Now it was Matt’s turn to do the considering look thing. “Methinks there’s a story there, just what – oh my god.”

“Isn’t that a bit blasphemous?” Nicky teased, on account of Matt’s costume. Then he turned to look at whatever Matt was staring at, mouth wide open, and started laughing a moment later at some guy who had come as a neon yellow oven mitt. “Okay, I think we found a winner, kids. No one’s outscoring that on the crazy meter, unless Neil ‘fesses up to something really interesting.”

“Not saying a word,” Neil said as he continued to play with the sash.

“Uh-huh, big surprise there.”

The Foxes started took to staring around the club to see if they could spot anything to beat Oven Mitt Guy, and while they found a few contenders, still hadn’t come up with an unanimous winner before Andrew and Renee returned with some more drinks. The rather detailed critique was put on pause as everyone was more interested in drinks just then – and then Andrew brought out the packets of cracker dust.

Of course Renee and Neil abstained, and Matt didn’t even look at the things. Dan took one, but split half of hers with Allison, and the majority of the rest were taken up by the ‘monsters’. As the packets were poured into drinks, Nicky counted down from three and those partaking then tossed them back, followed back by a couple more rounds before those who were interested in dancing headed out to the dance floor. Renee didn’t go out right away, but told Allison she’d join her soon enough, and Kevin stuck around to have some more drinks. Neil went with his boyfriend back to the bar, suddenly uncomfortable with the thought of staying with the other two, especially when he felt the alcohol starting to kick in.

Andrew shook his head when Neil sidled up to him at the bar. “You wanted this, wanted them here, and now you won’t even talk to them?”

“Well, it’s just Renee now for the most part,” Neil argued. “And you’re not talking to them, either.”

“I’m not the one who thought this up, remember?” Andrew flipped at the hem of Neil’s kilt, causing Neil to press it down even though he had shorts beneath it.

“What’s so bad about getting to know them better?” he asked.

“Because they’re not worth it,” Andrew told him, his attention back to the bar and waiting for Roland.

“But you like Renee.”

“She’s useful, so I put up with her.”

Neil sighed as he leaned against the bar, suddenly tired; it had been a long day with the game and now the drinks and Andrew’s attitude. “Do you just put up with the rest of us? Me and Aaron included?”

“I do when you pull stupid shit like tonight,” Andrew said, his left hand once more flipping up the kilt.

“Stop it!” Neil swatted at Andrew’s hand. “You’re such a fucking child at times.”

“Says the idiot who dressed like that tonight. You want me to send a picture to your uncle? Sure it’ll make his damn night.”

“It was just a joke,” Neil said, feeling rather put out at the moment.

“An incredibly stupid one. I don’t know why I bother with you sometimes.” Even as he said that, Andrew’s hand snaked around Neil’s waist.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.” Neil leaned against Andrew, grateful for the support as the alcohol buzzed through his veins. “Hmm.”

“Seriously, there’s something behind this, isn’t there? Some book or movie I don’t know about?” Roland asked as he came over and started pouring some more drinks.

“No, but there’s going to be a nice fire later when I burn the damn thing,” Andrew said as he once more flipped up the kilt. “Only question is if it’s while a certain idiot’s still wearing it or not. Maybe that’ll make the news.”

Roland slid the shot he’d just poured across the bar toward Andrew. “And he wore it on purpose?”

“Like I said, *idiot*.”

“Fuck you both,” Neil gritted out while he snatched up the shot before Andrew could, for once happy to drink something, and ignored the way that Roland laughed and Andrew’s hand tightened on his hip. Roland slid another shot forward, which was snatched up by Andrew, then finished with the rest of the drinks.

By the time they got back to the table, Renee was out on the dance floor and Kevin was eager to join the rest of the team once he had a couple more drinks, leaving Neil and Andrew alone. At least now Andrew seemed in a better mood, and only made Neil drink one more shot before switching him over to water for the rest of the night. Neil was content to sit at the table and slump against Andrew while the Foxes came and went to snatch up drinks, Andrew’s left hand beneath the kilt but never straying past the edge of his shorts, as they argued about various topics such as the merits of driving on the left versus the right side of the road and paddle shifters versus stick shifts (Neil didn’t have so much to say for that, so he just let Andrew rant).

Neil felt a bit more clear-headed by the time that they had to leave the club; Renee took the upperclassmen back to campus while Andrew drove the rest of them to the house in Columbia. Neil had hoped that his boyfriend was kidding about the whole ‘burn the kilt’ thing, but Andrew waved everyone but Neil inside the house then pulled him into the backyard before tugging at the offensive garment. “Take it off or else,” he warned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Neil sighed, grateful for the shorts beneath as he removed the kilt and handed it over. Andrew flung it onto the fire pit and piled some kindling on top, then set it on fire. With the lack of a proper flame accelerant, it didn’t burn to ash, but it seemed to burn enough to satisfy Andrew’s need for destruction so they could go inside.

Saturday went much the same as usual for Columbia, with them sleeping in before going out for brunch, coming back to laze around and then Neil making it up to Andrew some more for the costume and then take out (it was getting a bit cold for the fire pit) for dinner and some more drinking for the others before going to bed. They returned to campus on Sunday so Andrew could get in his session with Renee while Neil caught up with homework, then off to the court for him, Andrew and Kevin for some Exy.

On Monday, Renee surprised Neil during his break between classes by asking him to go shopping with her so she could get the twins something for their upcoming twentieth birthday. Neil went along, even though he didn’t plan on buying anything; he knew that neither Andrew nor Aaron really celebrated the day – well, they’d be fine if Neil just pitched in some money for food and alcohol. Still, Renee had asked him a favor and he couldn’t turn her down when she was a teammate and went out of her way to spar with Andrew.

He didn’t know why she took him along, because she seemed to have something in mind without his input – books, cigarettes, alcohol were his top suggestions for Andrew. Hell, he didn’t know what he was going to do for the holidays when it came to buying something, but in a way he thought maybe Renee just wanted some company and confirmation that whatever she picked wasn’t too ridiculous. It wasn’t that bad of a way to spend the break, and he’d learned a bit more about her foster mother and journalism by the end of it.

Because Friday’s game had been an away game, they spent the weekend on campus, planning on just going out for something to eat on Saturday and then having drinks in the suite later that night. Neil was catching up on his History homework, comfortable on the floor near Andrew, when Nicky’s phone rang. His friend let out a sigh and paused the game he was playing to answer it, his face paling when he noticed the caller ID. “Uhm, Mom? Is something wrong?”

Andrew looked up from in his reading and Aaron came out of the kitchen with a bottle of soda in his hand, drawn by what Nicky had said. “Huh? You want to wish them what?” He turned around to look Andrew, who had that awful dead look on his face; Aaron came into the room to stand beside his brother and shook his head. “And what?” For a moment a big smile came over Nicky’s face. “You mean if I-“ And just as quickly it was wiped away. “Oh. Uhm….” All of a sudden Nicky hung up the phone. “Oh shit. Shit. *Shit*.” His hands were trembling as he spoke, and he let out a squeak when it started ringing a moment later. “Dammit.” He started pressing buttons until the phone powered down.

Kevin looked first at him and then at Neil, who shrugged. “Ah, and that was?”

“Shit,” Nicky repeated as he dropped his phone to the floor.

“What did she want?” Aaron asked after a few seconds. “That was your mom, right? What the hell did she want?”

“Oh god,” Nicky said as he ran his hands through his hair, mussing up the styled, tousled strands. “She… she called to wish you guys Happy Birthday.”

Aaron frowned at that as if he didn’t believe it. “Really? She hasn’t spoken to any of us in how long and all of a sudden she has the urge to wish us a Happy Birthday? I’m not buying it.”

“Neither am I,” Andrew said, speaking up for the first time since the phone had rung. “What else?”

Now Nicky looked a bit desperate. “And… and she asked if we’d come over for Thanksgiving, all right?”

That really didn’t make any sense; Neil remembered the way Luther had looked at the four of them, the open loathing for everyone but Aaron who had received disappointment instead, and now Maria was inviting at least three of them into her home?

“Okay, what am I missing here?” Kevin asked as he turned his chair away from his desk. “What’s the big deal?”

“Oh, only that it seems that Maria, and we can only assume Luther as well since she never does anything without his approval,” Andrew explained in a too civil a tone, “has invited two faggots,” Nicky moaned at the word, “and their uppity nephew into a god-fearing home for the holiday. Not something I had expected and not something worth even contemplating.” Andrew waved his right hand in a clear dismissal of the topic.

Nicky moaned again, his expression one of great loss. “But… but don’t you want to know why they’re doing it? Why they want us there all of a sudden?” When Andrew pointedly went back to reading, Nicky gave Neil a beseeching look. “They’re my parents. Yeah, they’re assholes… but they’re my parents. Maybe something happened and they’ve changed.”

That prompted a loud scoff from Andrew and a dubious expression from Aaron. “Leopards don’t change their spots,” Andrew insisted. “Luther probably just wants us there to remind us about how we’re going to burn in hell.”

“There’s only one way to know,” Nicky said. “Come with me. If you’re right, you can insult him again.” He gave Andrew a hopeful grin even as his hands clutched at his knees hard enough that his knuckles turned white.

“Go by yourself, you don’t need me there to find out how much of a prick your father is.” Andrew resumed reading his book.

Nicky once again gave Neil that beseeching look as if expecting help. “But… Mom… she said that we all needed to go.”

“Well, you’ve got a problem then, don’t you.”

Aaron took a couple of steps forward, an almost guilty expression on his face. “This… it is odd, them reaching out.” He went back to the bean bag he’d been sitting in before he got up to fetch the drink. “Maybe they’re reconsidering some stuff?”

Andrew let out a harsh breath and threw his book across the room. “The two of you are pathetic,” was all he said before he stomped out of the suite, not even bothering to grab his coat on the way out; Neil imagined that he was going for the roof and winced at the furious expression that had been on his boyfriend’s face before he looked back at Nicky.

“Did you have to push?”

Nicky gave him a hopeless smile. “It’s my mom, Neil. I just… I miss her so much. Hearing from her again….” He let out a shuddering breath and shrugged. “I know what they think of me, that I’m doomed to hell because I refuse to change – that they’re insane for even thinking I can, but….” He shook his head. “She’s my mom.” Beside him, Aaron’s expression was solemn as he picked up his controller and resumed playing the game. “I want my mom back, I miss her so much.”

Neil couldn’t understand that, couldn’t understand wanting to go back somewhere that had hurt you so much and rejected you, but then he’d had his own twisted relationship with his mother. He was sure that people probably would consider what she had molded him into something so much worse than what Maria and Luther had tried to do to Nicky, but she had never rejected him. Maybe it would be better for him if she had; he knew Andrew certainly thought so. Then again, if she had abandoned him, he would have been left to his father and the Moriyamas.

Yet he still missed her, still had nightmares about that awful night when he lost her, still found himself turning around sometimes as if expecting her to be right behind him. Lousy parent or not, she had been his world for so long, been the only one he could rely upon. He wondered sometimes what Betsy would say if he told her how he had lost his mother, only to stumble upon Andrew such a short time later.

“So what do you want?”

The smile Nicky gave him was so tremulous that Neil ducked his head, unwilling to look at it for long. “Can’t you… well, talk to Andrew? Get him to change his mind?”

“Oh Nicky…,” Neil groaned as he took to tugging at his bangs.

“Uhm, I’m barely following along and I think that’s a bad idea,” Kevin volunteered from his spot at the desk.

“It’s the only chance I have to go home,” Nicky argued. “If it’s bad, we can leave! Just… just let’s go and check it out, see what’s going on. I’ll never ask for anything else again, okay?” He glanced at Aaron, who didn’t look at him but after a moment shrugged as if to say it didn’t matter either way to him. That made Nicky’s smile a bit more certain as he looked back at Neil.

Oh, Kevin was so right about this being a bad idea; Neil still remembered how Luther had looked at him and Andrew, how being at that house with its Bible quotes on the wall had unsettled him. He sighed as he gave his hair a sharp enough tug to hurt. “I’ll talk to him, but I’m not pushing it,” he told Nicky – told the friend who had left behind his life in Germany to save the twins when they’d needed it, and hadn’t really asked for anything since then. “If he says ‘no’, then that’s it.”

“Thank you!” Nicky rushed off of the bean bag to go hug Neil, which didn’t do much for his resolve just then. “You’re wonderful!”

“I haven’t done anything yet!” And Neil wasn’t certain he could, either. All he would do was point out to Andrew was that Nicky had helped them out and was asking for this one thing – if it didn’t work, that was it.

He shoved Nicky aside so he could get up, fetch Andrew’s cigarettes with the lighter tucked inside, and a couple of light jackets for the both of them. Then he slipped on a pair of shoes and headed to the roof, where he hoped to find his boyfriend – if not, then he felt sorry for Renee at the moment.

Andrew was sitting on the ledge across from the door, stone-faced and staring down at the ground.

“You know, if Riko ever found out about this, he might not be able to resist the temptation.”

“It might be worth it if I could take him down with me. Make sure he landed first.” Andrew didn’t look at Neil until he sat across from the grumpy bastard and slid over the pack of cigarettes, then draped the jacket over Andrew’s lap. “Is that a peace offering or a bribe?”

“Maybe both.” Neil didn’t see the point in wasting any time. “Nicky sent me up here to see if I could talk you into going to Thanksgiving dinner at his parents’.” Neil winced at the look he got for that statement. “Okay, let me just remind you that this building isn’t high enough for a quick death.”

“Who said I wanted it to be quick? You deserve to linger in pain for this latest bout of stupidity,” Andrew said before he lit a cigarette.

“I know,” Neil agreed. “Luther is.. he’s just disgusting, I’m not going to argue that. I was quite happy thinking we’d never deal with him again.”

“Then why even come up here?” Andrew asked he snapped the lighter shut with a bit too much force than necessary.

Neil hesitated as he picked at the cuff of his jacket. “Because Nicky helped you and Aaron out – he helped all of us out, really, he left Erik behind when it’s clear that his life in Germany is so important to him, and he never asked for anything when he did it.”

“He got a scholarship for his troubles,” Andrew pointed out as he flicked ash at Neil. “Seems to me it worked out for the moron.”

“And five more years away from Erik.” Neil shook his head. “No, I’m not going to debate this. You asked, and I’m telling you. Nicky helped us out, and now he’s asking for something. He wants to see if his mom has changed, that’s all. If she hasn’t, then you guys get to leave. If you think that it’s worth going, then go. If it’s not, then I told him he’d have to leave it be, that I’m not pushing for it.” Neil started to reach for Andrew’s left hand then thought better of it. “I’m not about to risk being called in the middle of dinner with Abby to drive all the way down there because you need help to bury Luther’s body.”

Andrew was quiet as he took a long drag on the cigarette, then flicked more ashes onto Neil. “What do you mean, ‘help’? You’d have to do the whole thing yourself, after you got me into the damn thing.” He seemed to think about something as he stared off over the campus.

Neil sat there with him for a couple of minutes, content to breathe in the cigarette smoke from the next cigarette Andrew lit and think about some of the better times with his mother, of them roaming around Europe, and the fact that he’d yet to be pushed off of the roof, while Andrew sat there contemplating. He blinked when Andrew sighed and flicked the butt out into the air.

“It is rather odd, dear Maria calling like this – she wouldn’t have done it unless Luther put her up to it. Which makes one wonder, what does he want? Normally I’m all for denying him everything, but it might behoove us to take a drive and see what he’s up to this time. At the very least, it’ll break Nicky of the delusion once and for all that his parents will ever accept him and get us out of Abby’s lousy dinner.”

Neil blinked again. “So you’re going?”

Andrew’s grin just then was rather sharp. “Oh no, not just the three of us - *all* of us. Tell Nicky the only way I’ll accept the invite is if it’s for five. Why not share the pain?”

“But… why?” Neil frowned and folded his arms over his chest. “Luther can’t stand me, and I assume that you intend to drag Kevin along?”

“Because I want to see just how far Luther is going to push this farce. He’s refused to allow Nicky to step foot inside his house ever since his beloved son has refused to go back into the closet, and yet he’ll let me bring my significant degenerate? Oh yes, something is up.”

Neil wasn’t sure he appreciated the title. “You say the sweetest things.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed in an obvious show of anger. “Do you want to make Nicky happy or not?”

“I’m… not sure, to be honest.” Not if it would upset Andrew too much. “What’s this going to cost?”

“A very good question. Maybe there’s hope for you after all.” Andrew fell silent for a few seconds as he stared down at the ground. “No, I don’t trust him. Let’s get this over with and we can blame Nicky when it blows up in our faces. Nicky and you. And have him change the date as well. I refuse to put up with some awful turkey dinner as well as Luther.”

“Oh, yay,” Neil said in as sarcastic a tone as he could muster; he had to wonder if Andrew was agreeing to it because of Tilda, if he wanted to check to make sure his ‘dear’ uncle hadn’t uncovered something into the twin’s mother’s death. “Another reason to love family gatherings.

“Emotional blackmail, it’s the American way,” Andrew told him as he got up from the ledge.

“So it seems.” Neil followed along and hoped that Andrew was wrong about Luther being up to something, that they didn’t regret giving in to Nicky on this.

Andrew went straight to the bedroom once they returned to the suite, leaving it Neil to tell Nicky about the compromise they’d reached. Neil put up with being hugged again when he broke the news that Andrew had agreed, albeit with conditions. Neil gritted his teeth through it and did his best to break free after a couple of seconds.

“Wait, you didn’t hear the conditions!”

“I don’t care, I’m sure we’ll work something out,” Nicky babbled, a huge grin on his face. “You’re wonderful, you’re an angel, I love you so much!”

“Uhm, okay, too much,” Neil said as he sidled away, his arms held out to keep Nicky at bay. “First, you need to change the date, Andrew doesn’t want to spend Thanksgiving with your parents.”

Nicky didn’t even blink an eye at that. “All right, I’ll just tell them that we have to practice or something over the break. What’s the other?”

Neil winced a little as he glanced at Kevin, still busy at his desk. “You need to extend the invite to five people – Andrew’s not going unless Kevin and I are as well.”

That made Nicky’s grin falter a little and Kevin look up.

“Uhm, well, I mean, if Andrew, Aaron and I are there, I don’t see why they should care if you’re there, too, and Kevin should be fine.” Nicky gave a nervous laugh as he went to fetch his phone. “Let me check now.” Then he glanced back at Neil. “You’re serious, right? This isn’t one of Andrew’s jokes?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Neil assured him while rubbing the back of his neck. “If they agree to the changes, we’ll go.”

Nicky’s smile returned. “Thank you so much. Let me check now.” He picked up the phone and went into the kitchen.

Aaron tilted his head back so he could look at Neil from his spot in the bean bag. “Okay, so how do you do it? Is it mind control? Some sort of powerful black mail? What did the two of you get into before Racine?”

Neil gave him the finger. “I just *ask*, I keep telling you. Maybe treat him decent for once and find out how far that goes.”

Aaron gave him the finger back then resumed playing his game. That left one other person to deal with, so Neil turned to Kevin. “Any complaints or comments from you?”

“Why am I stuck going to this?” Kevin sounded a bit surly but that was normal.

“Take it up with Andrew.”

Kevin considered it then shrugged. “Where do they live?”

Neil thought about it for a moment and told him. The surliness fell away from Kevin, to be replaced by interest. “That’s not too far away from the Exites store, so we can stop by on the way there.” All seemed right in his world once again, so he resumed studying. “We can see about picking up some new racquets.”

Well, wasn’t it nice when someone was so easily pleased? Neil decided to see if Andrew wanted some company and headed into the bedroom as well, done with dealing people for the day – way too much hugging and shit.

*******

Andrew watched Neil get out of the back of the GS and stared at the Exites store in front of him with something resembling longing, while Aaron grumbled as he got out as well. “This is stupid,” Andrew’s brother complained for at least the fourth time since they’d left campus, showing an unusual amount of concern about the Foxes and Exy in general. “We just got the line-up working right, and now you’re going to change things again? It’ll just screw things up.”

Kevin got that particularly mulish look on his face that made Andrew want to punch him – actually, there were a lot of his expressions that made Andrew want to punch him. “It’ll make things better in the long run, Neil switching to a heavier racquet. We’ll practice with it until he gets it down.”

“Uhm, *thanks*,” Neil said as he fell in step beside Andrew. “Appreciate that.”

Kevin glared at Neil for the audacity of the semi-complaint. “You agreed to this, to improving your game. This is all part of it.”

“I think he’s objecting more to you working him into the ground for the adjustment period,” Nicky explained, a huge grin on his face as he tossed the car keys up in the air; someone was only too happy right now, much too happy considering he was going to get his hopes dashed as soon as they reached Luther Hemmick’s house. Oh well, Nicky would learn soon enough.

Kevin sniffed as he waved aside what Nicky had just said. “He’ll pick it up quickly.”

“Again, *thanks*,” Neil said, this time with a heavy sigh. “Looking forward to it already.” Yet he followed Kevin into the four-story building. “At least we’re playing JD on Friday. You guys shouldn’t have a problem with them even if I’m trying to figure out a new racquet.”

No, the Foxes shouldn’t have a problem with them even if Gordon was still on the team as opposed to Neil, that was how bad the other team was this season; they had taken the Foxes’ position as last ranked. Andrew wasn’t sure he’d even bother much with the goal during the game – if he *needed* to bother – unless a certain idiot offered him some incentive. Hmm, it had some possibilities, he told himself as he eyed Neil. He was certainly owed it after putting up with Nicky’s insane request today, even if he had partially agreed to it just to make sure that Luther hadn’t stumbled across anything incriminating about him or Aaron.

It was amusing to see the guy sitting behind the cash register located near the front door nearly choke on his coffee when Kevin walked past, pathetic admiration plain on his face, then do a double-take when he noticed the rest of them tagging along. ‘Kevin Day’ attracted a lot of attention, which of course spooked Neil, causing him to tug the hood of the grey long-sleeved t-shirt he wore beneath his jacket over his head as if that would help hide the ‘4’ tattoo on his cheek.

“You want to go pro yet you can’t handle the attention. Oh how your issues never fail to amuse me,” Andrew said as he began switching the jerseys on the display rack that Neil was currently looking through, messing up the sorted sizes.

Neil gave him an annoyed look. “I need to go pro, but I’m not at the point yet where it gives me any benefits.” He reached up to brush the fingers of his right hand along the scar cutting through his right eyebrow. “You think it’s a good idea for my face to be so recognizable just now?”

Andrew thought it was a very good thing that Neil was very rarely alone, considering the stories that his boyfriend had told him about Nathan Wesninski’s people. “I think you’re going to have to get used to the attention eventually.”

Neil just shook his head at that, which for some reason lessened a knot of tension inside of Andrew. “Not as long as Kevin’s around.”

“Who would have thought, he can be useful after all.” Andrew looked over to find the coward still talking to the staff about something, probably racquets, and saw that he had attracted a manager by now. Guess it paid to be important or something like that. “Come on, this is going to take a while.” He grasped the sleeve of Neil’s jacket and pulled him toward the stairs. “Let’s do what we can to hurry this up.”

“In that much of a rush to get to Nicky’s place?” Neil sounded surprised.

“It’s not Nicky’s place,” Andrew clarified. “It’s his parents’ house. It stopped being his when they disowned him for failing to live up to their wretched standards. But the sooner we’re done here, the sooner we can get through this farce of a gathering and then get back to campus. Columbia is too boring on Sundays.”

Neil shook his head. “Too boring for you – some of us can find other things to do beside fight and drink.”

Andrew clicked his tongue at that. “What happened to your team spirit? Wait until Dan hears about that.” They came out on the fourth floor, the walls covered in racquets. “Maybe you don’t want anything up here after all.”

Somehow, he doubted that since Neil’s eyes had gone wide as soon as he saw them; they’d been to the store before, but usually just the lower levels since Neil had the racquets supplied to him by his other teams, and was too frugal with his money to invest in one like this. Now, though….

A woman standing behind a register asked if they needed any help, but Andrew waved aside the offer as they walked around to check things out on their own. They passed the goalkeepers’ section on their way to the strikers’, and Andrew found himself unable to resist reaching out to touch the shiny new racquets along the way. Neil slanted him an amused look for his actions, which he returned with utter blankness while reaching out to hit the idiot in the shoulder, just daring him to comment; he was here because of Neil, was stuck playing this stupid game and all.

The racquets in the strikers section were arranged from the heaviest to lightest, and varied in length and net depth as well. Neil appeared overwhelmed by the choices before him, even though because of his height – or lack of it – he would default to the shortest ones. That still left him a bit of a selection among the heavy racquets, and Andrew wasn’t exactly able to help since he wasn’t a striker. Neil went through several with a deepening frown to indicate his confusion and frustration. “I don’t know, none of them feel right.”

“I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel something right now?” Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and wondered how much longer this was going to take. “Amusement or annoyance over how you get yourself in these predicaments all the time?”

Neil gave him a sullen look as he hefted a racquet as if considering its value as a weapon. “I’m beginning to consider that masochist theory myself, you know.”

“Why do I have a feeling that was some sort of reference to me, who is being nothing but helpful at the moment?”

Neil set the racquet aside so he could pinch the bridge of his nose, as if in an attempt to stave off a headache. “Oh yes, so very helpful. Why am I doing this again?”

“Because you were the idiot who handed him your ‘game’.” Andrew clicked his tongue and shook his head. “One of these days you’ll be more careful in what you promised.”

“Hmm, I don’t know, it’s working out for me pretty good, these last couple of years.” Neil didn’t look at Andrew while he spoke, he was back to examining racquets. “Might as well see how far it takes me.”

Andrew narrowed his eyes at that. “Did you just group me in with Kevin Day and the Moriyamas?” Oh, someone was most *definitely* going to owe him come later that night.

Neil seemed to realize that as he was pulling a racquet down from the wall. “Uh, maybe?” He held it in front of him as if to fend off Andrew, as if that would help at all. “Uhm, I meant it as a compliment?”

Andrew grabbed onto the racquet and used it to pull the blithering idiot forward. “Sometimes it takes my breath away, just how spectacularly stupid you can be.”

“Hey!” Neil glared at him for that observation. “I said I didn’t mean it like that.”

“And self-destructive, definitely self-destructive,” Andrew mused. “Tell me, are you just not happy unless you have someone wanting to throttle you?”

“Are you just not happy unless you want to throttle me?”

“Shhh.” Andrew reached out with his right hand to press his fingers against Neil’s mouth. “We’re in public, let’s not discuss new kinks here, let’s save that for later.”

Outrage flashed over Neil’s face at that comment… and then he began to smile; Andrew hated how that expression could twist something inside of him, could make his emotions so powerful and wash away his common sense. He never should have allowed Neil this much control over him… but really, there had been no ‘allowing’, had there? Other than him not driving away that day back in Reno, when he had the chance to get free.

“You’re an asshole,” Neil said, his lips brushing against Andrew’s fingers, yet he no longer seemed angry.

“Hmm, and I hate you,” Andrew said back, falling into familiar territory. “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a self-destructive idiot.”

When all Neil did was continue to smile at him, Andrew grunted and forced his hand to fall back to his side, and his other one to let go of the racquet. “I’m going to find Kevin, this is taking too long.” He spun around before Neil could say anything else.

He met the other Exy addict coming up the stairs, and so had to turn back around; once they were with Neil, Kevin surveyed the racquets and picked out five without too much fuss or effort. “There’s a practice court,” Kevin said even as he walked away. “Come on.”

The cashier hurried to grab a bucket of balls and open a door behind the register which revealed two small practice courts divided by a narrow walkway. Andrew stayed in the walkway while Neil slipped on some spare gear and went inside one of the courts, where he then began to try out the various racquets.

Neil didn’t seem happy with the heavier sticks, but they definitely added a lot more force to his swings, something that made Kevin nod in approval right away. Neil went through each one a few times then narrowed it down to two, which he then brought out to Kevin. After going over them, Kevin picked one and took it out to the cashier.

Andrew watched Neil clean up after himself then followed him out to the cash register, where Kevin was ordering the racquet in Palmetto State colors. Being cheap, Neil ordered the plainest model he could, then blinked when Kevin asked about a practice racquet.

The cashier told him that there should be one in stock, and brought it out from the stock room. The look on Neil’s face when he saw the final total would amuse Andrew for days.

“But… that can’t be right,” he said in French as he gaped at Kevin.

“You pay for the best,” Kevin said, obviously used to such expensive items. “They’re worth it.”

“I don’t need three,” Neil tried to argue. “Just the two for playing are fine.”

“No, you need the one now, it’ll take a week for the others to be ready in our colors,” Kevin said. “You can’t afford to waste the time. Besides, you’re not paying for them, Coach is, and he knows how expensive I am by now. If he has a problem, he’ll come to me.” Kevin smiled at the woman and grabbed the practice racquet from her before Neil could say anything. “You’ll be on the court tonight with this one so you’re ready for next week.” Then he handed over the team’s p-card.

Neil looked as if he wanted to have a breakdown as the order was paid for, but managed to control himself when Kevin gave him the racquet. Seeing that his fun was over for the moment, Andrew just shook his head and followed the two down the stairs; he did have some fun making half-hearted swipes at the racquet as if to take it away, until there got to be a bit too much heat in Neil’s glare.

Aaron and Nicky were waiting for them on the first floor and gave a curious look at Neil’s new racquet, then everyone went out to the car so they could get their ‘family’ dinner over and done with. Neil insisted on taking the racquet into the back seat with him, which meant that it stretched out over Andrew and Aaron’s legs, but Andrew didn’t complain. He got to give the strings a few tugs and rile up his boyfriend a little more, until Neil took to cursing in several languages and Nicky pleaded with him to stop.

The rest of the way, Nicky tried to fill with idle chit-chat, his usual tactic when things were on edge and he was desperate for a diversion, but it fell flat when no one else was willing to answer back. He even went so far as to ask Kevin various things about Exy, but Kevin - *Kevin*, faux pas king extraordinaire - didn’t rise to the bait to complain about the Foxes or Nicky’s playing ability or anything else.

They finally arrived at the Hemmick homestead, such as it was, and Nicky pulled into the driveway then turned off the car. “Maybe this was a mistake,” he said as he stared at his former home.

“Oh sure, *now* you realize that,” Andrew said as he thumped the back of Kevin’s seat. “Too late,” he insisted as he got out of the car. Hmm, someone must have upgraded, he noticed as he eyed the shiny new foreign sedan parked by the older model. “Neil, lend me your fancy new racquet.”

Neil clutched his new stick in his hands even tighter. “No,” he said, having an idea of what Andrew intended.

“What do you want it for?” Nicky asked as they walked up the driveway.

“Just want to make it match the other one,” Andrew said, a slight smile on his face, and Nicky made sure to nudge Neil even further away from Andrew. His cousin’s obvious distress made Andrew smile, while Kevin glared and attempted to snatch the racquet away as if to protect it; Aaron ignored them all, as if used to their antics.

Nicky was the first one up the porch, while Aaron and Andrew hung back a bit, and Neil and Kevin stayed down on the driveway as if unwilling to have anything to do with the family – wise choice, in Andrew’s opinion. Nicky rung the doorbell with an anxious expression on his face, and waited a moment before his mother answered the door. Maria looked much the same as Andrew had remembered her, so different from her husband with her dark complexion and quiet demeanor, wearing a plain dress as always, and gave her son a small frown. “Why did you ring the doorbell?”

Yeah, that was quite the welcome, wasn’t it?

“Ah, this isn’t my home anymore,” Nicky stuttered out.

Maria stared at him for a moment but didn’t argue before she opened the door, her expression a bit dour and not at all excited to see her son and nephews. She blinked a little at Kevin, but soon went back to that smooth expression when Neil stepped into the room. “You must be Kevin,” she said. “I’m Maria.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kevin said, looking much like he usually did when he was doing a public meet and greet. As for Neil, it was as if he was trying to blend into the background, he was being so quiet and bland; Andrew gave him a knowing look, right before Maria smiled at Andrew. “Aaron, it’s nice to see you again.” Oh yeah, things were off to a great start.

Nicky groaned as he rubbed at his forehead. “Ah, Mom, that’s Andrew. How can you not tell the two of them apart by now?” Meanwhile, Aaron seemed completely insulted.

“Oh, of course,” Maria said in a quiet voice as if she missed the point of the whole thing.

“Yes, I’m the one damned to eternal hell because I’m a sodomite, remember?” Andrew said to be helpful. “Over there,” he pointed to Neil, “is the person I engage in frottage with on a regular basis, and oral sex, and-“

“Andrew!” Nicky looked about ready to have a heart attack just then, while Neil just buried his face in his hands, Kevin lost his photogenic smile and Aaron stared at Andrew as if he’d gone insane. “What the hell?”

“I’m trying to be helpful.” Andrew gave Maria, who looked as if she hadn’t breathed in about a minute, a big smile. “Bet you’ll tell us apart from now on, right?”

Maria opened her mouth once or twice before she seemed able to speak. “You can put your coats…” She seemed to think about that as she looked at Andrew and Neil. “Ah, just leave them here.” She motioned to a wooden chair in the living room, which earned a disapproving frown from Nicky. Once everyone had put them on the chair, much to Andrew’s amusement, she took a stilted step forward. “Ah, follow me.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Nicky hissed at Andrew, but before Andrew could give some sort of scathing retort, they were in the kitchen and Nicky caught sight of his father and wasn’t paying any attention.

Luther Hemmick, much like Maria, appeared the same – he came across as a grim old fuck, tall and thin, without any pleasure in his life. He gave all of them a sour look, especially Nicky and Andrew. Somehow, Andrew doubted that the bastard had invited them here to bury any hatchets, unless it was in their backs. Oh yeah, Nicky better be in for some serious letdowns.

Maria hurried over to the stove as if looking for an excuse to avoid any conversation, while Luther continued to give them all the stink-eye. He glanced over Kevin, lingered a bit over Neil and then resumed glaring at Nicky and Andrew. “Nicky, Andrew and Aaron,” he said after an uncomfortable minute or two.

“Uncle Luther,” Aaron said, being the first one to break the silence, while Nicky fidgeted at Andrew’s side.

Luther smiled, just a little, and glanced again at Kevin. “I’m Nicky’s father, but you may call me Luther. Welcome to my home.” He ignored Neil in that greeting, Andrew noticed. Oh yeah, so much for getting over the whole ‘I hate gays’ thing.

“Thank you for having us,” Kevin said, his voice a little stilted as if he had finally picked up on the fact that yeah, things weren’t that great in the Hemmick household.

Luther didn’t look directly at Neil as he motioned toward an open space along the kitchen wall. “You can leave that thing here,” he said, obviously referring to Neil’s racquet. “Dinner will be ready in a minute, so why don’t we go outside and make ourselves comfortable.”

Neil didn’t seem happy to leave the thing behind, but it looked as if they were eating out on the deck again, and he didn’t have much choice; he left it in the kitchen as everyone went out back.

There were heat lamps out on the deck because of the cold weather, but for a moment, Andrew was reminded of his first meal here, of sitting down with Tilda across from him after those long days with the FBI. This meal wasn’t that much better, was filled with the same amount of uncertainty, even if the participants were a bit different. He still had Neil by his side, albeit with Kevin on the other, though he bet this meal wouldn’t be much better than the last.

Luther prayed over the meal, which Neil and Andrew ignored by just sitting there while everyone else bowed their heads for the useless posing. Luther was obviously annoyed at their antics, but appeared doing his best to ignore them.

That led Andrew to start talking to Neil about potential brunch spots they could hit on Sunday mornings, since they didn’t have anything better to do than sleep in then get something to eat, and it was clear that Nicky was losing his father’s interest in their game in Florida the day before. Nicky let out an exasperated sound as he set his knife down on his plate.

“We won, you know,” he told Luther.

“Congratulations,” Luther said in a bored tone as he glared at Andrew.

“Yeah, you really sound as if you mean it.” He shot Andrew a dirty look for a moment, before he offered his mother a weak grin. “So, the kitchen looks new.”

“Oh.” Her expression was a bit confused. “We redecorated two years ago. The contractor goes to our church.” She glanced at Luther as if for approval. “So what are you studying at school, Nicholas?”

"Marketing," Nicky said with evident excitement. "Erik's cousin works for a PR firm in Stuttgart. She thinks she can get me in after graduation if I make the right grades."

Ah yes, the ‘E’ word. Andrew paused in his discussion with Neil and waited for the big breakdown, now that Nicky had broached the dreaded topic. Of course Nicky’s parents didn’t make him wait for long.

"You're going back to Germany?" Maria frowned as she shot her husband a startled look.

Nicky's jaw tightened at the question, but he looked his mother in the eye when he said, "Yes. Erik's career is there. I wouldn't ask him to leave it just for me, and I wouldn't want him to, anyway.” He managed a slight smile as if hoping for the best before he continued. “I loved living in Germany. It's an amazing place. You should visit us sometime."

"Us," Maria said faintly as she drew back from her only son. "You're still…" Her gaze flickered toward Andrew and Neil in evident repulsion.

"Yes, we're still together,” Nicky said with pain ringing clear in his voice. “I came back because of Andrew and Aaron, not because there were problems with Erik. I love him, okay? I always have and I always will. When are you going to get that?"

"When will you accept that it is wrong, your relationship?" Luther asked. "Homosexuality is—"

"Luther," Andrew warned the man, unwilling to let him slander what Nicky felt for Erik.

"I love him," Nicky insisted with growing desperation to his parents. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? Why can't you be happy for us? Why can't you give what we have a chance? You haven’t even met him!"

"We cannot condone sin," Maria said, her tone for once final.

"You don't have to love the sin," Nicky said, "but you're supposed to forgive and love the sinner. Isn't that what faith is about?"

"Faith is following our Lord's creed," Luther insisted, and Andrew felt the urge to bash the bastard’s head in with his precious Bible. Beside him, Neil shifted about in his seat with his hands clenched in fists, while Aaron and Kevin fiddled with their silverware as if uncomfortable about being caught out in the conversation.

"But I can't be that black and white," Nicky said piteously, grief evident on his face. "I won't. Why did you call us down here if we're just going to have the same old fight again?" Andrew thought that was a very good question, and wondered why he and Aaron were made to witness this mess if Luther and Maria’s intent were just to torment their son.

Luther was unmoved by Nicky's heartbreak and said calmly, "things have come to light recently that made us question our current situation. We have committed to repairing this family," he glanced at Maria, who nodded in happy encouragement, "but we understand it will be a long, uphill path. We brought you down here so we could decide on the first steps together."

Oh, as if that wasn’t mysterious enough. "Enlighten us," Andrew said, leaning forward over his plate. "If the first step isn't tolerance, where does a pair of bigots begin in fixing a mess like this?"

Luther met Andrew's stare with a calm one of his own. "With reparations for past mistakes. That is why you are here."

"Oh, no," Andrew said. "I am only here because of Neil and not trusting your ass any farther than I can throw it. Which, upon hearing all of this shit, I’m seriously considering doing right now.”

Luther frowned at that, while across the table from him, Maria held up a calming hand and said, "Let's eat. This kind of conversation is too difficult on an empty stomach. We'll eat and try again, and then reward our efforts with dessert. There is pie in the oven. Apple, Nicholas. It used to be your favorite." It was a meager peace offering considering the harsh words it interrupted, but Nicky was desperate for any glimmer of hope. He nodded and tucked into his dinner with a weak appetite. Silence reigned over the table for a while before Aaron finally broke it.

 He asked about people and places he was familiar with, from when he’d moved here with Tilda eight years ago. Andrew glared at his brother for that, but it seemed to put Nicky at ease and placate Luther and Maria, to put the conversation back onto neutral ground. The rest of the dinner passed in a mostly quiet manner that way, and if Andrew, Neil and Kevin didn’t say anything or Nicky much at all… well, guess they didn’t matter that much, right? Nicky had gotten his answer that his parents hadn’t changed much at all, that there wasn’t anything here for him and that there was no point in returning, end of story.

Toward the end of the meal, Andrew got up and went inside so he could have a cigarette away from everyone else, figuring that Luther would bitch if he lit up near the food, just like always – well, not so much Luther, but Nicky. He was surprised when Luther followed him.

“Oh, look, one of my least favorite people,” Andrew sneered as he lit up a cigarette as he stood by the open window near the kitchen sink.

“We don’t smoke here,” Luther told him, of course with that annoying frown on his lined face.

“You say that as if I care,” Andrew said. “You don’t seem to do much here, including ‘love one another’ and ‘turn the other cheek’,” he pointed out once he drew in a long breath then blew out a plume of smoke. “So let me ask this, why have us over? It’s clear that us ‘deviants’ are clearly not welcome and you’re going to go back to forgetting the fact you have a son since Nicky continues to be so unforgivably gay.”

“I told you, to repair this family,” Luther answered with a straight face.

Andrew almost laughed at that. “Did you not catch the ‘gay, gay, gay’ part?”

His uncle flinched at that and his frown deepened. “Why must you be so difficult? Everything is a battle with you, every discussion you turn into an assault.”

“Maybe it has something to do with my upbringing?” Andrew offered. “Hard to be taught those precious good Christian values of yours and proper manners when I’m being shuffled around from home to home because some drug addict abandoned me.”

Luther’s face grew flushed with anger. “You won’t talk about your mother that way!” he shouted, while Andrew just gave him a slight, pleased smile. It took the asshole a couple of seconds to control his temper. “I think we need something to… lighten the mood. Upstairs in the spare bedroom, the one with the closed door, you’ll find some spirits which Maria purchased for today’s dinner. We normally abstain, but….”

“But I think the rest of us can use something to help put up with you, yes.” Andrew didn’t need to hear anything more than that, he flicked his cigarette into the sink and was already walking out of the kitchen. Maria had probably bought some weak shit, some Schnapps or wine or something, but it was better than nothing.

He took the carpeted steps two at a time and was down the hallway to the closed door, twisting it open and going inside the room without much of a thought. He caught sight of the twin bed with its plain tan bedspread, the white walls and the bag on the bed when suddenly something smashed into the side of his head.

As pain flared through him, there was a flash of a grinning face before shock took over, the emotion just as awful  as he recognized his attacker. Recognized the cropped hair, the brown eyes, the oh so pleased grin. “Hey, AJ, it’s been a while,” Drake said as he reached for Andrew and dropped the bottle he’d used to hit him. Dazed, Andrew barely reacted until he was dragged toward the bed.

Then it hit him – he was here, in Luther’s house, with Drake, with *Drake*, and he started to fight back; he managed to rake his left fingers down the bastard’s face before he was punched on the side of the head.

“Oh, you’ve gotten uppity over the years,” Drake complained as he shoved Andrew face first down onto the mattress. “That’s going to be fun. Didn’t grow up much, though. Still my little boy.” He gave a laugh as he struggled to tear at Andrew’s shirt. “I’ve been hearing things about you, that you’ve been bad, been playing with others.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Andrew spat as he kicked back at Drake, and connected with one of the bastard’s knee. It earned him another punch, that time to his face, and his left arm wrenched back.

“Behave,” Drake hissed as he fumbled with the zipper of Andrew’s jeans. “Or I’ll ask Luther to bring up the boyfriend. I’ve seen him, he’s cute. He can join us when we’re done. Be a bit of fun before Aaron, yeah?”

Rage filled Andrew upon hearing Drake mention his brother and Neil, at the thought of the bastard even thinking of touching them. Andrew’s right hand clawed about for something, anything, even as Drake reached to grab it, and-

And something smashed into the closed bedroom door, made Drake jerk at the sound, just as Andrew’s fingers found smooth glass. There was another smashing sound as wood broke, and as Drake pulled away at the noise to say something, Andrew grabbed the bottle and swung it at the bastard with all of his might, hit him on the head even as Neil burst into the room with Aaron right behind him, Neil’s racquet held in his hands as if a weapon.

Andrew only spared them a moment’s attention as Drake tumbled onto the floor with a loud ‘thud’ then dropped the bottle, now leaking what smelled to be some sort of vermouth. He wavered on the bed, nose bleeding from one of Drake’s hit, while Neil and Aaron stared at him in shock. “What the fuck are you, the cavalry?” For some reason his voice sounded weird. “Do me a favor, grab a knife and slit his throat, would you?” he told Neil. He wasn’t sure he could move too much just then.

“Oh fuck,” Neil said, his face pale as he approached the bed; he made as if to touch Andrew, but Andrew waved him aside. Around then Kevin came barreling into the room, saw Andrew bruised and bloody, saw Drake sprawled out on the floor, and then turned around and left.

“Kill the fucker,” Andrew hissed, just in case Kevin had left to call an ambulance or worse, the cops. “First him, then Luther.” Oh yes, he owed Luther for this little set-up.

Neil flinched but went to the side of the bed where the bastard was on the floor, while Aaron just stared at Andrew as if in shock. “What… are you all right?” his boyfriend stuttered out.

Andrew winced as he attempted to shrug on the torn parts of his shirt, then decided to pull it off so he could wipe at the blood on his face. “Old acquaintance,” he settled on as he leaned over as much as he dared to check up on the bastard. “Oooh, that’s not good,” he said at the rush of nausea. “I much prefer it when you have the concussions.”

Neil was hunched over Drake’s prone body, his expression utterly blank. “I think he’s dead,” he told Andrew as he looked up. “Broken neck, most likely.” As he stood up, he removed his hooded t-shirt, leaving the short-sleeved one beneath it, along with the black arm guards. “Here,” he offered to Andrew, his voice quiet.

Aaron seemed to be snapped out of his daze at the declaration. “What the fuck! How do you-“

“What’s going on up here? What did you do to the, holy shit!” Nicky stepped into the room, followed by Kevin. Andrew knew it would only be a matter of time for Luther to arrive as well, and so ignored his cousin’s panicked question – ignored his brother’s, too. Aaron was all right, would never be touched by Drake, that was all that mattered. Neil was fine, too. Drake was never going to hurt them, never going to taint them or anyone else again.

“Andrew,” Neil said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, not too close but there, as if wanting Andrew to know that he was nearby. “We won’t be able to bury this body,” he said in French.

For some reason, that statement made Andrew smile, just a little. “You’ll have to owe me one,” Andrew told the little shit, while Nicky continued to freak out and Aaron stared at him as if he’d never seen Andrew before. Then Andrew pulled off his arm guards. “Here, keep these. It’s going to be bad enough when the pigs and all arrive, I don’t think they’ll be happy to find them on me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Andrew, talk to me!” Nicky sounded hysterical right then. “There’s a body in here! What happened? Neil? Tell me something!”

Neil flicked an annoyed glance Nicky’s way. “I’ll call Dupree,” he said as he accepted them, mouth twisting as he caught the sight of Andrew’s scars, then looked downward. “I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked to come here.”

“Oh, while I’m putting this all on Luther for now, wait until I get some answers to find out how much you’ll be making things up to me,” Andrew told his boyfriend before he pulled on Neil’s shirt, wincing in pain from the movement. “Shut the fuck up,” he told Nicky in English, “and get your father. He has some explaining to do.” When Nicky just stared at him, Andrew glared. “Get him now, or else.”

Nicky didn’t seem to want to test that ‘or else’, because he was out the door in two seconds. Meanwhile, Aaron finally set the racquet aside, which Kevin snatched up as if it was some sort of security blanket. “How do you know this guy?” Aaron asked.

“Not know,” Andrew told him, the shock from everything starting to set in; he began to shiver even as sweat broke out over his skin; Neil noticed and got up to look around the bedroom, in the small closet and came over with a blanket around the same time that Nicky returned with Luther.

Andrew accepted the blanket while he watched Luther recoil at the sight of Drake’s twisted body sprawled out on the floor. “Why hello,” he told the asshole. “I found the alcohol!” Andrew motioned to the blood-splattered bottle. “Drake was kind enough to hit me with it, so I returned the favor.”

Luther staggered back into the wall, his face grey and expression one of horror. “What… what did you do?”

“Hmm, what did *I* do? Oh, nothing more than defend myself from the person I told you years ago who… mistreated me,” Andrew spat out as he draped the blanket over his shoulders, suddenly mindful of Aaron being in the room. “And yet here we are, with that same person in this house, hiding up in a room you sent me into under false pretenses. Still think it’s all a ‘misunderstanding’?”

“The hell, Dad?” Nicky’s voice was hoarse just then, his expression one of betrayal. “Was this why you had us come here today? So this guy could hurt Andrew?”

Luther shook his head. “He wanted… he said… he wanted to talk to Andrew, to Andrew and Aaron.”

Hearing those words made the rage flare up again inside of Andrew; he didn’t know how long he could keep the truth about Drake from his brother, but he would try. “You never listened to a word I said, and you let *this* into your house. Let it come here to harm not just me, but your son, your nephew. All because you didn’t want to believe the word of a troublesome degenerate.”

Luther didn’t say anything else, he just shook his head and walked out of the room on unsteady legs. Andrew sneered as he watched him go, the blanket held in clenched hands, and couldn’t wait to get out of this awful house.

“Andrew… just what did that guy do to you?”

He ignored his brother’s question to turn to Neil. “Call Dupree now, I believe those are the lovely sound of sirens out there. Might be a good time to try out your baking skills, I hear files go well in cakes.” Oh, the pigs were going to have a field day with him.

“Uncle Stuart is going to be so *thrilled* about this,” Neil muttered as he got off the bed again, his expression anxious despite the sarcasm in his voice.

“I live to please.” Andrew swallowed down another wave of nausea at the bed rocking and sighed when Aaron stepped forward. “What? You’re annoying.”

“Why aren’t you talking to me?” Aaron’s face was twisted with a rare amount of emotion just then. “What’s going on?”

Oh, someone had better be careful, or it might look as if they cared, right? “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to jail. You should be happy.” He’d finally gone one step too far, he dared Neil to make things right with this one. But damn if some part of him wasn’t pleased with making sure that Drake could never cause him any pain again, whatever the consequences.

“Damn you,” Aaron ground out. “Why? Who is this guy? Who is Drake?”

“Aaron, get out of the way, the police and the paramedics are here,” Kevin urged as he pulled at Aaron, for once being helpful. “I called Coach,” he told Andrew as he all but dragged Aaron from the room.

And just like that, Kevin stopped being helpful.

Andrew dug his fingers into the soft material of the blanket as he watched the uniformed men approach, and wondered why it was that things always got so fucked up just when he thought they were going well.

*******

Neil sat at the Richmond General Hospital and twitched each time a police officer walked past; six of them had shown up at the Hemmick’s house not long after the first responders and paramedics in response to the call that Kevin had made, probably because Kevin *had* made it, and it had all gone down hill from there. He didn’t think it took that many people to declare it a case of justifiable homicide when someone so much bigger and stronger had assaulted and attempted to rape another person – when that person should already be under investigation for molestation and rape charges in another state. Neil had called Martin Dupree as soon as he’d left Andrew in that awful room, and then swallowed his pride and called Sonja Wolfe as well, even though she had indicated that she wasn’t going to keep ‘saving’ Andrew again. He had asked Nicky to borrow his phone to do it, and told her that he couldn’t explain, that he would never speak of it again… but that Andrew was in trouble, and by someone who shouldn’t have been able to leave California. Then Neil had hung up. Because it had bothered him, the whole entire time he’d heard Luther say Drake’s name, the entire time he’d seen Drake up in that room. How had Drake been able to leave California if Higgins was looking into him? Had the cop failed to do anything? After coming all the way out to South Carolina to talk to Andrew?

Neil wasn’t an expert in many things, but he’d grown up the son of a man who’d been in charge of a rather important criminal organization. Neil had been on the run for a good portion of his life, and one thing his mother had drilled into his head was the extradition laws of many countries, because if they were caught by the law enforcement of whatever country or state they were in at the time… oh yes, not a good thing. They would need to know just how to twist those laws to their advantage, because it could mean a long sentence for them. Maybe Neil didn’t know things like what television shows or movies were popular or lyrics to common songs or frivolous things like that, but he knew more about many countries’ laws than most people except lawyers.

So again, how did Drake get from California to South Carolina, unless Higgins had lied to Andrew or Drake broken his bail? If it was the latter, then that should help Andrew’s case, right? And what judge would grant such favorable terms to a possible child molester? At the very least, Drake should be on some sort of watch list, and again, that would play into Andrew’s favor, right?

Those thoughts were going around and around in Neil’s head when Wymack entered the hospital, dressed in a dark coat and torn jeans. Neil stared at him for a moment, exhausted and confused and unwilling to do anything but wait there for Andrew to come out, but Wymack stared at him and motioned for Neil to come to him. When all that Neil did was just sit there, Wymack glared at him and motioned again, until Neil sighed and got up from his chair to go toward the man.

Wymack led him outside, toward the designated smoking section. The cold air helped to wake Neil up somewhat, and that’s when Neil noticed that Wymack had a bag slung over his shoulder. However, Neil waited to ask about that until after he snatched at the pack of cigarettes in the man’s hand.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Wymack said as Neil shook one out, his hands trembling.

“Not really,” Neil said, the stick held in his hand as he stared with expectation at Wymack, until the coach handed over a cheap lighter so Neil could light it up. Neil breathed in the fumes after taking a long drag to make sure it didn’t blow out in the steady wind, desperate for the relief that the smoke provided, for the sense of calmness, and let out a slow breath as he held the cigarette near his face. He longed for some sense of peace, but couldn’t find it while Andrew was kept away from him, while there was a possibility that Andrew could be kept away for good.

Wymack studied him for a moment before he lit his own cigarette. “You look like shit.”

“Why are you here? And what’s with the bag?”

“Kevin called me.” Wymack held up the bag. “I brought Andrew some clothes, thought he might need some help, considering.”

Neil huffed as he rubbed at his forehead. “Considering.” He thought back to the bedroom and yeah, Kevin had said something about ‘Coach’ in there. “They’re waiting for the doctors to say he’s all right him before they take him in. The police.” Neil wasn’t sure if he was being clear or not, it had been a very trying day. “Supposedly it’s justifiable homicide, but what with him being on probation and everything….” He scrubbed at his face with his left hand. “I called his lawyer. I don’t know why you’re here. It’s not your problem.” He’d take care of it, him and Nicky and Aaron. And if the four of them couldn’t… he’d call Uncle Stuart and see how much of his soul it was going to cost him to make it all right.

“Not my- for fuck’s sake, I knew you were a stubborn shit, but this-“ Wymack made a sound somewhere between disbelief and anger as he tossed his cigarette aside and glared at Neil. “You honestly believe this isn’t something I should be concerned about?”

Neil thought about it for a moment. “Oh, yeah, he’s your goalkeeper.” It made sense, when Neil thought about it that way. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him out somehow. You can go.” He waved Wymack aside; there, that was- oh, wait. “Just give me the clothes first.”

“I’m about to shove them down your fool throat,” Wymack insisted, and the threat in his voice jolted Neil awake, made him take a step back as his instincts warned him to get away, to be on guard when confronted with an angry adult male. Wymack seemed to realize his mistake as he cursed beneath his breath and jerked his right hand through his hair. “Shit. This isn’t – will you just shut up and listen to me?”

Neil dropped his cigarette as well as he eyed the coach with caution. “I’m serious, I’ll deal with it.”

“That’s not you listening to me,” Wymack ground out, as if doing his best to control his temper. “Josten - *Neil*. God dammit, a man’s dead, Andrew’s hurt and you’re trying to take everything on yourself here. Please, just shut the hell up and listen, all right?” Wymack stared Neil down until he sighed and huddled in his coat. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on in that fool head of yours, other than you’re determined to be there for Andrew. That’s one of the very few things I do know about you.” There was a bitter twist to Wymack’s lips just then. “You refuse to let me know basically anything else about you, but yeah, I got that much by now. And that’s great, because the little I know about this mess? He’s going to need you.”

“He has me,” Neil muttered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” Wymack said, and there was nothing mocking in that statement. “But he’s going to need more than that. I stopped by the police station before I came here, and they’re not happy.” He gave Neil a reproachful look. “Seems like a certain someone has been labeled a hostile witness, which doesn’t make them happy.”

Neil shrugged as he took to tugging at his bangs; too many years of his father’s abuse, of his mother’s voice sharp in his ear, he supposed. He just hadn’t been able to say anything to the police when they’d separated him from Aaron, Nicky and Kevin to ask for his version of events, hadn’t done anything but give them a sullen stare rather than risk saying anything that might incriminate Andrew. “I don’t like talking to cops,” he said when Wymack continued to stare at him.

“Not even to give them your damn name?” Wymack scoffed at that. “There’s issues, and then there’s fucking issues, kid!” When Neil still didn’t say anything and even took a cautious step back, Wymack once again forced out a slow sigh. “Then talk to me, okay? Tell me what happened.”

“No,” Neil said, the word coming out fast and sharp; there was only one person he’d ever promised to tell the truth, and that person wasn’t standing in front of him. He wouldn’t risk saying anything that might hurt Andrew, not when he’d done enough earlier by calling Agent Wolfe.

“You make me want to drink,” Wymack groaned, “you seriously do. Is it that difficult for you to trust me? To accept help from me? From others?”

Neil felt a bit of guilt just then, which he stamped down upon. “I won’t chance it, not for him.” At least Agent Wolfe had come through for Andrew and Neil in the past, and had a specific interest in following through into looking into Higgins and Drake. It was a matter of the better odds, of what would work out best for Andrew, because Neil wasn’t going to take any chances with something so important. “I’m going inside.”

Wymack looked as if he wanted to say something, to argue some more, but all he did was hand over the bag of clothes to Neil and let him leave. Upon reentering the emergency room, Neil went to the front desk and gave the bag to a rather busy admin who took the time to assure him that she’d get the clothes to Andrew and that he should be done with the tests soon, so he went back to the waiting room to find that all of the seats were taken and just leaned against the wall instead; Nicky, Aaron and Kevin were back at the house, since Kevin would stand out too much, Nicky was a mess and Aaron wasn’t much better.

Martin Dupree arrived a few minutes later, with Wymack walking in with him. Neil gave his coach a cool look for that, since it seemed as if he’d been waiting outside for the lawyer, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he nodded to Dupree. “Thank you for coming.”

Martin, impeccably dressed as always, gave Neil a sad smile. “I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. I’ve been following Andrew’s progress, and he’s been doing so well. I’m always upset when something like this happens to people who are working so hard to improve themselves, and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that it won’t set him back. I understand they’ll be releasing him soon?”

“Yes, any minute now,” Neil told the man.

“I spoke with the police, and they have to take him in for processing.” Martin held up his hands at Neil’s scowl. “It’s more a formality, but a man is dead. I’ll have Andrew out in a few hours, tops. In fact, I’m already talking to the district attorney.” He gave Neil a significant look. “Seems there’s a matter about the deceased being out of jurisdiction and all?”

“What?” Wymack turned to stare at Neil. “What the hell is going on here?”

Neil ignored Wymack for now. “You’ve talked to Oakland PD?” He wouldn’t say more than that at the moment, but it looked as if Wolfe worked fast; he would have to call her later and thank her.

“Yes.” Martin seemed to pick up on his reluctance to discuss the matter in detail and nodded. “I believe between that and the obvious extenuating circumstances, this will be resolved quickly. Mr. Wymack has also brought Andrew’s psychiatrist with him, and Ms. Dobson is willing to go with me in the morning to talk to the D.A.”

Neil frowned at Wymack, who gave him a level look in return. “I was trying to tell you that, you stubborn little shit. You’re not in this alone.”

The comment was ignored as Neil turned his attention back onto Martin. “Whatever it takes to keep Andrew out of prison,” was all he said.

“I’m very hopeful it won’t come to that.” Martin bowed his head as he took out his phone, and was busy texting something when Andrew came out a couple minutes later.

The left side of his face was bruised, his eye even swollen now, but at least he was wearing clean clothes. Neil cringed to see his boyfriend in handcuffs once more, and hadn’t realized that he’d taken a step forward until Wymack reached out to stop him. He shrugged off the hold and would have continued onward, but Andrew just gave a slight shake of his head and raised his bound hands in a saluting gesture to Neil before he was taken away. Martin wished Neil and Wymack a good night as he hurried after Andrew, and promised to call them as soon as Andrew was released.

“Come on, it’s getting late, let’s go. You can give me directions to this house of yours, right?”

Neil had gotten a ride to the hospital from one of the police officers, not a very comfortable trip all in all, so would need a way to the house unless he wanted to call a cab. “Okay.” He followed Wymack out to the man’s car and they didn’t say much the entire drive, though Wymack didn’t turn off the engine once he pulled into the driveway. “Look, I never dug into your past on purpose, I know you don’t like talking about a lot of things and Andrew made it clear that stuff like that’s off limits. But you need to learn to let people in, kid. It’s not healthy to shut out the rest of the world except a handful of people. We’re human, we’re social creatures. We need other people, for the very least at times like these. You’ve got a whole team of people who are willing to step up and be there for you, if you’d just let them in a bit more.”

“I thought you avoided the inspirational speeches, Coach,” Neil said as he stared at the front porch, hoping that he could go into the house now. “They’re not really getting any better.”

Wymack was quiet for a moment before he sighed and turned off the engine. “Yeah, you two are made for each other, all right. What the hell was I thinking?”

“There’s alcohol inside,” Neil offered as he got out of the car. “If Kevin hasn’t drunk it all yet.”

“I’m not paid anywhere near enough for this shit,” Wymack muttered as he grabbed a bag from the back seat of his car.

Neil passed an unfamiliar car on his way up to the porch, and used his key to unlock the door to get inside; the kitchen light was on, and he blinked to find his new Exy racquet propped up against the kitchen counter. He had forgotten all about it, what with the phone calls and dealing with the police, then going to the hospital. The last he’d seen, Kevin had been holding it, and probably had been the one to bring it home.

There was a pot of coffee on, and Betsy Dobson was sitting at the kitchen table, a weary smile on her face. “Hello.”

For a moment, Neil considered turning around and going back outside, but Wymack came in behind him and closed the door. “Good, you got here okay.”

“Yes.” As she spoke, Abby came in from the living room and hurried over to Neil. “We both did.”

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Neil suffered through her giving him a quick hug. “You look exhausted.”

“Uhm, yeah. Where are the others?”

“Kevin is in the den,” Abby grimaced a little, which Neil took to mean that Kevin was drunk, “and Aaron and Nicky are upstairs. Can I get you something?”

“I’m fine,” Neil told her, then shook his head when Abby gave him a concerned look. “Water, please.”

He could feel Betsy’s gaze on him as Abby handed him a bottle right out of the fridge, but he refused to look at the woman; he didn’t know where everyone was going to sleep, not with so many people there that night. The polite thing to do was to offer someone his and Andrew’s bed, but he knew that Andrew would be upset with him if he did that, with someone else sleeping in a space that Andrew considered *his* - he got upset when anyone else so much as entered the room, and none of the others were allowed to touch their bed back in the suite. So he drank the water while Abby and Betsy asked about how things had gone at the police station and hospital, then excused himself by saying that he was tired.

Once Neil was in his room, he took off his jacket and looked at the arm bands covering his forearms – at Andrew’s arm bands. He’d swapped them out for his before the police had arrived, unsure of how to hide them and unwilling to leave them in Luther’s house. Removing them now that they were somewhere safe, Neil set them on the dresser, then pulled up the legs of his jeans so he could remove his own from where he’d tucked them into his socks.

He was about to undress for the night when he stared at the huge bed, still made up from the last time they’d left for campus, and realized that he’d be sleeping in it alone while Andrew spent the next few hours at the police station. That Andrew was in trouble in some part because of Neil, because he’d given in to Nicky’s request and spoken in favor of going to the house of the man whom neither of them trusted. It didn’t matter that Neil had gone in search of Andrew as soon as Luther had returned to the table without Andrew, that it was obvious that Drake had intended to do so much worse to Andrew than beat him up. Andrew should never have had to deal with Drake again, and Neil had put Andrew in the monster’s path. Andrew was now in trouble because of Neil. And that….

Neil spun around, his hand snatching up his jacket, and raced through the house. He heard Wymack call out his name and ignored it as he ran out the front door and into the darkness, desperate to move, to find some oblivion from the thoughts in his head just then. Andrew wasn’t there to tell him to stay, to not be an idiot and to center him, so there was only one thing to and that was to run. To feel the burn of muscles and lungs gasp for air, to see the world rush by him while his thoughts turned into white noise and emotions became numb.

He ran until his legs threatened to collapse beneath him if he continued for much longer, until sweat ran down his back and sides despite the coldness of the late night. Barely managing to return to a now dark house, Neil let himself back inside and stumbled to the bathroom to wash off, thankful that the living room was empty when he staggered back out in just a towel. He didn’t know where everyone had gone to bed, but the couch was empty, as was his own bed, and after dragging on some underwear, a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, he grabbed the duvet off of the bed and went back into the living room to collapse onto the couch; it just didn’t seem right, to sleep on the bed without Andrew.

He swore that he had just fallen asleep when a noise in the kitchen woke him a little while later, the sound of kitchen cabinets being slammed shut. Jolting awake at the noise, he blinked at the darkness around him, his hands scrambling about, and took a few seconds to realize that he was in the house in Columbia. There was a faint light on in the kitchen, so he got up and went to it, thinking that maybe Aaron was up and looking for something to eat.

He blinked again, this time in surprise to find Wymack in there, glaring at the coffee machine. The man’s head turned toward him, and his eyes went wide while he straightened up. “Kid….”

Neil frowned as his brain slowly caught up on last night’s events, his right hand rising to tug at the hair falling into his eyes… and then he realized that he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt without any arm bands for once, which he never did outside of the house or the dorm suite. He froze at that and then nearly spun around for the bedroom… and then sighed, because it was too late, right? Wymack had seen the scars on his forearms, hiding them now wouldn’t change that fact.

“You get any sleep?” Wymack asked as he returned to staring at the coffee machine, his voice thick – maybe from sleep, maybe from what he’d seen.

“A little,” Neil admitted as he walked past to get some more water.

“You should try to get some more, it’s going to be a long day. Betsy’s going to head to courthouse to meet up with that fancy lawyer of yours and see what she can do about the charges, she thinks Andrew’s going to come out of this just fine.”

“Andrew shouldn’t be in jail in the first place,” Neil insisted. “He was just defending himself.”

“Neil… a man’s dead.” Wymack looked at him as if expecting some sort of response. “The cops are doing their job. Maybe if you talked to them, it would help speed things up, especially since Andrew won’t talk, either.”

“He has no reason to trust them,” Neil spat out, thinking about Higgins.

“It sounds like he’s not the only one.” Wymack leaned against the counter, his tattooed arms folded across his chest. “What did they do to you?” When Neil just sipped his water, Wymack sighed. “Sure, taunt Riko Moriyama to your heart’s content, but now you won’t talk?”

“Did they talk to Luther? He’s the one who should be arrested, not Andrew.”

That seemed to confuse Wymack. “Why do you say that?”

“Maybe because he set up everything?” Neil threw the lid to the water bottle into the sink and thought about what he could do to Nicky’s father if he had the man in front of him. “He had Drake at the house, knowing what Drake was, and set it up so Andrew would be there? Sent Andrew up into the room, where Drake was hiding?”

“And you don’t think that the police should know this?” Wymack asked as he rubbed his forehead.

Neil gave him a disdainful look. “I’m in a relationship with the accused, and already have been declared a hostile witness once before on his account. You think they’re going to listen to me now if all of a sudden I start cooperating? They’ll say I’m making it up to cover for him.” Did no one think this shit through?

“You seem to know an awful lot about this shit.”

“I watch a lot of crime shows,” Neil lied.

Wymack spun around and stared at the still percolating coffee machine with an almost fervent desperation. “I don’t know what’s worse, when you don’t seem to care that you’re lying or when you’re obviously lying yet still making perfect sense.” Wymack groaned as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Go lie down, kid. You’ll thank me for it later, getting some more sleep.”

“I’m fine,” Neil insisted. He’d gotten through more stressful days on less sleep in the past – if no one shot at him, it would work out fine.

“There you go again.” Wymack let out a sharp breath. “Honestly? I think you’ve rarely been fine, Josten, and most certainly not without Andrew.” That last part was said with a heavy dose of pity, considering the current circumstances.

That wasn’t something Neil wanted to hear just then because it hit a bit too close to home, so he left Wymack to the coffee and went back to the couch, where he huddled beneath the duvet and did his best to pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist, and ended up getting a little more sleep despite it all.

The next time Neil woke up, it was light out and there were people walking about. He rubbed at his face and took a minute to adjust himself, to make sure he was aware of what was going on. Nicky walked in and put a cup of coffee down on the table near the couch. “Hey you,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Hey,” Neil said back as he sat up, the duvet wrapped around him; he remained still for another minute or two, then got up, still wrapped in the duvet, and took the mug into the bedroom with him to give it a little longer to cool and put on a pair of jeans and one of Andrew’s hooded sweatshirts before going into the bathroom. Then he went back for the coffee and headed into the kitchen, where it seemed that everyone but Kevin and Betsy were gathered.

Abby was cooking something for breakfast with Nicky’s help; Neil didn’t know if they’d gotten something last night or if someone had run out while he’d been sleeping, but there was bacon and scrambled eggs, and Nicky was making some toast. There was also another pot of coffee on, so Neil finished his current cup and went to fetch some more.

“Betsy’s off with Andrew and Dupree,” Wymack explained, his eyes bloodshot but voice steady. “Seems like that cop from Oakland PD, Higgins, flew in overnight,” he said while watching Neil lean against the counter.

Neil nodded to show that he was following along; at the table, Aaron was also watching Neil with an almost hawk-like intensity.

“For someone who refuses to say anything, you sure can set a lot of things into motion. Retaining one of the most sought after defense attorneys in the state. Getting the DA’s attention on a case within hours. Alerting a cop on the other side of the country.” Wymack sat down next to Aaron. “Know you won’t talk about them, but your parents, they must be something.”

The butter knife that Nicky had been using made a loud sound as it clattered against the counter, and he apologized for the noise while Neil just gave Wymack a flat look over the rim of his mug, his stomach twisted at the thought of his father and how the man had abused his power, of how his mother had tried in vain to use her connections to keep Neil safe. Oh yes, they had been something, and maybe it was wrong of Neil to take what had been taught to him, shown to him by those two people and apply it now, but he would never stand by and do nothing if it meant saving Andrew.

“David, that’s enough,” Abby said as she began to scrape the eggs onto a large plate. She gave Wymack a reproachful look as she motioned to the empty table. “Do something helpful and leave Neil alone.”

“Dammit, but he’s-“ Wymack huffed when Abby’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. Where’s the fucking plates?” He let out a yelp when she smacked his right arm with the spatula. “It’s a valid question, all right?”

Neil sent Abby a grateful smile, which made her smile in return and smack Wymack again, then set his mug aside so he could grab the plates. “Silverware is by the coffee machine.”

“I figured that already,” Wymack grumbled. “Anyway, Betsy thinks they’ll come up with some sort of compromise in a couple of hours. DA doesn’t want the police to end up looking bad because of that fucker, doesn’t want any bad publicity.”

“Doesn’t want to explain how a child molester got away?” Aaron said as he pushed away from the table so Neil could set down the plates, his gaze still focused on Neil. “Go figure. I’d like to know some more myself. So many unanswered questions right now.”

“That’s life for you,” Neil said as he avoided looking at Aaron. “Get used to it.”

“You’re as bad as him,” Aaron snapped.

“Thanks.” Neil went back to the counter to fetch the finished toast, and found Nicky hunched over the toaster, appearing ready to cry at any moment; Neil hesitated, then gave his friend a light touch on the right arm. Nicky startled at the touch, then twisted to grab onto Neil and give him a hug. Neil tensed at first, but then allowed Nicky the embrace, understanding that this had to be awful for his friend; however guilty Neil felt, it had to be the same if not more for Nicky. On top of that, it was clear that Nicky’s chance at reconciling with his parents was now gone, that he’d never have the relationship back with his mother that he’d hoped for when she’d called.

“I’m so sorry,” Nicky whispered in Spanish.

“It’s okay,” Neil said back, then switched to German because he spoke it better. “It’s not your fault, stop thinking that. You didn’t do those things to him, you didn’t know that bastard was going to be there.” He gave Nicky’s back a tentative pat.

“But he was there because of me.” Nicky sniffed as he gave Neil another squeeze.

“You just asked him to go, you didn’t set things up,” Neil countered, feeling much the same guilt just then. “It’s okay.” He managed to pull free. “Besides, either he kills you or he doesn’t once he’s back,” he teased, hoping to cheer Nicky up with the weak joke. “Worry about that instead.”

Nicky choked a little, then gave a sorta half-chuckle. “Right. Maybe I should be thinking of where I want him to bury my body out back.” He reached out to tousle Neil’s hair. “Thanks, baby bro.”

They got the toast finished and joined the others at the table, where it was a quiet meal; Neil did his best to eat something, even though he was anxious about Andrew. He did the dishes, along with Abby’s help, while Wymack fielded a bunch of calls, probably the school board realizing that one of their players had been arrested the day before, while Nicky and Aaron cleaned up the place. Kevin finally woke up a couple of hours later and staggered into the kitchen to drink several cups of coffee, and had just started on the leftovers from breakfast when Andrew and Betsy returned.

Neil was up from the kitchen table in an instant to stand in front of Andrew, who appeared exhausted, bruised and expressionless. Neil stopped right in front of him, unwilling to touch without consent, to push anything just then but wanting to so much, to reassure himself that Andrew was all right, was real. Something flickered across his boyfriend’s face for a moment before Andrew gave a slight nod.

Neil reached out to skim his fingers along the right side of Andrew’s face, the less bruised side, the pads of his fingertips catching on stubble, and he let out a shaky breath at the feel of warm, living skin. He closed his eyes as his hand fell downward and tangled in the hem of Andrew’s sweatshirt, and shuddered when Andrew grabbed Neil’s borrowed shirt to pull him forward. There was a quick, almost too-light brush of chapped lips across his right cheek, then Andrew let go of Neil’s shirt but didn’t pull away.

“So Andrew’s free!” Nicky sounded excited, his loud voice echoing through the kitchen. “Let’s celebrate.”

“Yes and no,” Betsy said, her voice tired. “It’s… complicated.”

Neil opened his eyes at that, his gaze flashing toward Andrew’s face and caught how blank his boyfriend’s expression remained. “Explain,” he ground out, not liking that ‘no’ and ‘complicated’.

Betsy gave him a mild look as she poured herself some coffee. “Everyone agreed that there were extenuating circumstances behind yesterday’s death, that Andrew was clearly defending himself from someone with intent to cause bodily harm and who had an established pattern of causing him harm. However, he’s also an adult on probation, and now there’s a manslaughter charge.”

“He fended off a sexual predator who was almost twice his size who had combat training and had attacked him,” Neil argued. “The death was incidental. It wasn’t premeditated, while the assault was.”

Betsy regarded him for a few seconds while she prepared her coffee. “You don’t seem too concerned about the death.”

“Only that it’s causing problems for Andrew.” Neil’s eyes narrowed at the woman. “Do we really have time for a therapy session right now? What happened this morning?”

“I’m trying to explain that,” Betsy sighed. “You bring up points that Martin argued, and with great success. However, there is still a man dead, and the DA is concerned about dropping all charges considering that Andrew is on probation stemming from a violent incident in the past.”

“Because of some assholes bashing our cousin,” Aaron argued, his face flushed with anger. “Andrew didn’t start the fight.”

“No, but there’s a trend of violence, is what the DA noticed.” Betsy set her mug aside. “Which is why he’ll drop the manslaughter charge if Andrew checks himself in to a voluntary program to work on both his anger issues and…,” she glanced around the room before picking up the mug again. “To work on some unresolved issues.”

Anger and being the victim of sexual abuse, Neil was willing to bet. He looked back at Andrew. “Is this for real?”

“Come along,” Andrew said as he caught at Neil’s hand and pulled him through the kitchen, while Betsy talked about a roughly seven week intensive program she could get Andrew in right away at some Easthaven Hospital.

Neil waited until they were in their bedroom to speak. “Seven weeks? They’re going to take you away for seven weeks?” He could feel the panic building already.

Andrew’s hand slid around the back of Neil’s neck, warm and calloused and soothing as it gave a rough squeeze. “I know. I *know*, dammit,” he said, his voice low and harsh. “There’s no other options, the DA wants something so it doesn’t look as if he lets a ‘prior offender’ just walk. You think we didn’t try?”

“But Drake deserved it.” Neil looked up at Andrew. “He deserved what happened… and he shouldn’t have been there.”

“I know.” Andrew’s full lips twisted in a parody of a smile. “Luther was questioned about that, especially once Higgins arrived. Said that Drake had reached out to him, had wanted his help in setting up a dear little reunion between the two of us.” Hate lit up Andrew’s hazel eyes even as his face barely showed any emotion. “Was his bright idea, the alcohol. He told Luther it would help ‘facilitate’ our little heart to heart talk. So I have the both of them to thank for the damn headache.”

“Should make Luther face the manslaughter charge, too, since he provided the weapon,” Neil murmured as he once more tangled his fingers in the hem of Andrew’s sweatshirt. “Do you really have to go? Maybe we should just….”

Andrew tensed at the question, and what Neil was leaving unsaid. “You’ve said it before, no doing stupid shit and just reacting.” He reached up to yank on Neil’s bangs. “And I told you, no more running, you little shit.” He sighed as leaned forward to rest his forehead against Neil’s. “They’ll drop the probation if I go through with this. Even if it’s a little early, it’ll be done and gone, and no manslaughter charge. I hate it, hate the thought of being locked up in some shitty hospital, but Betsy says it’s a good one.”

And for some reason, Andrew trusted Betsy. The rest of the Foxes trusted Betsy. “It’s seven weeks or prison. It makes sense to me.” Yet Neil hated it, too. Something about all of this… it didn’t seem right.

“I won’t let him fuck things up for me, not anymore,” Andrew gritted out. “I won’t let him take anything else away from me, even when he’s dead. Especially now that he’s dead.”

Andrew meant Drake. For so long, Andrew had born the scars he’d carved into himself from the days he’d tried his best to hold on to the one good thing in his life – Cass Spear – that Drake had slowly torn from him anyway, and now this. Andrew had built another life, had found what Neil hoped was some happiness, and Drake had barreled into it and threatened it once again. “Do whatever you have to do,” he said as he tilted his head back and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “We’ll be here waiting for you. Seven weeks isn’t that long. Sure it’ll give Nicky more than enough time to plan a hell of a party.”

Andrew stared at him for a couple of seconds, then threaded both of his hands into Neil’s hair. “Listen to me, if I do this? You stick with Aaron, Nicky and Kevin, do you understand? You don’t do anything stupid, you don’t go anywhere alone. You don’t give that prick any opportunities. If he starts anything, you go straight to Renee, do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Neil said, aware of how Andrew took his promises seriously, and how being away for so long would wear at him.

“You don’t start shit, you don’t feed the fucking monster, you leave Riko the hell alone!” Andrew’s fingers clenched in Neil’s hair hard enough to hurt, but Neil’s expression didn’t change.

“Yes, I understand,” he said. “I won’t start anything, I’ll stay with the others.”

“You better,” Andrew breathed out. “Watch out for Kevin, the dumb coward.”

“Yes,” Neil repeated, because he didn’t know what else to say just then, other than to ask Andrew not to go. And that wasn’t an option, was it? Not if they were going to do what was best for Andrew.

They stood there together for about a minute before Andrew stirred. “Where are my knives?” He stepped back, his hands dropping from Neil’s hair to fall onto his shoulders.

“Uhm, the dresser.” Neil forced his fingers to let go of his boyfriend’s sweatshirt and motioned toward the piece of furniture.

“Keep them on you,” Andrew ordered, his brows drawing together as if anticipating Neil’s argument against the command. “I don’t care if you hate them, about your issues with the damn things, you keep them on you, got it? I don’t want to hear about Riko sending some more assholes after you, and how they took you down easy because you were defenseless.”

“All right.” It had been years since Lola’s lessons, since his mother’s, but Neil still knew some tricks. “Don’t bitch if I lose a fingertip or two in the process.”

“Then spend some time with Renee, it’ll help the two of you bond. Won’t that be fun?” Neil winced as Andrew’s fingers dug into his shoulders for a moment, then his boyfriend sighed. “I have to go, Betsy only brought me back to say goodbye.”

“Dammit,” Neil breathed out as he fought not to hold on to Andrew and keep him from walking out of the room.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Andrew said, and leaned in for one more brief kiss before he let go and headed for the bedroom door. Neil didn’t watch him leave, because it hurt too much already. He stood there in the bedroom, the door open, and heard the voices drift in from the kitchen. There was Nicky’s and Aaron’s, was Wymack’s deeper rumble and Kevin sounded in a panic, something from Abby and then things grew quiet.

He forced himself to move forward and pick up Andrew’s arm bands, to push up the sleeves of Andrew’s sweatshirt so he could remove his own bands and swap them out. It felt odd, the weight of the blades on his arms, and he would have to ask Renee to help him out, to practice with him enough so he could draw them without any trouble, could defend himself without causing any harm to his hands. He wouldn’t go as far as to spar with her, but he would do that for Andrew.

After doing that and fixing the duvet on the bed, Neil forced himself to leave the room; Betsy and Andrew should be gone by then. He found Kevin standing in the living room, looking lost. “Why did you let him go?” Kevin asked, his expression one of betrayal.

“Because it was that or risk him going to trial,” Neil said in French. “Risk him being gone longer than seven weeks, risk them digging into his past, risk him losing his scholarship and… it was for the best, dammit.” Neil glared at Kevin. “Think of someone other for yourself for once!”

Kevin shuddered as he dragged his fingers through his hair. “But what are we going to do without him? The upcoming games and Riko?”

“We’ll figure something out, Wymack didn’t seem worried when Betsy brought up the therapy.” Neil didn’t want to think about the games just then, what would happen if the Foxes were disqualified by Andrew’s absence.  He couldn’t think about it just then – it didn’t change anything, because if Andrew went to trial and then prison? It was much the same result, this was just happening faster. “And we’ll be all right, we just don’t put ourselves out where Riko can get to us until Andrew returns.”

“Riko’s going to tear us apart,” Kevin said.

“Only if we let him,” Neil argued. “Worse comes to worst, just wait for me to open my mouth to distract him and then run for the hills while he takes it out on me.”

Kevin laughed at that, but he didn’t argue, just shook his head. Wymack had come in while Neil was talking and gave the both of them a level look. “We need to get back to campus, so if the two of you are done? We’re packing up,” he said.

“Yes. Ready to leave whenever you are,” Neil told him. The only thing he had to pack to take back was his new racquet, and that was still out in the kitchen.

“Yeah,” Kevin said a moment later.

Abby had the kitchen cleaned up with Nicky’s help, and within fifteen minutes the house was once more closed up and everyone ready to return to Palmetto State. Neil drove the GS with Aaron, Nicky and Kevin, and the ride back was quiet for the entire hour. Aaron was still upset with Neil for not saying about Andrew and Drake, Kevin was a ball of nerves because of Andrew being away, Nicky was dealing with, well, everything, and Neil… right then he just wanted to pretend yesterday hadn’t happened and that Andrew was waiting for them in at the dorms. Or that he could just run away from it all, could run from the pain and uncertainty.

Instead, he pulled into the Fox Tower parking lot and got out of the GS, then followed the others into the Tower, for once taking the elevator with them since Andrew had said to stick together. He was surprised to find the upperclassmen waiting for them when they got off on the third floor, all of them – even Allison – wearing expressions of concern to various degrees. Neil stared at them in surprise, uncertain of what to say, if it even needed to be said; he figured that Wymack must have told them something what had happened, had to give some sort of explanation to cover for the day’s cancelled practice. Nicky and Aaron started forward, and that’s when Matt stepped aside to allow a smaller figure to come forward.

“Aaron?” Katelyn paused, as if uncertain, but Aaron’s face lightened up and he hurried toward her to grab her and give her a hug, while she said his name again and hugged him back. Neil thought he heard her say something about Andrew, and was quick to walk past the two.

Renee came forward to meet them, her expression solemn. “How are you?” she asked Nicky as she gave him a hug. He mumbled something to her as he hugged her back, and she nodded as she let go but kept an arm around his waist to look at Kevin, who had glanced at Aaron and Katelyn before looking back at the upperclassmen as if trying to figure out what was going on. Then she turned her attention on to Neil. “Are you holding up okay?”

Neil didn’t want to answer that. “We should get out of the hallway before people start complaining.”

Renee nodded again, and that seemed to be a signal for Matt and Dan to head into the girls’ room. Renee led Nicky in as well, while Aaron paused, his expression a bit torn as he glanced between Katelyn and Neil. Neil sighed and gave him a wave toward the both of them, and a there was a quick flash of gratitude over Aaron’s face before he went on with his girlfriend; it wasn’t like there was much of a chance of Andrew finding out anything in the next few weeks, right? Neil sighed and tugged on the sleeve of Kevin’s jacket to make the striker follow him into the suite with the others, so they could just get this over with.

Allison kept the door open until they were inside and then closed it behind them; Kevin’s eyes lit up when he spotted the liquor bottles on the coffee table and was quick to grab a clean glass to fill it up. Nicky accepted a glass from Matt with a heartfelt thanks.

“We figured you guys would need something after, well, you would need something,” Matt explained.

“Yeah.” Dan waited to see if Neil could come further inside the room or have a drink of water then sighed when he remained standing apart, his racquet held in his hands. “"Look, I know we have our differences, and I know we haven't exactly gotten along the past year and a half. But we're all Foxes.” She paused to look around the room. “We're a team. What happens to one of us happens to all of us, and we're going to get each other through this.” She again paused to offer Neil an encouraging smile.” If there's anything you guys need, just let us know. Whether it's space, a drink, an ear or a shoulder to lean on— whatever. We're with you a hundred percent."

Part of Neil wanted to cheer her on for seizing the moment to draw the team together, for doing what she could to help in their team of need. And part of him wanted to step forward and smash his racquet into her face because that time of need? It was when Andrew wasn’t there, when Andrew was going to spend the next seven weeks away, seven weeks stuck in therapy having his old scars dragged into the light and poked at, all because he’d struck back at the bastard who’d done his best to break him years ago. Neil let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes as he did what he could to push that fury aside and just accept what Dan was offering.

He started when he felt a touch at his shoulder, the racquet rising, and found Renee standing by him with a look of understanding on her face. “I’m sorry,” she told him as she offered him a glass of vodka. “So sorry that it’s come to this.”

“Yeah,” Neil said, and wasn’t surprised that Renee was firm in taking the racquet from him as he accepted the glass; he wasn’t certain if it was a good idea to drink, but it might help to numb his emotions a little.

“Uhm, you know that the news found out, right?” Matt gave a careful look to Neil and Aaron. “We’re not sure how, but that there was some sort of incident and that Andrew was involved. People have been asking us about it.”

“Looking for gossip, the bastards,” Aaron said with evident derision, his knuckles white around the glass he held. Katelyn was quick to give him a hug.

“Well, it is human nature and he has a record,” Allison said. “Makes for interesting news.”

“Fuck you,” Aaron told her while giving her the finger.

“Enough,” Dan told them both before things could escalate, while glancing at Neil to see if he would join the burgeoning argument. Allison held her hands up as if to say she was done, but Aaron had set his glass aside and got up; at least Katelyn went off with him, so he wasn’t alone.

That left Nicky, who was still too quiet for his normal self, and Kevin, who just sat there and stared into his drink in between sips, and Neil who felt as if he’d been hollowed out inside. Renee, now that Neil no longer possessed a long range weapon, went to sit down next to Nicky and gave him another hug. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’ve already talked to Erik and Betsy,” he admitted. “I think I’m a bit talked out right now. But… maybe later?” He managed a slight smile when she nodded in agreement.

That was one down; Dan gazed at Kevin as if trying to figure him out. “How about you, Kevin?”

“Betsy shouldn’t have taken Andrew away.” He looked up at Neil, a frown on his face. “Neil should have stopped her.”

“Oh for – you don’t really believe that, do you?” It was Nicky who spoke up, his expression appalled. “Everyone agreed that was the best thing for Andrew.” Then he scoffed. “Everyone but you, apparently.”

“If Neil isn’t complaining, why are you?” Dan asked. “From what Coach told us, this gets him out of trial, no charges or anything, no more probation. Are you nuts?”

Kevin paused, and Neil knew he didn’t want to come out and say anything about Riko. So he went with the second reason Kevin was so upset. “He’s worried about our upcoming games, with how we’re going to manage with only eight players. We still have two games left before the season ends and we’ve qualified for the spring championships, but that’s all at risk if the ERC decides that Andrew’s not a part of our line-up anymore.” He had to wonder if Riko already knew – most likely, if it had made the news. How much longer until someone from the main branch contacted him? Would it wait on the ERC making a decision? Would he even still be at Palmetto State when Andrew was released from the hospital?

“Screw the season,” Nicky snapped while glaring at Kevin, even going so far to rise up a little from the couch before Renee pushed him back down. “If Neil can let him go for his own good, then so can you, you ungrateful bastard!”

“Did you really? Did you do it for his sake, or because he was going to do it regardless?” Kevin said to Neil.

“Don’t you *ever* ask that,” Neil spat out in Japanese as he took a step forward as he tossed his empty glass aside, and had to struggle not to go for one of Andrew’s knives. “Not all of us are cowards! Some of us actually give a shit about him and not just what he can do for us!”

Kevin seemed to realize just how far he’d stepped across the damn line and flinched. “It’s not that simple,” he said in English.

“Is it?” Neil said in Japanese. “Think about it. He can’t do anything for you if he’s in jail!” While he spoke, Renee got off of the couch and stood between the two of them.

Kevin was quiet after that, and then began to drink in earnest a moment later. Neil watched him drain a glass dry then huffed. “I need to leave,” he said, having to force his mind to think in English for a moment, he was that infuriated.

Dan and Nicky looked as if they wanted to argue, but Renee quelled both of them with a simple look; Neil wanted to ask her how she did it, but he didn’t have the time. “I’ll follow you out,” she said, and he was just too exhausted to argue with her.

She didn’t seem surprised when he went up to the roof instead of to the suite, his heart aching with each and every step, but waited until they were outside to say anything. “Andrew managed to get a message out to me, you know. He asked me to watch out for you, just temporarily.”

Somehow, that didn’t surprise Neil. “He told me to go to you if there were any problems while he was gone,” Neil admitted as he stared out across the campus. Dammit, he’d have to pick up a pack of cigarettes, wouldn’t he? Andrew wasn’t there to give him one. So instead, he took to tugging on his bangs to alleviate the sense of tension inside of him.

Renee stepped forward to stand near Neil, not too close but near enough for him to see her. “I know I can’t take his place – I don’t even want to do that.” She offered him a sad smile as if knowing that was impossible. “He’ll be back soon enough anyway. But until he is, I’m here for you. Whatever you need, I’m here for you, okay?”

Neil wanted to scream at her, to lash out, either with his fists or Andrew’s knives, because for her to ‘be there’ meant that Andrew wasn’t. Instead, he drew in a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you.” That came out more sullen than he intended, but Renee seemed to guess the meaning behind it.

“I know this is difficult for you, and again, I’m sorry. But it’ll be okay, you’ll see.” She dared to reach out and give his left arm a quick pat. “Is there anything you need right now?”

A bitter laugh escaped Neil at the question. “Other than someone to beat sense into Kevin?” Somehow they managed a shared, sharp smile at that. “Would you mind sparing some time to practice with me? It’s been too long since I’ve dealt with knives,” he admitted. “Nothing like you do with Andrew, just… just drawing them and some attack moves.”

Renee was quiet for a moment as she considered him. “You have the basics down?”

Neil thought about Lola, about his father and his mother and tried not to throw up the vodka that he’d drunk. “Yes, and then some.” He thought about the feel of knives sinking into the flesh of pigs, of- “*Yes*.”

“All right, I think the sooner the better.” The expression on Renee’s face just then was more of understanding than pity, which helped Neil settle his stomach. “If you’re not as rough as Andrew, we can practice during the week.” There was a slightly mocking smile on her face just then, which he took to mean was more directed toward her and not him. “So if you can manage tomorrow…?”

“My mother always taught me that women were to be respected, because otherwise they would pound you into the ground,” Neil said in an effort to lighten the mood. “I highly doubt you’ll come out of this with so many bruises. So yes, tomorrow will be fine.”

“No wonder Dan and Allison like you so much.” Renee flashed him an impish grin for a moment. “All right, grab an early dinner. I’ll fit you in before Kevin drags you off for the night.”

“Wonderful,” Neil replied in a sarcastic manner. When Renee frowned, he shook his head. “No, I appreciate it, I do. It’s just….” He wrapped his arms around his chest, his hands gripping Andrew’s arm bands.

“You’d rather not have to do all of this,” Renee said in perfect understanding. “You’d much rather that he be here, telling you that you’re an idiot and being next to you.”

“Yeah,” Neil admitted in a hoarse voice. “I’m sorry that you have to worry about me as well as the others.”

Renee gave him an open, beautiful smile. “I’m happy to do it, for both you and Andrew,” she admitted, and for some reason, Neil believed her. “You’re my teammate – you and Andrew. So please, let me know if there’s something I can do.”

He gave her a slight nod, and they both stood on the roof looking out over the campus for a few moments, just enjoying the silence. Renee hummed a little during the time, then gave him a gentle touch to the shoulder. “I’m going to check on the others.”

“Okay. I’ll just… give me a few more minutes up here.”

She nodded and smiled, the expression one of understanding. “Text me when you return to the room, all right?”

“I will.” He would, too, understanding that she had promised Andrew, and that he had his own promise to keep. “Don’t let Kevin get too drunk.”

“I won’t, and there’s Nicky as well. I’ll send them both to you in a couple of hours.”

“Thank you.” Neil watched her leave, then went to sit on the ledge. He dreaded returning to the suite which he had shared with Andrew, to the bed which he had always shared with his boyfriend, and spent a few minutes looking out over the campus as the cold air bit into him to help numb him before he forced himself to leave before Renee could grow worried about him. He returned to a quiet, dark suite and texted Renee as he had promised, and forced himself to grow used to the new reality of dealing with the next several weeks of life without Andrew.

As he took off his coat and shoes, then went into the bedroom and emptied out his pockets, as he put his wallet and his cellphone onto the dresser, he noticed that he had a couple of messages. Two were from Anna and Kelci, just the usual stuff checking in to see how he was doing, and another one was from Agent Wolfe checking in about Andrew. Neil was about to answer her when he noticed one from Riko, the blocked phone number long familiar by now. He hesitated, uncertain if he was able to deal with something from the asshole just then, but in the end unable to resist. Don’t feed the monster, he told himself as he tapped on the message. Remember what you promised Andrew.

‘what will you do now that your mutt’s locked up? so sad, his past catching up w/ him like that. shouldn’t have interfered, Nathaniel. still, will see you soon as a raven’

Neil stared at the message, the rage bubbling up once again. He tried to make sense out of the words, at Riko’s meaning. Was he gloating at Andrew’s misfortune? Was that a declaration of having something to do with it? Did he know that Neil had somehow set Agent Wolfe onto Drake? Was he influencing the ERC’s decision?

Neil let out a loud yell and threw his phone at the nearest wall, all of the anger, fear and uncertainty coming to a head inside of him as the device broke apart. No. *No*. He wouldn’t let Riko win. Whatever the consequences, no. Spinning around, he went in search of whatever alcohol Kevin had squirreled away, because right then? Yeah, he needed to numb the awful emotions inside of him before he did that ‘something stupid’ Andrew had warned him about.

He wouldn’t think about traps and Ravens and going to bed without Andrew beside him. He wouldn’t think about the knives strapped to his forearms. He wouldn’t think about being the Butcher’s son. No, he would find enough alcohol to make sure he couldn’t think that night, because it would be the safest thing for so many people just then, and figure out how to move on without Andrew tomorrow.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yeah. Wow. So, one big change here. But, Andrew off of his meds. Figured that gave him more of a fighting chance. Hmm. Plus, he has something to fight for, another big change. And Neil, he knew the score, knew not to trust Luther. Hmm. So yeah, my logic behind the changes.
> 
> Also, a bit of a hardened Neil here (another big change). While on the one hand, Neil is different with Andrew and the monsters ( a bit more open), he's also dealing more with Riko and the Moriyamas and having made the deal a lot earlier, so he's more in the 'Nathaniel' mind set with that crap. That's creeping in a bit here and there. Definitely here, with Andrew being threatened.
> 
> And he hasn't had a lot of the defining Wymack and Fox moments as well, so that's why he didn't go to Wymack in the hospital scene (and so forth). Some of that has been redefined, but yeah, Neil is still working his way through with Wymack. If it had been Abby, now....
> 
> Hmm, this took a lot longer to get through and edit (such as it was). Next chapter is going to be... eeeeeh. Yeah. Another banquet scene. Neil and Stuart. Not gonna lie, it's going to be dark. Riko... yeah.
> 
> And have one or two other musings that keep harping on me, might get one of them up on tumblr just to get it out or something. Have this AU with graduated but drifting Fox Andrew visiting married Nicky in Germany where he stumbles across a broken but functional Abram Hatford....


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yeah, think you know that bad things are going to happen. I'm not going to get all explicit, but this is the start of bad things for one of our boys (it's going to be focused on one of them, so maybe that's good news for some of you, maybe not), but obviously what affects one will affect the other.
> 
> Fair warning.  
> *******

*******

It was a good thing that Wymack had pushed practice back to 10am on Wednesday, because Neil needed the extra time that morning due to his hangover. He wasn’t the only one, considering how much Nicky and Kevin had drunk the night before, along with the upperclassmen, but he had far less experience in dealing with the effects of alcohol than them. Aaron had returned to the suite at some point in the morning, and he gave Neil an assessing look when he spotted the broken bits of phone on the floor of the bedroom. “It’s almost as if Andrew never left,” was all he said while Neil sat hunched over in misery on his bed.

The four of them finally made it to the stadium, where the majority of the Foxes sat bleary-eyed and quiet while Wymack gazed at them for a moment; Neil was grateful for skipping breakfast since his stomach was in knots as he waited for the man to tell them that their season was over.

“All right, let’s get straight to the point,” Wymack said as his gaze lingered over Kevin and Neil. "I spent most of yesterday talking to the Class I coaches about our latest situation, starting with Coach Rhemann." Neil dimly recognized the name, but he was too hungover to place it right away – oh, wait, the coach for USC, Kevin’s fanboy team. The way the others perked up, especially Kevin, told him that the man was important. "I've got a conference call with the ERC this afternoon to determine our status," Wymack continued. "I don't know which way they're going to swing, though, which is why I’m trying to get as many people behind us as possible. Andrew's still enrolled as a student at Palmetto State since Easthaven and the registrar's office agreed this morning to let him finish the semester long-distance. That means he's still contracted with us, so we're within regs. However, this is a bit more drastic than having him benched with an injury, because that’s treatable and calculable. Andrew's current treatment isn't exactly black-and-white. But," Wymack emphasized when Neil started tugging on his bangs, "Rhemann has taken our side. He offered to speak on our behalf if need be, and he's helped reach out to the others."

“How bad does it look?” Dan asked, her hands clutched in front of her. “Do you think the ERC will vote against us?”

Wymack shrugged. “I just know that thanks to Rhemann, almost all of the Class I are voting in support of us. They want us to finish the season.”

‘Almost all’, Neil thought with a touch of hysteria. Gee, who wasn’t voting for the Foxes, huh? Let him rack his brains on that one…. Who had the most pull with the ERC? Who was counting on having a new teammate soon? Maybe a new assistant coach as well.

Meanwhile, Dan seemed to have some difficulty understanding Wymack just then, and she didn’t seem to be the only one, considering the expressions of the other Foxes. “Why are they doing that? They’ve never supported us before.”

"Does it matter?" Matt asked as he stared at his girlfriend. “Let them come through for us now. Maybe they realize that it’s about time that someone stands up to the ERC, and I don’t care if we’re their charity case if we still get to play.”

"Or maybe they're mocking us," Allison said while she glared at everyone, as always willing to play the devil’s advocate. "We've knocked down too many teams in the southeast this year. They want us to play so we fail at last. They want to see us put back in our place.” She huffed at that as she flicked out her right hand as if to wave away the imagined scorn directed at the Foxes. “More fool them. We've still got Renee, and that's all we need." Beside her, Renee murmured something, probably that she would do what she could to help the team.

"It's not a guarantee," Wymack said, holding up a hand to calm them before an argument broke out. "The ERC has to listen to everyone, but they have the final say. I just wanted you to know there's still a chance for us. That means we have to bring it today like we still have a season ahead, get me?” He glared at everyone as if challenging them to disagree. “So change out and get down to the court. I want one lap for every time you've ever said the NCAA's never had your back."

“Oh shit, we’ll be here all day,” Nicky complained. “I don’t think even Neil can handle that much running.”

“Have fun with that,” Wymack said with a slight smile on his face right before he clapped his hands together. “Now get out on my court, you maggots.”

Despite the threat, Wymack had them stop after running three miles; Neil was a bit regretful about that, his aching head and queasy stomach aside, because running allowed him to stop thinking about Andrew and Riko and everything else. Then the team went through their stretches before putting on their gear and starting on the drills, with Wymack leaving Dan in charge while he went to his office.

Neil somehow forced himself to focus on the drills, to learn how to use his new racquet; it worked well as a new distraction for the most part, except for the times when he looked up and didn’t see Andrew, when it hit him anew that his boyfriend wasn’t there to give him a bland look or call him an Exy junkie. Each time, Neil would force the pain and anger aside and line up another ball, would force himself to make a better shot with the damn heavy racquet that he just wanted to smash against a hard surface again and again until he felt empty of all the awful emotions.

After an hour, Wymack came back out onto the court, his face wiped clean of any expression as he smacked his fist against the court door to get their attention. Everyone came to a sudden halt, Kevin almost running to Neil’s side as they waited for their coach to give them news about their fate – even more so, for Kevin and Neil.

Wymack came out to stand by Dan, whose dark skin took on an ashy tone as she waited with obvious anxiousness to hear the verdict. "Be here at six o'clock tomorrow morning. We've got a game to win Friday,” Wymack announced after a moment’s pause.

Dan let out a cry of joy as she jumped on him, her arms wrapped around his neck while he grinned in response, and most of the Foxes joined in – the upperclassmen and Nicky. Kevin’s knees buckled and Neil allowed him to cling to his shoulders for support, while Aaron had a slight, pleased smile on his face, which he quickly smothered when he noticed Neil’s attention.

“We’re moving forward, we did it,” Kevin murmured in Japanese.

“Well, I think it’s more Wymack did it, but yes, we’re still playing,” Neil agreed as he gave Kevin’s arms a ginger pat in hopes that his friend would get off of him.

“We’ll have to really practice, it’s not good, losing Andrew. You need to learn how to use your new racquet and we have to keep the ball from the goal, there’s so much we have to do,” Kevin insisted as he rested against Neil even more. “We can’t allow Riko to use this against us.”

For a moment Neil wanted to shove Kevin away, to tell him to just… just…. Instead he sighed and gave Kevin’s arms another pat. “Later. We’ll start later.” He knew it was Kevin’s anxieties speaking just then, and yes, his friend had a point; the Foxes were weaker without Andrew even though Renee was a good goalkeeper. It was just two games before Andrew would return, but they couldn’t give up too many points. They couldn’t afford looking bad to the main branch.

“Tonight,” Kevin insisted.

“Yes, tonight,” Neil agreed with a sigh, knowing by now how this was going to go. “Now get off of me. You’re heavy, you tall freak.”

Kevin drew back as if offended. “I keep telling you, there’s nothing freakish about my height,” he argued in English. “What do you expect about the lack of yours, when you find healthy food so objectionable?”

Neil was saved by saying that there was nothing *not* objectionable to kale and beet shakes when Nicky barreled into the two of them and yelled at them for not celebrating the good news.

Neil was tired by the time practice was finished, and picked up something to-go for dinner, just some Thai, and had ate it while doing on his homework. About half an hour later, Renee was at the door for him, so he let Kevin know he’d be back in a couple of hours for their evening practice and followed her down to the basement level.

She was dressed in sweatpants and a lightweight sweatshirt. Remembering his days with Lola, Neil wore sweatpants as well, and a hooded sweatshirt which zipped down the front; he removed it once they were in a large study room with the tables folded up and stacked against the walls, along with the chairs, and tossed it out of the way; that revealed the grey tank top he wore beneath it, along with Andrew’s arm bands, and he pulled out a bandanna tucked into a pocket so he could hold back his bangs. That left some of his scars on display, but Renee didn’t pay any attention to them, she just nodded in approval.

Renee walked him through sliding the knives the first night, slipping them in and out of their sheathes so many times until he had the motions down pat, until he could do it without risking injury to himself and without any hesitancy, until he could arm himself before she could knock the blade out his hand. It was almost frightening, how the old skills came back, and if there were times when he didn’t see her with that slight, encouraging smile on her face, when he didn’t see the lovely young woman with the pale hair tipped in pastel colors but someone older, someone with longer hair and a cruel, crimson smile who cooed “try again, Junior, time to make Daddy proud”…. He pushed past the memories and forced himself to relearn, to reawaken what he had buried.

His fingers were marred with thin cuts and his hands ached when Renee called an end to the session. “I think Kevin will be upset if we don’t stop here for the night.” She gave Neil a pleased smile as she handed over a bottle of water. “You did well. Rest up tomorrow, and we’ll be back on Saturday if you’re here this weekend. If not, then Sunday.”

“We’ll be here,” Neil insisted. He wasn’t ready to face the house without Andrew just yet, and had a feeling that Aaron would be more than happy to spend the weekend with Katelyn.

“All right, then we’ll meet up again on Saturday.” Renee seemed to consider something before she spoke. “I know this isn’t a weapon that you’d choose, but you’re good at it. You have more control, more training than Andrew.”

Neil stared down at the arm bands. “I was taught from a young age how to use them,” he admitted, able to talk to her since she was giving up this time to him, willing to do this when he knew she wanted to move beyond her past. Funny, wasn’t it? That the two of them wanted to leave behind what they’d been, all the darkness and the death, but they dove back into it without a moment’s thought when it came to the people they cared about; maybe in the end that was what had disturbed him so much about Renee, not that she reminded him of his father’s people, but that she was too much like Neil. “Blades were my father’s preferred weapon.”

“Ah, I see.” Renee frowned at the bottle held in her hands. “I’m sorry that you have to resort to this now. If you don’t want to continue, I’ll understand.”

He shook his head. “Andrew has a point, us doing this. And if it helps to keep him calm, to get him through the next few weeks, me wearing them and you making sure I don’t lose a finger with them on….” Neil shrugged while Renee gave him a bleak smile. “I’ll manage.”

“Well, I must say that it’s a nice break, having a student who’s not trying to carve out my liver or smash a chair over my head.” Renee hummed a little while Neil grinned. “Now let’s get you upstairs before Kevin accuses me of kidnapping you.”

Neil groaned at that, and Renee broke out in a huge grin when they found Kevin standing in the door as if an anxious parent, clearly waiting for Neil to be returned ‘home’. Kevin even dared to glare at Renee when she ‘dropped’ Neil off, as if Renee couldn’t end his life with ridiculous ease, and she waved goodbye to Neil before returning to her own suite while texting someone on her phone. He barely had time to use the bathroom before Kevin insisted that they head off to the stadium for a few more hours of practice.

Thursday found Neil tired and aching and… yeah. More practice, then classes, and meeting up for lunch with Aaron, Katelyn, Nicky and Kevin. Kevin seemed a little puzzled by Katelyn’s presence, but after being glared at by everyone else but the Vixen, he seemed to figure out that it was something he had no say in and just focused on eating his lunch and going over the upcoming game. When Aaron invited her to tag along when they went out to dinner (Mexican), Kevin just shrugged at that point. He did wait until their evening practice to bring up the topic with Neil, though.

“He does know that Andrew is coming back, right?”

Neil glared as the ball was less than half an inch off from the cone; damn the heavy racquet. “No, I’m sure the thought has never crossed his mind.”

It seemed to take Kevin a few seconds to realize that was sarcasm, just then. “So what the hell is he thinking?”

“Probably that he’s upset about Andrew not being here and hurt about it, too, and he just wants someone who cares about him around right now.” Not that Neil could relate at all. Nope. This time the ball hit the damn cone and knocked it back several feet. All right, now he was getting the hang of the damn thing. Just had to focus a bit better, think of the target as Riko’s head or something.

“That’s still not going to do him any good when Andrew comes back,” Kevin continued, like a dog with a bone.

“Kevin,” Neil ground out as he fired off another ball. “One fucking problem at a time, all right?” He waited until the cone went flying to glare at his friend. “Between Andrew being locked up in some hospital for the next few weeks, Riko tearing at me, worrying about the main house sending me off to Edgar Allen at any moment, and winning the next two games while learning a new racquet? I’m not concerned about who the hell Aaron’s dating, got it? He could be chasing after all of the Vixens at this point and I wouldn’t give a fuck. Priorities, got it?” He grinned at the striker, the one he’d learned from his father, and felt a bit of smug satisfaction when Kevin flinched. “Or I’ll be only so happy to give you something that you *should* be worried about.”

“I was just… never mind,” Kevin muttered as he scooped up a ball in his own racquet. “You need to get some rest, you seem a little stressed.”

“Kevin, it would be really good if you shut the hell up right now,” Neil advised as he did his best to get through the rest of the practice without committing homicide. A ‘little stressed’ indeed. At this rate, he was going to be checked in right along with Andrew.

The campus was once again a madhouse come Friday, everyone excited about the game even if they were playing a bottom-ranked team like JD. Neil did his best to keep his head down, going so far as to wear a hoodie beneath his team jersey, while Renee and Nicky stuck with him as much as possible to discourage people from talking to him – especially any reporters. He was quiet in the locker room and lounge, and the rest of the Foxes were willing to let him be, seeming to understand that he had to work through things on his own. It was difficult, heading out onto the court without Andrew, to play the game without seeing his boyfriend in the goal for the entire game. Renee did a good job, but it just wasn’t the same. There was no one to call him an idiot for mouthing off to the giant backliners who tried to take him out during the game, no one to smack him on the helmet and chide him for not knowing when to quit. It just wasn’t the same when Matt or Nicky did it.

At least they won the game, even if only by six points – it should have been more, would have been more if Andrew had been in the goal. Still, it was a win, was one less reason for the main branch to send Neil to the Ravens so he should be grateful. Neil should be happy, just like the rest of the Foxes were, especially Aaron since for once he’d been able to go to Katelyn after the game and give her a hug and a kiss, to treat her like his girlfriend and not ignore her.

Dan, still thrumming with energy from their victory, grinned at everyone as they gathered in the foyer after coming in from the court. “We should celebrate! Only one more game left of the season.”

Nicky nodded in agreement. “Oh hell yeah, but only if there’s drinks involved.”

Dan blinked at that, and Neil had the feeling that she hadn’t expected Nicky to say anything – normally the ‘monsters’ split off from everyone else to head to Columbia, which they weren’t doing that night. Neil didn’t want to head to Eden’s Twilight just yet without Andrew and had told the others that if they wanted to party, it was going to be done in their suite that weekend. As expected, Aaron was fine with it since it meant he could hang out with Katelyn, and Kevin didn’t care as long as there was alcohol.

Renee spoke up first, since she had known from speaking with Neil that the monsters hanging around was a possibility. “We’ve still got a few bottles left in our room.”

Aaron frowned as he looked at her, the realization sinking in that a team party was being planned. “What, you’re expecting us to socialize with you?”

“Oh, don’t act like it’s never happened,” Matt told him while rolling his eyes. “Get over it and tell Katelyn to come,” he said, going for Aaron’s weak point.

“She’s probably going out with her friends,” Aaron argued. “And we’re-“

“The Vixens are invited, too,” Dan said, always quick on her feet with strategy, especially when it came to something she really wanted. When Allison stared at her in surprise, probably at the way the party was growing, Dan shrugged. “What? They’re part of the team in a way, and I barely know five of their names after being here for four years. Considering how they’re one of the few who’ve supported us all this time, don’t you think it’s time to change that?” Then she seemed to think of something. “Though not sure if we can fit everyone in our room, if they come.”

“The basement study rooms are big enough,” Renee offered, and she would know, considering how often she was down there. “I doubt anyone’s there on a Friday night for us to bother.” Then she turned a sweet smile that Neil knew better to trust onto Aaron. “You’ll invite the Vixens, won’t you?” When he didn’t say anything, Renee’s smile took on a sharp edge. “Or I can do it, I know Liz on the team, after all.”

Neil could tell that Aaron’s resolve was wavering; he wanted to spend as much time as possible with Katelyn as he could, and didn’t want to lose a chance at a Friday night like this. So he turned toward Nicky and jabbed a finger in his cousin’s face. “You better be prepared to help explain this to Andrew when he comes back.”

“Oh hell no,” Nicky said while holding his hands up in the air. “I’m leaving that honor to the one person with the best chance of managing that while surviving the conversation, my baby bro.” He grinned at Neil as he spoke.

That made Aaron go still, because he’d been warned by Neil about what would happen if it came down to Neil stepping in for the whole ‘Katelyn’ situation; Neil sat there and waited for Aaron’s response, but all Aaron did was let out a slow breath. “Whatever.” Aaron looked over at Neil, who gave him a slight nod in return; if it got to the point that Aaron had to confront Andrew over his girlfriend, Neil would do what he could to help out. He wasn’t certain if the help would be appreciated or even effective, but he’d help out.

That seemed to put Aaron in a better mood. “I’ll call Katelyn,” he told Renee before stalking off.

As if he’d been waiting for something to be settled, Wymack cleared his throat. “All right then, now that you’ve made such important plans, get your sweaty, smelly asses off to the showers and stop dripping all over my floor. I’ve better things to do tonight than babysit you.”

Everyone hurried off to their respective changing rooms after that, then met up back at the Fox Tower after a detour so Nicky could pick up some alcohol. Neil ended up tucked into a corner of the study room with some soda, unwilling to get drunk again after Tuesday night, and watched his teammates’ antics as they interacted with the Vixens. He missed Andrew so much just then, missed how his boyfriend would be next to him making biting comments about everyone else, a cigarette in one hand and a drink in another. Instead, Neil was alone, save for whenever one of the Foxes stopped over to check up on him until he could shoo them away – and they were stopping by much too often for his liking. He pulled out his phone, a new one that he’d picked up the day before, and saw that Anna had congratulated him on the Foxes’ win that night. He smiled a little as he thanked her, and told her not to get too drunk that night – Kelci was taking her to some holiday party a bunch of English majors were throwing.

“You know, the point of this thing is to have fun,” Matt said as he leaned against the wall near the table on which Neil was sitting. “Have a few drinks, talk to people, things like that.”

“I grasp the concept of a party, thank you,” Neil told him with an increasingly difficult effort to remain civil. “Believe it or not, I’ve been to a few before.”

“Yet you’re sitting here drinking soda and not talking to anyone. Yeah, good job.” Matt sighed and rubbed at his face. “Why bother? Seems like you’d have more fun in your room.”

Because Andrew had told him to stay with the others, and to watch Kevin. “I’m being social,” Neil said with a straight face. “This is me being social. Yay.”

Matt squinted at him. “Were you always this much of a sarcastic little shit and we never noticed because of Andrew or what?”

Neil gave him the finger by way of response.

“Okay, I’ll take that as a yes.” Matt sighed as he looked out across the room, at everyone else having fun. “Seriously, I know it sucks, the whole Andrew thing, but we won a game tonight. We’re going to the championships. Can’t you have a bit of fun?”

“I believe some of us have different concepts of fun,” Neil told him. Upon hearing a new text come in, Neil looked down, expecting some pithy comment from Anna. Instead, there was a new one from Riko. Of course, what a better way to end the night, right? Despite himself, he tapped on it and felt the rage build as he read the words.

‘winning isn’t going to save you anymore. see you soon, my #4. no mutt this time’

Matt seemed to notice that he’d lost Neil’s attention, and to what. “Eh? Ah man, is that a new phone? Dammit, how do you keep breaking or losing the things?” He laughed as Neil continued to stare at Riko’s message, at the threat, at what would be waiting for him in December. “You know, maybe they would last longer if you bought a case or something, yeah? They make ones that really work well to keep them from breaking. If it’s a money issue, I’ll buy you one, it’ll be worth it just to keep Allison from winning another damn bet.”

Neil finally looked up from the words on the screen to give Matt a flat look. “You’re betting on me.” The rage only grew sharper upon hearing that.

“Yeah.” Matt smiled at him and motioned with the half-empty drink in his hand. “You know, just on how you always seem to lose your phones or something.”

“You’re betting on me and the phones.” Something, either his expression – or lack of it, because he was trying so, so very hard just then to not lose it, to keep everything inside – or his tone must have clued Matt in that something wasn’t right just then.

“Uhm, yeah.” Matt’s smile faded, to be replaced by something resembling concern. Neil didn’t want that just then, because concern meant that something might possibly be wrong. “Ah, is everything okay, is there-“

Neil cut him off. “Let me see if I can help you out a little, maybe settle another bet.” He raised his phone, the message from Riko still on the screen, and brought it down hard against the edge of the table until the screen cracked and the phone bent from the force of the blow. “See? Who had that down in the pool, hmm?”

“What the fuck?” Matt’s eyes went wide and he dropped his glass, while the noise of the phone being battered made people stop laughing and talking to turn around to stare in Neil’s direction. “Neil, what are you-“

“Matt, don’t.” Renee stopped Matt from reaching for Neil and did something to push the tall backliner out of the way. “I’ve got this, all right?” She gave him a bright smile while Matt continued to stare at Neil as if he was trying to make sense out of everything and coming up blank.

“I just… I’m sorry,” Matt said as he stepped away. “Whatever… I’m sorry,” he told Neil, who was now staring at his knees as he still continued to bang the phone down.

“Neil,” Renee said, her voice quiet but the tone heartfelt. “Please stop it.”

“Did you know about it? About the damn bet?” About the Foxes talking about him, about- He let out a harsh breath as he threw the destroyed phone away from him. Someone, it sounded like a Vixen, let out a surprised yelp.

“I’m sorry, but yes, I did.” She edged toward the table. “They thought it was funny, you always having a new phone. Thought you must be forgetful or something,” she explained, voice still quiet as if to keep people from overhearing. “You know how everyone is, it’s just… it’s a fun game, finding something new to bet on.”

Yeah, something ‘fun’, while each destroyed phone was a sign of Riko pushing Neil and Andrew too far, of them attempting to get back some sort of control over their lives while a psychopath did what he could to destroy them. Some fun. And now that psychopath was doing his best to push Neil over the edge, despite Neil’s promise to ‘not do anything stupid’. Because Riko knew that Andrew was gone. Because from the texts Riko had sent, it was looking more and more like Riko had something to do with Andrew being gone.

“Keep them away from me,” Neil asked Renee. “Just… give me some space tonight, please?” He knew he was fraying, that it was getting to be too much, and there was no Andrew to pull him together when he needed it the most. He needed to figure out how to do that on his own, and he would. Somehow he would.

“All right,” she said, and turned around to deal with Nicky and Dan, who were hovering behind her. Whatever she said, it kept them and everyone else away, got people to stop looking in Neil’s direction, and for a while he could just sit there and do his best to not think of anything, to run mental drills in his head where he thought in various languages about how he’d go about setting up a new identity and running for Canada; it wasn’t an option, but it helped to calm him down.

It must have been a couple of hours later when Nicky sidled up to the table; Neil was surprised that he somehow got past Renee. Neil was about to tell Nicky that he wasn’t in the mood for talking or, well, anything, but Nicky handed Neil his jacket. “Put it on.”

Neil stared at the jacket and the unusually solemn expression on his friend’s face, then over at Renee, who gave a slight nod. “Where are we going?”

“Not too far.” When Neil continued to hesitate, Nicky sighed. “Aaron and Renee will watch Kevin.”

Considering that Kevin was barely able to stand at the moment, Neil didn’t think that they’d have much of a problem doing that. “All right.” He tugged on the jacket and followed Nicky out of the study room, and was surprised when they went up a floor and then to the elevators, up to the top floor of the tower. Once there, Nicky headed to door leading up to the roof and had a problem figuring out the rigged lock.

“Let me,” Neil told him, and got it to open without any problem.

“Ah, thanks.” Nicky let Neil go up the steps first, and once out on the roof, fumbled in the right pocket of his coat to pull out a pack of cigarettes; they weren’t the brand that Andrew smoked, but Neil didn’t care just then. “Here, I think you could use these right now, right?” Nicky stared at the stunned expression on Neil’s face, then risked moving forward to wrap his arms around Neil. “Look, it’s going to be all right,” he murmured as he gave Neil a tentative hug. “We’re here for you.”

Neil was stiff for a moment before he hugged Nicky back, his arms tight around his friend. “I’m sorry,” he told him. “For… yeah, sorry.”

“Hey, I get it. There’s times when I miss Erik so much I just want to start screaming and not stop, and I’m not putting up with half as much shit as you are.” Nicky squeezed him back and then let go. “Why do you think I look forward to Fridays so much?”

“Heh.” Neil accepted the pack then shook out a cigarette as he went over to the ledge so he could sit down while he lit it up with one of the matches from the packet stuck in the plastic wrap. “I can see that, now.” Just inhaling in the smoke helped to release some of the tension inside of him; it was odd, how much the scent of burnt tobacco was as tied to Andrew now as his mother. “Thank you.”

Nicky hesitated for a moment and then came to sit near him on the ledge. “Shit, you’re definitely not afraid of heights, are you?” He grimaced a little as he looked down at the ground and then straightened up, his hand tight on the concrete. “So, take it that Riko was being an asshole, earlier?”

Neil paused to inhale some smoke to help center himself before he answered. “I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, the banquet next month.”

Nicky laughed at that, the sound unamused. “Yeah, didn’t see that coming.” He stared back at the building as he shook his head. “Think Coach will let you stay behind?”

“Probably not, we’re all expected to go.” Neil tugged at his bangs. “And I can’t let Kevin go alone.”

“Yeah, forgot about that. Shit.” Nicky rubbed at his eyes as if they ached. “Works out well for the bastard, doesn’t it?”

Neil didn’t say anything about his suspicions of Riko’s involvement with Drake, not when Nicky seemed to be recovering from the past weekend. “Yeah, it does.” He watched the cigarette burn a little before he sighed.

“We’ll get through it, you’ve got the whole team behind you,” Nicky told him. “Coach will be on guard to keep Riko from starting any rumors like he did last time, and maybe you can go with Renee as your date or something.”

“Maybe.” Neil wasn’t sure he wanted to put her through that much trouble.

“We’ll figure it out,” Nicky assured him. “Until then, let me know if it’s getting so bad again, all right? I can’t fight with you like Renee does Andrew, but I’m great at listening and can trash-talk with the best of them. We’ll come up here and have Riko’s ears burning all the way up in West Virginia within minutes.”

Despite everything, Neil managed a smile. “All right.”

Nicky gave him a suspicious look at that. “Hmm, sounds a bit too much like your ‘I’m fine’. I’m serious, no more freaking people out like that downstairs – just because Andrew’s gone that doesn’t mean you have to take over his ‘I’m the crazy one’ role in this merry little gang of ours. He’ll be back soon enough, and hearing about it will just make him up the ante in an effort to reclaim his crown.” Nicky’s face twisted in mock terror. “I’m too delicate to put up with that shit.”

“You seem to egg him on half the time,” Neil pointed out.

“See, what did I say about that crazy talk?” Nicky sniffed as he waved his right hand about, then seemed to realize that he’d let go of the ledge and clamped back on to it. “Now, how about we start the trash-talk, hmm? I’m willing to bet that anyone who has to tattoo a ‘1’ on them is lacking in the size department, yes? Obvious compensation issues. Agree or disagree, and know that I’ll lose all respect for you if you disagree.”

Neil shook his head as he lit another cigarette. “I don’t think I want to argue with that one. This is a man who seems way too focused about putting people on their knees, he definitely has issues.”

“Ooh, see, you’re not half-bad at this!” Nicky’s eyes sparkled as he leaned toward Neil. “And there’s the whole bestiality thing, what with the ‘mutt’ stuff and the doggie bondage kit.” He laughed when Neil grimaced. “Aw, you know I have to go there, that’s what trash-talk’s about.”

It probably was a good thing that Neil had destroyed his latest phone, so he – or Nicky – wasn’t able to text any of this to the bastard. As it was, Neil went through a few more cigarettes while Nicky did indeed prove that he was quite talented at trash-talking, until Neil felt able to function around people once again. They returned to the party where he accepted a soda from Matt, who apologized again and smiled when Neil just shook his head, and helped them carry Kevin up to their suite when the thing finally ended.

Saturday morning was running out to get yet another phone, dealing with yet another round of disbelieving looks from the employees and almost reverent service before he walked off with the new one, and yet another group text to let Anna, Kelci, Kevin, Aaron, and Nicky know his new number. There was a stab of pain when Neil left Andrew off of that since there was no point to the thing, which he pushed aside by texting Uncle Stuart his number as well; he was certain the man could figure it out with little effort, but Neil did what he could to make things easy between them. It was a bit odd, having his uncle in his life after so many years, even if just on the periphery, but nice.

So he didn’t think too much when his uncle called him when he reached the dorm; Neil motioned for the others to head to the suite without him so he could go up to the roof to take the call in private. Nicky mouthed at him to not take too long, apparently having fallen into a serious case of ‘big brother’ mode, so Neil nodded before he answered the phone. “What’s going on?” he said by way of ‘hello’.

“Too fucking much,” Uncle Stuart snapped. “Look, kiddo, I know you like the little prick, but you have to think this shite through. Use your fucking head next time or you’re going to lose it.”

Neil let out a sharp breath and took to running up the steps. “And ‘hello’ to you, too. So nice to hear from you.”

“Don’t get lippy with me, not when I’ve been busting my arse for the last few days because of what you pulled. For fuck’s sake, Nathaniel, you involved the fuckin’ Feds. The *Feds*!”

Neil kicked the door open to the seventh floor, which caused a student in the hallway to scream in surprise. “ So it was a fucking set-up,” he spit out a he stalked toward the door heading up to the roof, ignoring the glare the student sent his way.

“Yeah, gold star for you, aren’t you the bright one. If you suspected, why the hell did you alert the bloody fuckin’ Feds?”

“I told you, too.” Neil didn’t want to hear it, all of this was Riko’s damn fault, not his.

“After you – oh my fucking god, it’s like talking to a brick wall. You are your mother’s child, through and through. Jesus fuckin’ Christ, this is taking me back.” It sounded as if Stuart was beating something on the other end. “Be thankful you did let me know, because we managed – just barely, mind you – to bury the shite before it got out of control.”

“Thank Riko for it all,” Neil ground out as he went over to the ledge and stared out over campus. “He was the one to fuck things up, right? He managed to get Drake to Columbia.” All to hurt Andrew. All to take away Neil’s ‘mutt’. “He’s the one out of control.”

“Oh for – “ There was more banging noise. “Have you ever heard of cutting off your fool nose to spite your face?”

“He’s out of control,” Neil repeated. “Think of what you had to cover up,” he told his uncle. “Think of the risks he taking, and for what? Just to fuck with me? With Andrew?”

Stuart was quiet for about a minute. “Well, can sort of see it when it comes to the little prick.”

“Am I supposed to be amused?” Neil ground out.

“I thought it was funny,” Stuart huffed. “Look, you’re right, and yeah, the main branch noticed this shite. It’s not gonna reflect well on the asshole, what he just pulled. But you can’t keep taking these chances, kiddo, because asset or not, you cause too much trouble, they won’t consider you worth the effort, got it?”

“Yes,” Neil said through clenched teeth.

“Next time, call me *first*,” Stuart told him. “The little prick is supposed to be looking out for you, not the other way around.”

“I’m going to do whatever I consider needs to be done when it comes to Andrew,” Neil warned his uncle.

“That’s not what you’re supposed to be saying here,” his uncle argued. “Don’t go making things so difficult for the two of us, do you understand? Fucking Christ, kiddo, you’re killing me here.”

Neil sort of felt sorry for his uncle just then. “I’ll try not to.”

“You’ll try not to. Why don’t I believe that?”

Neil just shrugged, even though his uncle couldn’t see him.

“Never mind. Just try not to do anything that’ll get you killed for a couple of weeks, all right? Consider it an early Christmas present to me.”

“Uhm, Happy Thanksgiving, too?”

“Kiddo? I love you, but God, you’re making me wish I’d been an only child right now.”

Neil rubbed at the back of his neck as he stared down at the ground. “Yeah, there are times when I wish that, too.” His fingers trailed along his shoulder toward the old burn from his father.

“Get some rest, kiddo. And call me if you’ve some time for the holidays, now that the little prick is tied up.”

“I’ll do that,” Neil told him. “Thank you.” The delivery might have been a bit rough, but he knew his uncle had meant well.

There was no game that week because of Thanksgiving, so Neil spent the time catching up on homework, then practicing with Renee and Kevin before the upperclassmen went off to spend the holiday with their families, both birth and adopted. As for the ‘monsters’, they spent it at Abby’s house. Abby went out of her way to make the day a good one for them, though Neil didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t really a big deal for them – well, for Nicky, maybe, but that was it. Wymack was there as well, so Neil hovered near Abby in the kitchen while the other four drank coffee and watched the parade of all things on the television, then everyone else joined in on helping with the chores so that the meal was ready by mid-afternoon.

Dinner topics were… interesting. Kevin was always interested in talking about Exy, which Wymack was happy to talk about for a while until Abby put an end to it. Nicky brought up favorite Thanksgiving dishes, but Neil didn’t have anything to contribute, having rarely celebrated the holiday in the last eight years and barely participating in it before then. That got them talking about holidays in general… but then again, Neil didn’t have much to say. He noticed the odd looks Wymack was giving him for his lack of contribution to the topics. As if noticing Neil’s unease, Nicky switched the conversation on to what classes everyone was taking in the upcoming semester. That got them through dessert, when everyone started arguing over who was getting stuck cleaning the mess; Abby settled the matter by making everyone pitch in to help.

With the leftovers put away and the mess cleaned up, everyone returned to the den to watch some silly holiday movie Neil had never seen, most of them with drinks in their hands. Nicky held up a glass of wine to Neil in an open invitation while Abby frowned.

“What, nothing tonight?” Nicky asked when Neil shook his head. “But it’s a holiday?”

“He’s under-aged,” Abby chided Nicky with a frown on her face.

“So are Aaron and Kevin, but I don’t see you telling them to stop.”

“I’m not encouraging them, either.”

Nicky sniffed as he cradled the glass against his chest. “I think you have a favorite, is what it is.”

“No, I just know lost causes when I see them,” Abby shot back.

Meanwhile, Kevin, who had been watching the exchange, set his own glass aside and leaned forward, closer to Neil. “If you want to drink tonight, go ahead,” he said in Japanese. “I’ll stop.”

Neil stared at his friend in disbelief. “You’ll stop drinking. Really?” That was like asking a wolf to not eat meat.

“For tonight, yes. If it’ll make you feel safe enough to drink yourself,” Kevin told him. “You still look like you need to relax.”

“Oh my god, what did you say to him?” Nicky asked Kevin. “He looks freaked out right now. Did you tell him the truth about the Easter Bunny? That Santa’s not real?” He reached over to cup his hands around Neil’s ears. “How could you?”

Neil shrugged off the idiot. “He’s just being nice,” he said in English, before switching back to Japanese. “Thank you, but no.” Getting drunk wouldn’t do much for him that night, but he appreciated Kevin’s offer.

“What, Kevin was nice?” Nicky didn’t look as if he believed it. “Are you sure you heard him right?” Neil shoved him away while Kevin threw a coaster at him.

Things quieted down after that, and Neil took the other three home when he couldn’t stay awake any longer. The rest of the weekend was spent between homework and Exy practice, though Neil retreated to the rooftop in the evening with a pack of cigarettes at least once and wondered how Andrew was doing.

He also did his best to not destroy another phone, what with Riko’s ongoing texts. It seemed his continued refusal to respond to them was annoying Riko, which gave him some satisfaction… but yeah. Annoying as fuck.

All of the Foxes were back for practice on Monday, the last week of the regular season. Neil was surprised by their attitude and determination to finish out on a win, and by how they pushed for the team to remain unified, for the steps that Dan had taken the weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday to continue. Instead of him and the others going out to eat or grabbing take-out then heading back to their suite, he found them joining the upperclassmen in one of the dining halls as they sat down at a large table to eat. Aaron was, unsurprisingly, sullen at first… until someone had the idea to invite Katelyn along as well the following day.

Matt and Dan were a little cautious with Neil the first day, as if afraid to set off another… whatever… like back down in the study room, but Renee just sat down next to him with Nicky on the other side and acted the same as normal. Everyone ignored it when he pulled out the phone, but Allison paused in eating her salad arch an eyebrow as he checked something on it. “So, you going to break down on us this week or what?” she asked.

Neil paused in eating his sandwich to look at her; next to her, Dan looked ready to reach over and strangle her friend, while Matt was wincing as if pain. “Why, you have a bet on that, too?”

“No,” Allison admitted with obvious annoyance. “No one’s willing to take it, even though it’s clear that you’re losing it.”

“God dammit, Allison,” Dan said as she threw down her fork. “Shut up!”

“No,” Allison repeated. “You know if the monster was here, he’d be calling his boyfriend on his shit right now.”

“So what, you’re taking your cues from-“

“She’s right,” Neil cut off Dan as he gave a slight nod; at least with Allison, he knew where he stood, and he appreciated that these days. It reminded him of Andrew, in a good way. “And no, not planning on any breakdowns this week. We’ll see how things go after the banquet, if you want to put some money down on that.”

Allison regarded him for a few seconds while most of the table waited for some sort of a reaction – well, Renee continued to munch on her pasta. “Not bad, Josten,” she said with evident approval. “Okay, I’ll mark that down.”

“Wait, isn’t that like, insider knowledge?” Nicky asked as he picked up a fry.

“Whatever, I only care if someone bets against me and I win,” Allison told him.

After that, everyone was much more relaxed around him, and Neil found himself relaxing a little more, as well. It wasn’t so much getting easier moving forward without Andrew, as he was getting used to it. Though it helped that each day was one day closer to when Andrew would be released. There was also the fact that there was so much to do with the last game and then finals ahead. Once he finished with those, then there would be the holiday break and the new year, and Andrew should be released a few days after that.

During their practice session on Wednesday, Renee approached Neil about the upcoming banquet. “Since you don’t have a date for it, would you consider going with me?” she asked.

“Aren’t you going with Allison again?”

Renee shrugged. “I think Allison wants to stand on her own this time around.”

Neil had a feeling that there was more than that involved, such as Renee promising Andrew that she would watch after him, but he merely shrugged. “All right. Thank you.” Then she pulled him up onto his feet. “Now come on, there’s still an hour left. You need to work on that overhead stab, not quite smooth enough.”

“Why do people think you’re so sweet?” Neil said with a groan. “You’re as bad of a slave driver as Kevin.

Renee just smiled at him before making him pretend to kill people for another hour. As they left the room, she touched him on the left arm. “When Andrew comes back, he’s going to want his knives back, yes?”

“I imagine so – he just lent them to me so I could protect myself since he’s not here to do it.”

“And once he’s back, he’ll take care of it.” Renee nodded. “But it’s a shame to let all of these sessions go to waste.” Renee seemed to think of something while she tucked back the hair falling onto her face. “When we started training together, him and I, I gave him my old knives.” She shrugged a little, but Neil caught the slight tension in her thin shoulders, the hint of darkness in her eyes. “I told him I didn’t use them anymore… but I think part of it was that I wanted them out of reach.” Out of temptation, she meant. There was an odd sort of understanding between him and Renee by now. “I’d like for you to take them and use them once he’s back.”

Neil looked at her as they went up the stairs. “Are you certain you won’t need them? You’re still looking after the others.”

She shook her head. “I’ve kept a couple so I can practice with Andrew, but… I’m doing what I can to move past that.” She seemed to think of something, the darkness growing. “Besides, if I need the rest….” Her mouth twisted in a grim line. “I don’t think they’re going to do me any good.”

He thought about what wasn’t being said for a flight of steps. “If you need the rest, I’m sure Andrew will be annoyed that you deprived him of a fun time.”

Renee laughed a little at that. “And would you allow him to have ‘fun’ by himself?”

Neil shook his head. “No, so in a way, you’d have them there regardless, right? Thank you.”

“Thank you for taking care of them. I’m relieved to know that should they need to be used again, it won’t be without a good reason.”

“Where I hope it won’t come to that.”

She shrugged as if to show that she wasn’t bothered either way, then pulled out her phone when it chirped. “You seem to be getting a lot of texts lately. Should I be worried?” Neil asked, hoping that his ‘problem’ hadn’t spilled over onto her.

Renee paused for a moment then came to a stop on the stairs. “I think it’s fair that you should know before the banquet – I’m talking to Jean Moreau.” She held up the phone, and from what Neil could see, there was a message asking how her day was going.

“Wait, you’re texting the Ravens’ Morea? Really?” He tried to wrap his brain around that. “Is he harassing you?”

“No, we just talk about our days.” She gave him a smile that was devoid of any warmth or humor. “I made sure he knew when he reached out to me that I was unwilling to talk about anything to do with you, Andrew or Kevin. He’s been quite good about the limits I set up.”

“Okay.” Neil frowned as he thought about it, but in the end, Renee was an adult and very good at taking care of herself. “Have him teach you some French swear words, I want to see Andrew’s reaction when you use them.”

That prompted a laugh out of Renee, who seemed relieved that Neil didn’t object to the odd… whatever… she had going on with the Ravens backliner, and she promised to do just that. They parted ways on the third floor, and Neil spent part of the night lying on the couch thinking about how sometimes you just couldn’t get away from some things, no matter how hard you tried. How scars and nightmare weren’t the only thing to follow one through life, but maybe he could take this part of his father’s legacy and turn it into something useful at last. He was growing so tired of the fear, of how even dead his father could haunt him, and longed for a day when he could properly put the man and all the horrors he represented to rest.

Matt, Nicky and Neil were at lunch on Thursday when the topic of winter break came up; the monsters were planning on going back to Columbia for the break, which wouldn’t be the same without Andrew. Erik was still waiting to see if he could manage to come over or not but it looked doubtful, so Nicky was rather depressed about the break.

“So, you guys going back to Columbia or hanging out here with Abby?” Matt asked.

“We’re talking about Columbia, but may spend a couple days here to practice,” Neil admitted. “Still trying to figure things out.”

“If Kevin gets his way, we’d spend the entire time here,” Nicky said with a weary sigh. “But I believe we all could use a break from Exy.”

Matt seemed to think of something. “You know, there’s enough room at my mom’s house, and I know she’d like to properly meet all of you. Why don’t you come with me? Might be…,” he grew quiet as he gave Neil a nervous look, then rallied on to continue. “Might be a good idea to take a break from Columbia for a little while, right?”

Oddly enough, that made sense to Neil; he hadn’t looked forward to staying at the house without Andrew there, to sleeping in their bed without him. He looked over at Nicky, who was smiling as if touched by the offer.

“I think it sounds good,” Nicky said. “Be nice to try something different, maybe get out to the city, yeah?”

“Oh yeah, we’re close enough we can head down there to hang out,” Matt assured him. Nicky’s smile grew wider and he turned toward Neil.

Neil shrugged at it to show that it was fine with him; they would have to work on Kevin, whose main concern would be Exy, and then Aaron, who might grumble at the idea of hanging out with an upperclassman. But then Aaron would also be excited at the thought of New York City.

As expected, Aaron resisted at first, but the promise of New Year’s Eve and other days in the city won him over, and Kevin realized that there were Exy courts there for him to practice on so… Neil told Matt that they’d go, which made Matt oddly happy. Their plans for the holiday settled, that left the Foxes able to focus on their game for Friday, the last one of the season, which they won with ease considering how driven they were going into it.

One thing down. That left Neil to concentrate on his classes, two of which he was fine in, Math and Advanced Japanese. History and Chemistry… eh. Those two took a bit more work, but while he might not have the best grades, he was good enough to not worry about academic suspension, in large part thanks to Kevin and Aaron’s help those last two weeks, and the rest of the Foxes’ during his breaks spent in the library. He missed the times when he curled up on the bed with Andrew to study, missed his boyfriend so much that he’d taken to sleeping out on the couch rather than lie in the large bed by himself, and hoped that Andrew was doing better at Easthaven. Dammit, weren’t things like this supposed to get easier over time?

When it came the weekend of the Christmas banquet, Neil found himself almost looking toward it with anticipation; he just wanted to get the event over with, to face Riko and move past it, and then have the Christmas break before him. Going away with Matt should be enough of a distraction to burn through the last couple of weeks without Andrew, to get through the rest of the year, and then Andrew would be back. It was so close. But yes, first he had to deal with the asshole. There would be taunting, there would be insults, and Wymack had chewed Neil out so many times already about keeping his damn fool mouth shut that Neil was hearing the lecture in his sleep.

The banquet was held at Breckenridge that year, which meant there was a seven hour bus ride ahead of them. Considering that the Foxes had an end of semester party the night before, a good majority of them, especially Kevin, were hung over and slept through the ride, while Neil sat up front for once so he and Renee could keep Abby company while she drove the bus. Nicky once again brought a classmate as a date, Aaron brought Katelyn, and the Foxes weren’t planning on staying both days, just like with the fall banquet.

Kevin woke up about half an out from the Breckinridge campus, his face pale from nerves, and he came up to sit by Neil even though he didn’t talk to anyone. Neil caught him flinching when they drove past the Ravens’ buses, and rubbed at his eyes as he thought about having to deal with his friend for the night along with Riko.

Wymack shooed everyone off of the bus once it was parked, then locked it up behind him. Once out on the parking lot, he turned toward Kevin and made the nervous striker look at him. “Hey,” he told Kevin to make sure that he had Kevin’s attention. “You see these two? If I look your way tonight and you're not within five feet of at least one of them, I won't let you play a single damn game this spring. Get me?” Neil blinked at the threat, which should work rather well on Kevin. “They're your shields. Use them. Use me, if you have to. Now give me a 'yes, Coach'."

Kevin just grunted in reply, too nervous to talk, but that seemed to be enough for Wymack.

“Don’t worry,” Matt told Kevin as he patted him on the back. “The asshole can’t do anything, there’s too many witnesses here.”

“Yeah, right. He got to Neil at the last banquet,” Allison just had to bring up, which made Neil as well as about half of the other Foxes glare at her, to which she merely shrugged. “Just saying.”

Kevin turned to Neil as if seeking reassurance, and Neil met his gaze while raising his right arm, turning it so his palm was facing up; he had to twist a little so Wymack couldn’t see him, but he did it so Kevin could catch a glimpse of the black arm band beneath the sleeve of his sweater, could catch the flash of silver as he flexed his wrist, then nodded. Kevin’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t say anything, and he didn’t hesitate to step forward to get his change of clothes out from the undercarriage of the bus.

They followed a security guard into the stadium, into the away team’s locker room where Neil found a bathroom stall so he could change into the dark grey pants and light grey dress shirt he’d brought. He made sure that the cuffs of the shirt were loose enough to not hamper the arm bands and knives, then stepped outside and put his bag with the others, and joined the rest of the Foxes as they walked out onto the court with Renee at his side.

The court had a holiday theme going, with tons of poinsettias set along the walls and a huge Christmas tree in the center. There were even presents stacked beneath it, maybe for the Jackals and their staff, and rows of tables. Neil was amused to note that this time? Yeah, someone had made sure to keep the Foxes and Ravens far apart.

The Foxes were seated with the Wilkes-Meyers Hornets, whom they’d beat back in September, with Neil seated between Renee and Kevin. The Hornets didn’t seem to hold a grudge against the Foxes - at least now that the season was over – and were focused on having a good time at the banquet. They were loud, they were a bit rowdy, and they were eager to talk to Kevin about Exy, which helped to loosen Kevin up a little. At least, until all of the teams were assembled and Tetsuji Moriyama got up on the small stage to speak to everyone.

He surveyed the gathered teams with a flinty expression, and Neil could feel Kevin trembling a little next to him, his friend’s hands clenched beneath the table. "The season rankings have been decided," Tetsuji said without preamble, his deep voice utterly flat as if what he was saying was of no importance at all. While everyone had been following the games and points all season long, it still mattered to the teams gathered to find out the ranking for the championships. "The following four teams have qualified to represent the southeastern district in the spring championship games. I will list them in order of ranking, first to fourth. Edgar Allan, Palmetto State, Breckenridge, Belmonte."

That done, he handed off the microphone to someone else and left the stage, as if uncaring about congratulating the teams for their accomplishments. Meanwhile, the Hornet across the table from Neil leaned across it to gesture at him and Kevin, her brow furrowed. “How the hell did the two of you manage to beat out Breckinridge?

Neil bristled at that. “It wasn’t just the two of us.”

“I don’t see any other strikers,” she said as she sank back in her chair, her eyes fixed on his tattoo.

Neil just shrugged, unwilling to explain to her that the whole team had pitched in if she was hung up on positions like that, especially since it had come down to the goals ratio between the Foxes and Breckinridge because both teams had ended the season twelve to two. Yes, Neil and Kevin had scored the majority of points for the Foxes… but Andrew had done an amazing job of guarding the goal, and the rest of the team had busted their asses as well.

At least placing second meant that the Foxes wouldn’t have to face Breckinridge again and put up with their shitty tactics on the court, something that made Neil happy; the odd-ranked teams would play each other on a Friday night, and the evens on Saturday. That left Breckinridge with the Ravens, and Neil felt that they deserved each other. While he would love it if Breckinridge defeated the Ravens… yeah, he highly doubted that would happen. Life wasn’t that kind to him.

“Thank god we’re not playing the odds this year,” Nicky said, as if his thoughts had been similar to Neil’s. “We should have a decent chance of advancing.”

“We’ll make it,” Dan insisted, her expression rather mulish just then. “We owe the Ravens a rematch, remember?”

The Hornets appeared rather dubious about the Foxes’ prospects, and some even gave Dan incredulous looks for *wanting* to go against the Ravens again, but at that point the food had arrived and there were a lot of hungry athletes eager to eat. Neil felt his phone vibrate with incoming messages but ignored it as he toyed with his dinner, not speaking to anyone unless they spoke to him first, and kept his attention focused on Kevin, who seemed lost in thought.

It was about halfway through the meal, when Renee was talking about some series of books with a Hornet that Neil realized that he’d basically been ignoring her for most of the night. He waited for a pause in the conversation to turn toward her. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?” she asked as she gave him a curious look.

“I’ve barely spoken to you at all. I’m not trying to ignore you.”

“It’s all right,” she told him with a warm smile. “Kevin needs you more than I do, so don’t worry.”

Neil nodded, grateful that she understood, and went back to toying with his food while Renee resumed her conversation with the Hornets. Around then he felt another text arrive and so finally gave into the urge to look around the court, and found the Ravens seated at their own table. Once again they were all dressed in black, but this time the men wore red ties and the few women had identical necklaces of sparkling red stones. Neil rolled his eyes at that, wondering if it was some concession to the holiday season or what.

As with the last banquet, the tables were broken down so the players could mingle and dance as soon as the meal was finished, with dance music replacing the Christmas carols as well as punch bowls set out at various intervals. Most of the teams appeared eager to have some fun, and Aaron was quick to disappear into the crowd with Katelyn. Nicky hesitated for a moment, but Neil waved him off, not wanting his friend and the poor guy he’d brought to get caught up in anything. Allison left with him, and Renee went with her after giving Neil a lingering look; he figured she’d be watching after the other Foxes but wouldn’t be too far away. Matt and Dan were the last to go, but didn’t stray too far so they could keep an eye on Neil and Kevin from the edges of the dance floor. It was almost amusing, how they tried to watch over the two of them, how they felt that they needed to take on Andrew’s role… that they believed they could take on Andrew’s role. Neil’s flash of good humor vanished at that thought.

There was no attempt to force Neil and Kevin to ‘socialize’ this time, so Neil motioned for the two of them to find a bit of wall to lean against, where he could keep an eye out for when Riko finally tracked them down. They took position near one of the punch bowls, so at least they had something to drink while they waited, though Kevin complained about the lack of alcohol.

It took Riko half an hour to show up – guess he didn’t want to look too eager, with Jean at his back like a faithful yet unhappy shadow. Neil thought that Kevin would choke on his punch when he caught sight of the two, and stepped in front of his friend to give Kevin time to recover.

The look on Riko’s face at his actions twisted Neil’s stomach; if there was any doubt that Riko wasn’t all there, that he was psychotic as fuck, it was driven from Neil’s mind at all that blatant hunger and extreme pleasure, as if Riko was looking forward something… something Neil knew he wouldn’t like.

“Nathaniel, already so defiant? Already so open with the taunts?” Riko spoke in Japanese as he came right up to Neil, his right hand hovering near Neil’s face. “Take that look off of your face before I’m inspired to remove it for you… unless that’s what you want, no?”

Neil realized just then that he was smiling as well, the cruel expression he’d learn from his father. “I don’t think you can,” he told Riko in the same language. “Do you think I’m afraid of you, a worthless second son, when I was raised by the Butcher?”

Riko’s grin twitched as his fingers stroked along Neil’s left cheek. “Oh yes, how wonderful it’s going to be, testing this spirit of yours. I do hope you don’t break as easily as poor Kevin.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Neil caught Kevin flinching at that remark. “I wouldn’t consider crawling out of your shadow and showing you up to be a pathetic shit to be ‘broken’,” Neil told the asshole.

He struggled not to flinch as Riko’s thumb pressed hard against the tattoo on Neil’s cheek. “The first thing I’ll do is teach you not to speak until told you can. That insolent tongue of yours has already cost you two teammates.”

Neil sucked in a breath to hear Riko confirm out loud the asshole’s role in Gordon’s death and Drake reappearing in Andrew’s life. Anger made his smile grow sharper as he reached up to grab onto Riko’s wrist. “The only thing you’ll teach me is just how disgusting a human being can become, you pathetic piece of shit.”

It was Riko’s turn to draw in a sharp breath as he pulled his hand back from Neil’s face and twisted it about until he could snatch at Neil’s wrist, to reverse the hold. “You really are too much, Nathaniel,” he said, his voice tight with rage. “You will learn to fear me, and very soon.”

“No,” Neil told him even as Riko’s fingers squeezed against his wrist bones.

“Oh yes,” Riko insisted. “Even your father was afraid of me, my dear number four.”

“Afraid of your family, not you,” Neil pointed out as he struggled to not show any pain. “There’s a big difference, *worthless second son*.” He fired off that shot with as even a voice as he could manage, and despite the pain in his wrist, felt a grim sort of satisfaction as it hit home. Oh, Andrew was going to kill him for this, because it went way beyond ‘feeding the monster’, but he refused to back down from the bastard who had deliberately sought out to break Andrew in the first place.

“Jean,” Riko hissed, his voice savage with rage, “take Kevin and leave us.” His gaze never left Neil’s face the entire time he spoke.

“Go to Matt,” Neil told his friend before Jean could do anything. “Go now.”

“Jean,” Riko barked as he pulled Neil closer.

Jean jumped at hearing his name the second time and skirted around the two of them as if terrified, then snatched at Kevin’s arm to pull him away. Kevin went with him, his eyes wild and face pale as he looked at Neil, and Jean did his best to walk Kevin away without drawing any attention. However, Matt and Dan noticed and closed in on the two of them, much like Neil had hoped, though Jean refused to let go of Kevin. Dan stayed with the two of them while Matt approached Neil, but Neil waved him away with his left hand, unwilling to let another Fox be dragged into this. Matt frowned at that, but Neil waved him away again.

Kevin safe for the time being, Neil turned back to Riko. “What, did I say something wrong? Me with this insolent mouth?”

Riko snarled as he used the hold on Neil’s wrist to twist his arm up and about; Neil flinched at the pain, at the fact that Riko could easily break his wrist if he twisted it just a little more – then had a knife out in the palm of his left hand which he pressed against Riko’s stomach once he stepped forward. They were close together then, the gesture almost intimate, close enough for him to feel Riko’s breath against his right cheek. “Let me go or you’ll need a new liver,” he warned, voice tight both from the pain and the urge to just give in to the rage and stab the bastard anyway.

The fingers around his wrist squeezed harder even as Riko gave a faint laugh. “Oh Nathaniel, so full of surprises you are. I can’t wait for tomorrow.” Riko nuzzled Neil’s temple, which made Neil shudder, as he let go of Neil’s wrist. “You’ll make such a wonderful Raven.”

“I’m a Fox,” Neil snapped as he shook his right hand to help return feeling to it.

“You are whatever I tell you to be,” Riko said with a condescending smile.

“I believe I’ve told you that you’re delusional. You should get that checked,” Neil snapped as he palmed most of the knife, just in case people were paying attention. “And you should leave me the fuck alone.”

“Not going to happen, especially once you’re at Evermore with me,” Riko insisted, his expression once more hungry and pleased. “You’ll be there for Christmas break, isn’t that wonderful?”

Neil cocked his head to the side as he examined Riko. “Is this some sort of psychotic break? Is that why you’re babbling nonsense?”

The smile vanished, replaced by that extreme rage. “Do not belittle me, Nathaniel. My patience has limits, and you’ve far surpassed them. You will be at Evermore tomorrow, or else.”

Or else. Neil’s eyes narrowed at the ultimatum as he remembered Riko bringing up Gordon and Andrew, as he thought of Nicky being hurt. “Or else what?”

Riko smiled once more, this time the expression smug. “Hmm, we seem to have much better conversations without that annoying mutt of yours getting in the way, yes?” Neil felt his stomach drop at the mention of Andrew. “How is he doing, do you know? In that fancy hospital with its special therapy sessions, with those eager doctors hoping to try out new techniques in the name of science, hmm?” His smile took on a predatory edge. “What do you think would happen if one of them was inspired to test out… oh, let’s say ‘therapeutic re-enactments’ on the dear mutt, hmm? I imagine those sessions would be quite lively, since I understand he’s in there because of killing his beloved foster brother, who used to fuck him senseless all of the time.”

Neil bared his teeth at the bastard as he flipped the knife he held in his left hand. “I should slit your damn throat now.”

“You do that, and your mutt’s life ends, and there’s poor Kevin, too,” Riko warned, his own smile faltering as Neil didn’t move. “Don’t be stupid, Nathaniel, you know how this works. Put the knife away like a good boy, yes?” Riko watched Neil with great care until the weapon was returned to the arm band. “Do anything like that again, and we’ll see if South Carolina DA’s can be as easily bought as California lawyers, do you understand me?” His eyes narrowed as he once more caught at Neil’s right wrist. “Your precious mutt will never get out of that hospital, and those ‘therapy’ sessions will continue for the rest of his life.”

“You are the most twisted fuck I’ve ever known in my life, and that’s saying something,” Neil thought it deserved to be known.”

Riko smiled at him, the expression one of pure cruelty. “And yet you’re going to be on that plane to West Virginia tomorrow, and by tomorrow night you’ll be on your knees before me.” When Neil went to say something, Riko squeezed his wrist hard enough to hurt, right at the nerves. “By the time I’m done with you, everyone will know who you belong to with but a mere glance, especially that mutt of yours.”

“You won’t break me,” Neil told him through gritted teeth.

“Let’s see how long that spirit of yours lasts,” Riko said as he leaned in to speak into Neil’s right ear. “Jean will give your ticket to Kevin.” He shifted back enough so he could brush his fingers along Neil’s left cheek, along the tattoo. “Don’t disappoint me, Nathaniel. Show me that Wesninski fire.”

Neil had had enough – between the touches that made his skin crawl, the insults to Andrew and the threats, he finally lost hold of his temper. Maybe he couldn’t knife the bastard, but he could punch him, which was what he did; his right wrist still held tight by Riko, he hauled back his left one and hit Riko in the mouth. Riko staggering back pulled Neil off balance as well, and Neil didn’t manage to get another swing in before Riko sent him slamming back into the wall. He attempted to throw another punch, but Riko kept his right hand pinned above his head and jammed a strong, lean arm across Neil’s upper chest.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t order your mutt’s death now,” Riko hissed at him while around them, people were screaming about something.

“Because then I won’t come,” Neil choked out.

“I will make it so he will never want to look at you again,” Riko managed to get out before he was hauled off of Neil by Matt, Jean and a couple of other athletes; Neil slid down the wall hunched over and then stumbled forward until he was close enough to touch Riko.

“Don’t you even think of touching him, you bastard.”

For some reason, Riko laughed at that even as he was dragged away, but before Neil could ask why, could grab him and shake the answer out of him, Wymack latched onto Neil and hauled him away as if he was a little kid or something. Before Neil could blink, he was surrounded by furious coaches, his view of Riko cut off by a wall of people. He still struggled to get at Riko but there were too many bodies in the way, too many hands holding him back so he let out a yell of frustration and tore his hands through his hair.

It took him a moment to realize that a coach was talking to him, was talking in some odd language. Neil shook his head in confusion and realized it was English. “What was that?”

“I said what the hell is going here?” the man snapped. “This is a Christmas banquet, as in make merry and good will to men, dammit! I want an explanation, and I want it now!” He glared at Neil, making it clear he expected Neil to provide that explanation. When Neil just gave him a sullen look in return, the man turned toward Riko, who was just as sullen and quiet, and too interested in glaring at Neil.

Jean made his way over to Riko, ever the faithful lapdog, and Neil scowled when Jean nodded first to Riko and then to him. More than anything just then, Neil wished he could take out a couple of knives and send them flying over to the two Ravens, but Riko had been right; as satisfying as those deaths would be, the Moriyamas would retaliate, and it wouldn’t just be Neil paying in return. Still, it was a lovely fantasy for a couple of seconds. Instead, he settled for giving them dirty looks while the coach insisted that they apologize for the trouble that they’d cause.

“Yes, of course,” Neil said, which in no way was an apology.

Riko managed a ridiculous smile. “Apology accepted.” Neil immediately rethought the ‘don’t kill the bastard’ thing, but Wymack kept his hands on Neil’s arms as if he’d figured things out.

The coaches kept staring at the two of them as if waiting for something more, while Neil scowled at Riko hoping that looks could indeed kill and Riko had taken to gloating. Finally, one of them stepped forward. "The next person to start a fight here is getting written up and will sit out of the next five scheduled games, spring or fall. Do I make myself clear?" There was a chorused assent, and the coach flicked an annoyed look between Neil and Riko. "You two stay away from each other for the rest of the night.” Then he motioned toward Neil. “David, get him off the court until he's feeling civil."

"Neil wasn't fighting with himself," Wymack said, in a tone which made it clear he was more than happy to argue the point. "If Moriyama wants the Away side, I'll take the Home."

"Of course," Tetsuji said, looking unmoved by the chaos. "Riko?" They set off in one direction without another glance, so Wymack practically carried Neil the other; Neil was getting more than a little tired of that and just so happened to step on Wymack’s foot when he was set down. As soon as he was back on his feet, he looked about for Kevin even as Wymack was shoving him through the court door, and was relieved to see him with Renee beside him.

Wymack waved back Katelyn and Nicky’s date, Thomas, as if he didn’t want them to listen in on what was coming next, then rounded on Neil as he pushed him onto one of the home team’s benches; Neil had to force himself not to react to the physical manhandling, to not go for one of the knives again. “What the hell was that back there?”

“Coach?” Neil pressed back against the wall as much as possible for a bit more space. “What exactly?”

“Don’t give me that ‘Coach’ shit, you fucking lunatic!” Wymack loomed over Neil until Neil flinched, and then seemed to realize that he was pushing too much and took a step back.

“Uhm, just what happened?” Nicky asked as he stepped forward to come over to Neil’s side. “Everyone was dancing and then yelling at stuff.”

“Neil punched Riko,” Matt explained. “It was beautiful, I wish I’d had my camera out.”

“What, and I missed it!” Nicky beamed at Neil, until he noticed that Neil wasn’t grinning. “Damn, I wish I’d seen it.” Then he noticed Wymack glaring at him as well. “Oh, wait, we’re actually going with this being a bad thing? Really? What the hell?”

“Hemmick, just shut up,” Wymack grumbled as he rubbed at the back of his head. “I’m waiting, Josten.”

Neil just stared straight ahead as he rubbed at his right wrist, which ached from Riko’s abuse and now was beginning to bruise. Nicky gasped when he saw that, and it seemed to get Abby’s attention, because she shoved his friend aside and sat down beside Neil so she could examine it. “Riko was involved with the whole Drake thing,” he said after about a minute of trying to figure out what he could tell the Foxes. “He admitted to paying off the lawyers out in California. That’s why Drake was here, he must have done something to convince Drake that it was safe to leave.” He glanced over at Aaron and Nicky as he spoke; Aaron’s usually sullen mask turned into outrage while Nicky’s smile faded into first confusion and then something hard.

It was quiet after that for about a minute, the only sound the music still playing out on the court, and then Aaron spoke up. “You’re lying.”

“No,” Neil told him, and Aaron turned around to punch the Plexiglas divider hard enough to make it shake. While Dan cried out and Renee murmured something to him to try to calm him down, Neil looked at Kevin. “Did you get it,” he asked in Japanese, “did you get my ticket?” He frowned when Kevin looked at him but didn’t say anything. “Dammit, answer me.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Nicky said, his expression still much too hard and the words laced with hatred and bitterness. “How can he fuck up so many lives like that?”

“No,” Neil said, snapped back into English and away from Kevin for a moment. “It won’t do any good – for someone like Riko, you have to break him.” Killing him would just be a death sentence for all of them. “The only thing he cares about is Exy, is the only way he thinks he can matter to his family, so we’re going to take that away from him, do you understand?” He waited until the Foxes were looking at him to continue. “If we destroy his reputation, we destroy him.”

“And how do we do that?” Nicky asked.

“We don’t lose a single game this season, we take the championship away from him,” Neil told him. It sounded so simple…. “Do you think we can manage that?”

“We won’t lose a single damn game,” Dan answered, her expression one of pure determination. “We won’t let him mess with us anymore.” The other Foxes – save Kevin – nodded in agreement.

Neil tried once more with Kevin. “Do you or do you not have my ticket?” he asked in Japanese; somehow he didn’t think Wymack would appreciate him tracking down Jean to get it.

Kevin looked at him as if he was insane. “You’re not going,” he said, voice incredulous. “Do you have any idea what he’ll do to you, if you go?”

Yeah, Neil had a very good idea after months of texts. “I know what he’ll do to Andrew if I don’t, so it’s not a choice,” he told the coward. “I’m going.” When Kevin shook his head, Neil sighed. “Trust me. I’ll come back.”

“He’ll break you,” Kevin said as he stared at his left hand.

No, Riko wouldn’t, because Andrew would be safe – Neil would make sure of it. “He only thinks he knows how,” Neil told him. “I survived my father, I’ll survive him and I’ll come back. Once I do, we’ll go get Andrew together, I promise.” When Kevin remained staring at his hand, Neil sighed. “At the least, he’ll be too busy with me to bother with you.”

Kevin’s head snapped up to glare at him. “That’s not funny.”

No, it wasn’t. “I’ll be back,” Neil repeated. “I promise. Do you have the damn ticket or not?” The other Foxes were staring at them now.

“I have it.” It looked as if it pained Kevin to say those words.

“Thank you.” Neil sighed.

As soon as they were done with their conversation, Dan turned to Wymack. “Let’s go home, Coach.” No one argued with that decision, even though the banquet was far from over at that point. Wymack sent Renee out to fetch Katelyn and Thomas, probably because she was the least likely to kill Riko if she came across him – well, the least likely to give in to the impulse. As soon as everyone was together, they went back to only to grab their clothes and then were on the road.

Despite the lateness of their arrival back to campus, no one seemed in the mood to sleep. As soon as they returned to their suite, Kevin handed Neil a slip of paper which contained the information he would need to pick up a ticket at the airport. Dreading what would come next, he went into the living room to tell Nicky and Aaron that he’d gotten a last minute text from his uncle asking him to meet up with Stuart in Chicago along with a couple of other family members in from London.

Kevin sat at his desk without saying a word while staring at an Exy magazine as if his life depended on it, while Aaron just stared forward and Nicky scrubbed at his scalp as if trying to rid himself of an annoying thought.

“Neil… don’t treat us like we’re stupid,” Nicky said after several seconds. “What’s going on?”

“I’m meeting up with my uncle for the holiday,” Neil repeated. “I’m sorry about the last minute thing, but he got me this ticket for tomorrow and-“

Nicky jumped up from the couch and held up his hands. “No, that’s enough, all right? Your uncle hasn’t tried to spend more than a couple of hours with you in the two years I’ve known you, and now he wants two weeks? Right out of the blue? Why won’t you tell us the truth?” Nicky’s expression crumbled as he wrapped his arms around his chest. “Don’t you trust us? I know we’re not Andrew, but-“

Neil flinched at the mention of his boyfriend. “It’s better you don’t know, all right? It’s… I’ll be back at New Year’s, okay? Just know there’s something I have to do.”

Aaron finally spoke up. “But Kevin knows, right?” He glared at the quiet striker before he sighed. “And if Kevin knows, it probably involves the Moriyamas, which is why he doesn’t want us to know, you idiot,” he told his cousin. “If he’s so desperate to go, it also probably involves Andrew somehow. God, you’re so stupid.”

Nicky glared at the insults at first, then turned to study Neil, who just shrugged while gazing back at Nicky. “Shit, Neil, none of that sounds good.”

“I’ll be back,” Neil said, getting a bit tired of having to repeat it that much. “Can you… can you tell Matt for me? And give me a ride to the airport?”

“Dammit.” Nicky took to scrubbing at his scalp again, making his hair stick up in all directions, considering how much gel he’d put in it earlier for the banquet. “Make sure you come back in one piece, Andrew really will kill me otherwise.”

“I will.” Neil had to put up with more hugging, but considered it bearable since Nicky was letting him go without too many questions.

He waited to slip up to the roof after giving the upperclassmen a bit longer to settle down in their rooms, mindful of Renee the entire time. He set on the ledge facing the door and called his uncle, huddled inside of his coat and shivering, but not because of the cold. It took a few rings before Stuart answered, and he cursed once he did.

“D’you have any idea of the damn time, kiddo? This better not be about me picking you up in New York.”

“I’m calling you first, just like you asked.”

Those words sobered up Uncle Stuart within seconds. “What the hell happened?”

“Riko happened.” Neil pushed down the flash of hysteria he felt as he thought about the night’s event. “It was the district’s Christmas banquet and he insisted we talked.”

Stuart let out a slow breath. “What did he have to say?”

“Oh, the usual threats, promises of pain, me being a Raven. I don’t want to bore you.” Neil tugged on his bangs as he pushed aside the anger; he didn’t need that now, didn’t need anything that would get in his way or dull his thoughts. “He also told me that I’d be spending the holiday break at Castle Evermore.”

There was a brief laugh, except Stuart didn’t sound amused. “Why would you willingly walk into that hellhole?”

“Because he threatened Andrew,” Neil told him. “I leave tomorrow morning.”

The line went silent, and only Stuart’s breathing let Neil know that his uncle hadn’t hung up or that the line hadn’t been disconnected. “Kiddo… *Nathaniel*. Why the fuck are you going to do something so… so *insane*? You can’t go there! I can’t do shit if you go there!”

“Because he paid off one of Andrew’s therapy doctors at Easthaven, just like he paid off the lawyers handling Drake Spear’s case. If I don’t go, then Andrew’s going to be hurt.”

“And you believe the sick fuck? You honestly believe he’s going to keep his word?”

“No,” Neil told his uncle. “Which is why I’m calling you. I want you to find out who the doctor is and take care of him. I want you to protect Andrew.”

“You what?” Stuart cursed under his breath. “This damn conversation… you want me to help out the little prick? What the hell about yourself, kiddo? You just said you don’t trust Riko, yet you’re going through with this? You’re still going to Evermore? Are you fucking insane?” Stuart was yelling by the end.

“Yes,” Neil insisted. “If I don’t show up, Riko will have the doctor hurt Andrew. If I go, it gives you time to do something about the asshole, and I’ll distract Riko while I’m there – he’ll be too busy with me to stir up any new shit at Easthaven.”

“Because he’s going to be fucking with you,” Stuart pointed out. “He doesn’t want you there just to play Exy. I’ve seen what he’s done to the other Ravens, what he’s done to that Moreau guy. You’re going to regret stepping foot on that campus within a few days, I guarantee it.”

“Probably,” Neil admitted as he hunched over some more, his left arm pressed tight against his scarred abdomen. He wasn’t under any delusions about what Riko would do to him, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Andrew being hurt anymore, either. “But I won’t allow him to touch Andrew.”

“Dammit.” There was the sound of breaking glass on the end of Stuart’s phone. “I *told* the little prick – what’s the point of sacrificing yourself like this?”

“It’s my decision to make,” Neil snapped at his uncle. “I’m going there, so what I need from you is to protect Andrew. Will you do it, or do I have to make another call to Agent Wolfe?” He didn’t know how the hell he’d get his point across, or how she could help Andrew, but he refused to let Riko hurt Andrew any more.

“For fuck’s sake, I’ll do it.” It sounded as if it hurt Stuart to agree. “You do know what that means, right? Don’t come bitching to me if you don’t like my methods.”

Neil frowned at the question. “I know what you do for a living. I don’t give a damn about those methods, just give me results.” Really, he was asking a hit man to do something for him, what was he supposed to expect? Stuart asking the doctor to play nice and leave Andrew alone?

“Just checking – didn’t want you to bitch if you read something in the paper and be all like ‘but he had kids’ or some other shite like that.”

“I’d hope you don’t do it in front of those kids, but from what Riko implied, the guy’s willing to rape his own patients. I’m not going to lose sleep over this.” Neil slipped a knife out of the left arm band and began to flip it over his fingers while he talked.

“Huh.” Stuart seemed to think about that. “Makes my job easier, knowing that.”

“Good. Just take care of Andrew, and I’ll make it out of Evermore.” One way or another, he’d get out of there; he refused to let Riko win.

“You better, because I’m not saving the little prick’s ass and then being stuck with the ingrate if something happens to you.” Uncle Stuart grew quiet for a few seconds. “Though you’re going to owe me for doing this.”

Neil nodded, unsurprised that his uncle wanted something for the favor. “Sure, let me know later what it-“

“No, I already know what it is.” Stuart paused again, as if waiting for Neil to argue. “I keep the little prick safe, deal with this doctor and all, and you have to go out with Carlton McCormick, you understand?”

“What?” Neil shook his head while he spoke even though they were speaking over the phone. “Uncle Stuart, I keep telling you that it doesn’t work that way, that I’m with Andrew and-“

“I’m not saying that you have to marry the kid or anything,” Stuart said with evident exasperation. “Just go out on one date, all right?”

Neil thought it over. “Why?”

“Because you’re willing to risk your life for the little prick, to put yourself through a lot of pain for what, the only guy you’ve ever dated? And you’re only eighteen?”

“I’m going to be nineteen soon,” Neil told the meddling bastard, his fingers clenched around the knife hard enough to hurt.

Uncle Stuart scoffed at that. “You’re still so damn young, and you’re willing to throw it all away on one guy. Just give one other person a try, that’s all I’m asking. Make sure you’re risking everything on the right one.”

“I know I am,” Neil told his uncle. “But fine, you protect Andrew and I’ll do it, I’ll go out on one date.” What the hell. He’d have to survive Riko first, but what the hell. How had his life become so fucking insane?

“Good. I’ll take care of the little prick, so you just worry about yourself, got it? And Nathaniel? If it gets too bad in there… call me. I’ll figure something out.”

“Thank you,” Neil told his uncle, his anger over the whole McCormick thing fading with that incredible and incredibly improbable offer; he knew he couldn’t take Stuart up on it, because it would mean his uncle’s death, but it was touching all the same.

That done, Neil hung up the phone and went back downstairs so he could try to get some sleep, since tomorrow would be a very long day and he suspected that he’d need it. He didn’t get much, and when he did, he kept dreaming of losing Andrew.

Waking up exhausted and on edge, Neil packed a bag he wasn’t certain he’d need for his trip to West Virginia while Nicky hung out in the bedroom with him. “Look after Kevin,” he asked his friend. “I don’t think anything is going to happen,” because Riko would be too busy at the time, “but keep an eye out on him.”

Nicky nodded. “Aaron and I can manage that, and we’ll have a gorgeous hunk of man with us, too.” He grinned, the expression a bit strained as it had been all morning long. “I’ll tell Matt he’s been officially drafted as our muscle.”

“I’m sure he’ll love it.” Neil paused for a moment, then forced himself to remove Andrew’s arm bands; there was no way he could get them through security, and if he took them into Evermore, he would be too tempted to use them on Riko. No, they would have to stay here, so he left them beneath Andrew’s pillow. “Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me, okay? Not sure how cell phones work, where I’m going.” If Riko would allow him to use one or not.

“Oh, this is sounded better and better.” Nicky sighed as he came over to Neil. “Are you sure you really have to go?”

“Yes,” Neil told him without a moment’s hesitation.

“I was afraid you’d say that. Come on then, let’s go.”

Kevin didn’t look up at him as he left, but Neil didn’t take that personally.

They were going a little early to the airport, but Neil wanted to leave before anyone figured out that he wasn’t going with the others to New York; better chance of getting away without too many uncomfortable questions, especially since he’d never mentioned his uncle to Matt or the others. No, let Nicky lie for him, when Nicky was so good at it, and could honestly say that he didn’t know much more than what Neil had told him – that Neil had gotten a last minute call from his uncle, whom he didn’t know that much about other than Neil talked to him from time to time, that the man sent him occasional presents and drove Andrew crazy.

Neil felt his nerves grow as soon as he entered the airport and went to fetch his ticket; it was strange, to not have to worry about his ID failing him, now that it was official. Neil fought the urge to shred the ticket and just run, to pick the farthest flight he could afford, but he forced himself to the gate where his flight would leave and then waited, huddled in a seat for over an hour before his plane boarded. He had his duffel bag for a carry-on, and garnished some odd looks for his first class seat with his faded jeans, grey hoodie and plain jacket. One or two people blinked at the tattoo on his face as well, though for the most part the other passengers ignored hm.

To help calm himself down, he thought about all of the times he’d flown with his mother, the flights to and from Europe, crossing the continents as they’d run from his father. So many years of running, and all the years of abuse before that. Two weeks with Riko… he wasn’t fooling himself that it would be easy, but it was just two weeks. He would survive it, and then he would fly back to South Carolina, to Andrew. There was a purpose to this, something he could never say before when he was crouched in front of his father in agony, flesh torn or burning, when he was in some tiny motel room as his mother stitched his battered body back together. He would survive whatever Riko did to him, would deal with Andrew’s anger for doing this and they would move on.

Those thoughts helped him to get some rest, and the next thing he knew, the plane was descending into West Virginia. Neil was one of the first passengers off of the plane, and he found Jean waiting for him at Arrivals, dressed all in black, of course. The backliner tried for a cool expression, but his voice betrayed him when he spoke. “You never should have come.”

“Let’s go,” Neil told him, unwilling to explain why staying away hadn’t been an option for him.

Jean just shook his head and led him out to a black, sports-like sedan and drove him to Castle Evermore without either of them saying anything to the other. Despite it being eight years or so, Neil recognized the place immediately, and felt his heart pound in his chest that the sight of the huge, black, monument-like stadium as it rose in the distance. It was huge compared to the Foxhole Court, but then it was where the US Court held its games and not just a Class I stadium.

Jean stopped at a gate to punch in a security code, then continued on to a barricaded parking lot. Neil was both surprised and amused to see that even the cars for the Ravens were identical, and that they shared similar license plates; they all started with EA, most likely for Edgar Allen, and then numbers which he realized must stand for jerseys and class years when he failed to see a ‘02’, an ‘04’ and a couple of other lower numbers.

Andrew was right, the Ravens were brainwashed assholes. “This isn’t a team, it’s a freaking cult,” Neil said as he stared at the cars.

“And you’re its latest inductee,” Jean sneered as he parked the car. “Now get out.”

Neil took a deep breath as he grabbed his bag and left the car, then was led to another door with another security code. Gee, wonder what they had to fear, hmm? Jean paused before he led Neil inside. “Take a good look at the sky, because you won’t see it again until you leave.” Then he hesitated. “If you leave.”

“I’ve seen it,” Neil told him without looking up or around.

Jean shook his head at that bit of defiance and muttered about fools in French as he motioned for Neil to precede him inside. Neil refused to show any hesitation and stepped into Evermore, and felt claustrophobic for a moment at the overwhelming sense of black – everything was painted the color, from the floors to walls to ceilings, the only other spot of color the red lights running down the middle of the ceilings. “Great color palette here, so bright and refreshing. Definite sense of spring,” he said as he fought not to stumble down the stairs since it was so dark. He counted the steps to give him a sense of where he was going, and after twenty-six hit a lower level, where Jean once again punched in a code; Neil got the picture that one did not easily get inside the Nest – inside or out.

“Welcome to the Nest,” Jean told him with a mocking tone.

“Cult,” Neil sang out even as he forced himself to enter the Ravens’ living quarters.

Jean shook his head again at that and took him on a tour. The space was might have been originally intended to house visiting teams, but Tetsuji Moriyama gave it to his Ravens instead. It was where they were to be when not doing anything Exy related or at class, and so it was meant to cater to their needs.  The Nest was spacious and well-stocked, complete with two full-sized kitchens, a lounge equipped with a bar and pool table, and even three dens with TVs. A long hall connected the social quarters to a weights room, and another hall took them to the dormitory. A sign on the wall indicated that the Black Hall was to the left and the Red Hall was to the right. Neil looked both ways but honestly couldn't tell them apart.

It appeared that Jean was taking Neil to the Black Hall. All of the bedroom doors were open, privacy apparently not a concern with the Ravens, so Neil peeked in as they passed. The bedrooms were almost as big as Matt’s suite back at Fox Tower and each one was outfitted with only two beds. The Nest had the potential to be everything a college athlete could want— except for the low ceilings and the dark decor. Any color was almost non-existent and usually showed up only in shades of red. Everything else was black, from the furniture to the sheets to the towels draped over desk chairs to dry. Neil wasn't claustrophobic, but he thought two weeks down here might change that, it was so oppressive and overwhelming, the lack of light and warmth.

"Here," Jean said, and motioned for Neil to follow him into the last room. "This is where you will be staying. You should be in Red with the rest of us, but the master has made a special allowance. He knows you require Riko's personal attention." The way Jean said that, he made clear that the ‘personal attention’ was not a good thing for Neil.

"I'm not rooming with that psycho,” Neil said as he took a step back, only to have Jean shove him into the room.

Jean sighed as he stood in front of the door, a clear barrier to keep Neil from leaving. “You act as if you have a say in the matter. Any free will you have has been surrendered as soon as you entered Castle Evermore.”

"Whose place am I taking?" Neil asked, because both sides of the room showed signs of someone living there. Jean shook his head as he waved his right hand about.

"Look and see." Neil was wary of the offer, but his curiosity got the better of him – which he soon regretted. Postcards of faraway cities both foreign and domestic were taped to the walls. Beneath each one were scraps of paper. Kevin's now-familiar scrawl listed dates and explanations for the travels. Most of them were games, though some indicated photo shoots and interviews. Books lined the shelves built into the headboard and Neil knew from skimming the spines they were Kevin's since the majority of the titles reflected Kevin’s interest in history. It was like walking into some weird museum exhibit, finding all of Kevin’s things preserved like this, as if Kevin had only stepped out moments before and not two years ago.

"Riko's in denial," Neil said. "Someone should tell him Kevin isn't coming back. He’s acting like a lovesick fool, like that one character in that Dicken’s novel.”

“I’d watch what you say, you’re already in enough trouble,” Jean warned. “Now put your things down, we’re going to be late.”

Neil set his bag down on Kevin’s bed and glanced over at Riko’s side of the room, which looked too normal for a psychopath, then followed Jean out of the room.

Jean led him to the Ravens’ locker room, but they didn’t pause to put on any gear. Instead, they went out onto the inner court before Neil had a chance to look around, where the Ravens were practicing even though for any other university, the Exy teams would be heading home for the holiday break.

There were two line-ups playing a brutal scrimmage while the remaining Ravens watched on, undisturbed by the violence. They turned to look at Jean as he stepped up alongside the geared up and helmeted subs, and then the Ravens looked past him at Neil. Their expressions ranged from cold disinterest to open hostility. Neil wasn't expecting a warm welcome, especially with the damn tattoo on his cheek, so he kept his attention on the court.

It wasn't long before a buzzer sounded and called an end to the match. Unsurprisingly Riko's team won by a three-point margin. The two line-ups met at half-court to critique each other's performances, and the subs joined them to share what they'd noticed from the sidelines. The huddle lasted a good fifteen minutes, but finally the Ravens clacked sticks and filed off the court. Neil watched them leave, then focused his attention on Riko, who pulled his helmet off as he stepped through the court door. "Luke, close down the scoreboard, and Martin, get the lights. I have a guest to tend to, so take an early lunch. The master will be by shortly to check progress, so have your papers ready for him. Afternoon practice will start at the usual time." He sounded like a normal person as he gave out the orders, his voice calm and expression almost bored.

The Ravens flowed around Jean and Neil, this time not paying them any attention as they marched past. Riko stopped in front of Neil to consider him for several seconds, then dismissed him in favor of Jean. "Show him his things. I will deal with him when I am showered." Jean inclined his head as if a loyal vassal and held the door for Riko, while Neil wondered if that was a good thing or not, that calm dismissal. Riko went one way, so Jean and Neil went another, to a changing room where Jean opened an oversized locker on the end.

Neil obediently looked inside after a moment of Jean standing beside it; the locker was packed with Raven gear. It wasn't until Jean shoved the black jersey at him that Neil understood what was going on, because the name emblazoned on the back was JOSTEN. "I'm only here for two weeks," Neil said. "Why does he still have these?"

"Do not play stupid," Jean said. "You’ve been told how many times that you will be one of us, you even have been marked. Come this summer, you will be transferring here."

"And I keep telling Riko that’s not happening, that I’m a Fox now." Neil tossed the jersey off to one side as he struggled not to shout. Jean snatched it from the air before it could hit the ground and flicked a livid look at him.

"Try not to get us both killed on your first day, you ignorant child."

"Us?" Neil asked, refusing to understand how Jean played any part in this.

"Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you," Jean said, thrusting the jersey at him again.

Neil refused to touch the thing, so Jean caught hold of his coat with his free hand and yanked Neil close. "You lost the right to be an individual when you stepped into the Nest. The consequences of your actions are no longer yours alone to bear. Hasn’t Kevin told you that Ravens operate on a pair-based system?” Neil frowned as he nodded. “That means unless Riko changes his mind, from now until you leave I am the only ally you have. My success is your success," Jean explained, and he did *not* seem pleased with that. "Your failure is my failure. You are to go nowhere unless I am with you. If you break this rule we will bother suffer greatly for it. Do you understand? They want us to fail.” He stared at the tattoo on Neil’s cheek. “They want to see you, Riko’s new obsession, prove to be a mistake. They want to take starting line-up from me. I will not let you jeopardize my rank."

"I have some bad news for you," Neil said. "I don’t give a shit what these people think about me."

"It is not them you need to worry about, but Riko and the master," Jean said. "You still have to answer to the main branch, after all,” Jean reminded him. “And if Riko is determined to have you as a Raven, then you have to pull your weight as a Raven."

"I don’t *want* to be a damn Raven," Neil stated as he struggled not to punch something. "I never asked for this damn tattoo or to join this insane team.”

"It’s not up to you anymore," Jean said. "Both Kevin and Riko say the potential is there, so now you must live up to it. Now try on your gear so we know it fits."

"Not in front of you," Neil insisted.

That earned him yet another weary sigh. "That modesty will be the first thing we break you of," Jean said. "There is no room for privacy in the Nest."

"I can't believe you put up with this," Neil said. "At least Kevin ran. What's your excuse?"

"I am a Moreau," Jean said, as if Neil was being stupid on purpose. "My family has belonged to the Moriyamas since before they came to the United States. There is nowhere else for me to go, just as there is no place for you but here. Kevin is not like us; he is valuable but he is not property in the same sense. He escaped because he had family to run to."

"Andrew?" Neil guessed, thinking back to Kevin hounding Andrew for a deal, to how he had shown up at the one fall banquet because he’d known Andrew was there.

"I said family, you hard-of-hearing imbecile," Jean snapped, as if his patience was all but gone. "His father. Your coach."

In the process of trying to figure out if it was worth it to change without removing his clothes in front of Jean, it took a moment for the words to sink in. When they did, Neil recoiled from Jean in shock. "Wait, what?" He knew, logically, that Kevin had to have a father, but that person had always been a faceless entity to him since Kayleigh Day had never given up the man’s name, no matter how hard the press had tried to find it out. If the rumors were true, that space was even blank on Kevin's birth certificate. She'd named Tetsuji her son's godfather, though, which was how Kevin ended up at Evermore after Kayleigh died.

"You're lying," Neil said.

"Why else would Kevin run to such a dreadful team?" Jean asked with a disdainful sniff.

"But he never— and Coach hasn't—" Even as Neil argued, it somehow made sense.

"Figures he's still too much of a coward to say anything about it." Jean gave a derisive flick of his hand. "If you don't believe me, look for yourself. The last time I saw his mother's letter, it was tucked inside one of those boring books of his. He's read it so many times he might have worn the words off the pages by now."

Something about it all bothered Neil. "If he knew, why did he stay? He should have gone to Coach when his mother died." Why put up with the abuse and Riko?

"We found out only a few years ago," Jean said. "We found the letter in the master's house purely by accident. Kevin stole it, but he never intended to act on the discovery. He knew going meant losing all of this, and it wasn't worth it." Jean gestured around at the locker room. "Once his hand… well, there was no reason to stay."

Neil stared at the backliner. "You are all insane," he said. Did Jean really think the abuse and having to put up with Riko, with the insanity and the ego, was ‘worth it’?

"Says the runaway who joined a Class I team," Jean said with a sneer. "Says the man who came here today when he should have run. You are no better than the rest of us. Now are you going to try on your gear or am I going to have to force it on you?"

Neil just shook his head, unsurprised that Jean couldn’t figure out why he was there. Jean folded his arms over his chest and took a couple steps back, as if to make sure that Neil did get dressed. Neil turned the jersey over in his hands to look at his name. The white letters were surrounded by a faint red outline, and he blinked when he realized the number beneath it wasn't his. "I can't even keep my ten?"

 "Unimportant Ravens wear double-digits," Jean said. "Riko's inner circle does not. This number suits you better.”

Neil shook his head but gave up arguing, figuring it wasn’t worth it. Two weeks, he told himself as he dropped the jersey in his locker again, steeled his nerves, and undid the buttons on his coat. He yanked the zipper down next and shrugged out of his coat. He peeled his shirt over his head and pretended not to notice the way Jean stared at his scars. Next he toed off his shoes and removed his jeans, then pulled on the Ravens uniform as quickly as he could. It fit perfectly, something he didn’t want to know how Riko had managed, yet he felt oddly constrained by the material and padded armor.

"Good," Jean said as he gave an approving nod. "Now put it back. You won't need it until afternoon practice."

Great, all that for nothing. Neil stripped it all off and returned it to the locker. He'd just put back on his coat when the changing room’s door opened, and considering the way Jean’s face paled, whoever it was whom entered… it wasn’t good. Neil turned to see Tetsuji and Riko step forward, Tetsuji with an ornate walking cane in his right hand that Neil had never seen the man with before; he could only hope it meant that the Tetsuji was suffering some sort of injury or illness, but somehow doubted it.

Riko let his uncle enter the room first and locked the door behind them. Neil spared a moment to wonder who installed locks on a changing room door, but he pushed that thought away as quick as he could even as he fought the urge to run. He couldn't afford to be distracted when facing this man, who was the power behind the side branch of the Moriyamas.

Tetsuji crossed the room to stand before him, his expression one of boredom. "Nathaniel Wesninski," he said, like he found every syllable wanting. "Kneel." The command was spoke in Japanese.

Great, so both of them had the same fetish. Neil hid his hands in his pockets so he could clench them into fists. "No."

He thought Jean said his name, but it was barely louder than a breath of air. Neil didn't look back at him. He didn't think it was his imagination that Riko took a half-step back to put more space between himself and his uncle even as that hungry smile crept across his face. A man who could keep even Riko in line wasn't a man to challenge so carelessly, but Neil had no choice. He wouldn’t let these two think they owned him.

"You will kneel," Tetsuji said, a hint of anger creeping in to replace the boredom. Neil had a feeling he was going to regret this for the rest of his very short life, but he smiled and said, "make me." Oh yes, he was definitely feeding the beast right now.

He saw the cane come up, but it was too fast for him to dodge so he did his best to just relax against the blow. It caught him in the face across his cheek and the side of his mouth, forcing him to crash into the lockers. Intense agony flared across his skull the same time that the right side of his face went numb, and he had to wonder if Tetsuji had fractured his skull with the blow, Even as he tried to touch his head to check, Tetsuji struck at his ribs next, and then kept hitting him. For some reason, Neil felt like laughing then, even as he curled up in a ball to protect himself. So much for worrying about Riko, eh? That was his last thought before he passed out from the pain.

He woke up hours later, ‘thanks’ to Jean dumping ice cold water on him so he could make it for the Ravens’ afternoon practice – he would never laugh at Andrew doing that to Kevin again. Delirious from the pain of Tetsuji’s assault, Jean had to force his gear onto him then haul him onto the court to play at Riko’s side. In agony and barely able to see straight, the backliners had a field day with him as he stumbled along, slamming him around and adding to his misery. Every time he fell, though, Jean picked him back up, and it was almost worth his suffering to see everyone’s faces when he managed to score a damn goal. Except then they piled on the abuse even more.

The Ravens had no sympathy for him, not when they had sacrificed so much to join the team, when they suffered (though not quite so much, most of them) as well, all for the goal of making the pros, of being assured fame and fortune. So no one was going to help Neill, was going to step in and spare him the pain. No one but Jean, and clearly only on a limited basis – to spare himself.

Because of Neil’s ‘poor’ performance, it fell on him and Jean to shut down the court when practice finally, thankfully, came to an end. They had to sweep and polish the wooden floor, then clean up the locker room. Neil could barely move once all of that was done, and had lost most of the feeling in his hands and feet. He stayed beneath the hot water of the showers for as long as Jean would let him, hoping that the heat would work out some of the ache in his abused body.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Jean told him in French, looking too tired and worn to add any spite to the words for once.

“This is nothing, compared to what I grew up with,” Neil told him with a half-hearted sneer. “Two weeks of this will be nothing.”

“Three,” Jean breathed out before he turned his face into the falling water.

“Huh?” That didn’t make any sense. “I go back on New Year’s Eve.”

“We run on sixteen hour days here at the Raven’s Nest, you ignorant child,” Jean informed him as he tilted his head beneath the water. “It’s the same as three weeks.”

Oh, just wonderful. Neil finished washing up and then dressed in his oldest, loosest clothes because of his bruises, then followed Jean out to the kitchen to get something to eat, having missed the earlier meal due to being passed out, before he was led back to the Black Hall.

All he wanted to do was pass out – willingly, that time – on his bed, but Riko was waiting for him when he got to the room. Jean, the traitor, closed and locked the door behind him, and Neil only considered fighting for a moment; he was stuck here for however many weeks, Riko would win out in the end. So he just went over to his bed – Kevin’s bed – and sat down.

Riko smiled at him, that too hungry/pleased smile that always made something inside of Neil twist in disgust, and crossed the room to stand in front of Neil; rage he understood, but getting off on fear and pain? Never.

“Stay away from me,” Neil said, even though he knew it was useless.

“I thought you weren’t afraid of me, Nathaniel. Was that just a lie to make yourself feel better?” Riko pulled a switchblade out of the right pocket of his pants and flicked it open. “It’s my turn to play with knives now.”

He sat down on the bed beside Neil, that hunger growing even stronger as he pressed the blade against Neil’s bottom lip; Neil refused to flinch, to show any of his fear because he knew that it would just spur Riko on even more. Meanwhile, Jean moved away from the door and further into the room.

“I’m going to love hurting you,” Riko said in Japanese, his deep voice almost purring. “You’re going to be much more fun than Kevin, I can tell.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re seriously fucked-up?”

Something dark flared in Riko’s eyes as he slipped the knife between Neil’s lips and pushed, hard enough to break the skin at the corner of Neil's mouth but not deep enough to do any real damage.

“Oh, I have plans for that mouth of yours, but later. For now, shut up and lie down," Riko commanded. "We don't have a lot of time, and I promised the master to have you in line before night practice."

"Just to be clear on this, I hate you," Neil said around the blade.

"Lie down," Riko said again as the blade now pressed against Neil’s tongue, "and put your hands on the headboard." The taste of blood in his mouth, Neil stretched out on his back and reached over his head even as he fought to keep his breathing even. A too-blank faced Jean caught his hands to guide them to the right place, moving as if he’d done this before. Neil felt wood under his fingertips and grabbed hold, then Jean let go of him only to snap cold metal over his wrists.

Neil tried to look to see what had just been placed on his wrists, but the knife in his mouth wouldn't let him move. Riko felt him tense, though, and withdrew his blade. Neil looked up and regretted it immediately. Metal cuffs locked his hands to the headboard, which made him yank his arms as hard as he could, nearly skinning his wrists in the effort as the metal scraped along his wrists and forearms, but the headboard didn't even creak.

"Who is your King, Nathaniel?" Riko asked, that hungry light back in his eyes.

Neil didn’t say anything, he just spat in the bastard’s face.

Riko froze for a moment while Jean cursed, then slowly reached up to touch the glob on his cheek. He eyed his slick fingers for a moment as if needing to see the mess to believe it, and then seized Neil's face in an iron grip. He pried Neil's mouth open and spat in it, his hand over Neil's mouth kept him from coughing it back up. A wave of his other hand had Jean climbing onto the bed to sit on Neil’s legs before Neil could knee Riko in the back.

Riko pushed up Neil’s shirt, then pressed the knife to Neil's chest and slipped the edge under his skin. "I'm going to make this as terrible as I know how," Riko promised him. “Let’s see if you keep your promise about not breaking, number four.”

As it felt as if acid was poured onto Neil’s nerves, he told himself that it wasn’t a sign of weakness to scream, that it didn’t mean he was breaking. He had to do something to let out the pain. Oh god, the pain. Riko seemed determined to flay him alive, to slide the knife beneath his skin again and again. His sore body writhed on the bed, but Jean helped to him down while Riko continued on, only pausing to ask Neil that damn question again and again.

Neil never gave him an answer.

Riko eventually stopped, and then a new torture began, one where Jean stitched Neil up without any anesthesia, any painkiller at all. Neil felt tears run down his face while Jean murmured nonsense in French, and soon enough, he was dragged back to the changing room and forced back into gear, forced back onto court.

Every time he was slammed into, Neil felt like crying, felt like lying down on the wooden floor and not getting back up. The lesson soon sunk in - force himself on or he wouldn’t survive, so that was what he’d have to do. But oh fuck, did it hurt. It hurt so much, but he started using every dirty trick he’d ever seen in all his years of following Exy, in being out on the court, and barely, just barely, he got through the session.

Riko allowed him a few hours of sleep, and then a new day began, a new cycle of torture. Riko finally got Neil down on his knees, his hands cuffed and arms outstretched, held onto by Jean, and brought out a thinner cane than Tetsuji’s. Later that night it was the knives again. Neil still hadn’t broken down and called him ‘King’ yet, but Neil was beginning to worry about how he was going to survive two – no, three – weeks of such constant abuse. Abuse and then the sessions out on the court with the Ravens on top, his ‘teammates’ just as bloodthirsty.

The odd thing? Riko had left the upper right side of his body untouched for some reason, bar the bruises he’d taken from practice. No whip marks, no cuts, nothing, save for the marks on his right wrist where he was beginning to scrape it raw from constantly fighting the metal cuffs.

He found out why on the third ‘night’, when battered and exhausted from the night practice where he had managed two goals that session, he leaned against the slick tiles as the hot water rained down on his sore muscles. Just a few minutes, he told himself. A few minutes of peace before he went out there to face whatever nightmare Riko had in store for him that night. A few more minutes.

He’d just pushed back the wet hair falling onto his face when hands reached for him, grabbed onto him and dragged him out of the stall; Phillips and Federov, two of the starting backliners, had no problem hauling Neil along as if he weighed nothing, considering their bulk. He shouted obscenities at them, flailed about as if he could break free somehow, but they carried him out of the showers and changing room wet and naked, rage and shame burning through him as several Ravens watched on with what looked to be amusement or disinterest. Riko was waiting out in the hallway, and with a wave of his hand, Phillips and Federov followed the bastard down Black Hall to a closed door.

“What the fuck are you doing now, you psychotic shit? This is-“ Riko backhanded Neil hard enough to take his breath away, to make his vision light up with spots of dancing colors, and then they were inside the room. A room with what looked to be the type of bed one found in doctor’s offices, a tray with stuff on it off to the side, and a small, Asian man who bowed to Riko.

“You can start on it now,” Riko told the man in Japanese, while Neil found himself shoved down onto the vinyl covered bed face-first and pinned into place by rough, strong hands.

“It’ll take a while, probably a few sessions,” the man answered back while Neil attempted to struggle free, to no effect.

“What? What’ll take a while? Dammit, what are you going to do to me?” He managed to push up a little, but Federov slammed him back down, a hand gripping painfully tight at the back of his neck, while another hand, probably Phillips, held out his left arm. “What- fuck, stop!” Someone was swabbing his arm but he couldn’t see, not with Federov holding him like that, with the bastard’s body blocking his line of vision. “Stop it!” Neil began to panic as something was injected into him.

Riko came over and fisted his hand into Neil’s hair to lift his head. “Oh, don’t worry, you’ve had this before, number four.” He reached out to tap the tattoo on Neil’s face as something burned through Neil’s veins. “It’ll be fine.”

“What… the hell…..” Neil struggled to move, to twist his head away, but his body was becoming sluggish and heavy; it hit him then - back in the van, back when he got the tattoo on his face. “Fuck.”

Riko smiled, the expression one of vast smugness. “I told you, didn’t I? I would make sure that everyone would know who you belong to by just looking at you.” He stroked his thumb over the ‘4’ while Neil felt something be wiped over the right side of his back, something cool. “How do you think your mutt is going to react, when he sees it, hmm?” Riko’s fingers tightened in Neil’s hair while something scraped over Neil’s skin. “Sees a reminder of me on you every day?”

Neil struggled to move, to tell Riko to fuck off, but couldn’t do anything, and that seemed to just make Riko all the happier. “Oh, this is only the start, Nathaniel. Once I mark you, then I’ll prove to you just how much I own you. I warned you, didn’t I?” He held Neil’s face cupped between his hands. “I told you that I’d break you, and I will.”

The burning sensation started on Neil’s right shoulder, and all he could do was glare at Riko, glare and grunt out a denial as the sensation slowly spread.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> And yeah, that should be the end of the Evermore scenes, except what's going to come up in flashbacks and... err, you'll see. I'll probably have to add the non-con label in the next chapter. It's not going to be as rough as some of the other fics out there, but... let's just say people are really, REALLY going to hate Riko. Sorry. :-(
> 
> He's really going to try to tear Neil down, and tear Andrew down through Neil.
> 
> I feel so bad now... uhm, to make it up, here's that gangster Neil/Abram fic AU idea I posted on my tumblr? *peace offering* Let me know if you like the premise so far, and IDFK, maybe I'll alternate chapters or something....  
> http://nekojitachan.tumblr.com/post/148757448889/yeah-so-hmm-throwing-this-out-here-its-the
> 
> I feel so bad now....  
> And my babies are staring at me, telling me I haven't fed them in like four hours and am so, so mean (they're cats, if that makes it any better). The guilt, it's crushing.
> 
> As always, the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! Though I imagine there's going to be a lot of 'how could you's right now after reading this.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Edit** -So sorry, just an update to warn some readers - as noted, there's now mention of some non-con/rape situations. It's not explicit, but there's a little detail and consequences are brought up.****
> 
> So, you get to see if you were right about the tattoo. :-)
> 
> And OMFG I am SO DONE WITH SUMMER. BAH.
> 
> Also, WTF, this fic is now past 400K words long. WTF.  
> *******

*******

Andrew sat on his bed and stared at the door leading to the hallway; in another ten minutes or so, one of the nurse’s aides would be there to lead him off to breakfast and to ‘start the day’. They would make sure he ate something, and then take him to his first therapy session of the day. To see Dr. Proust.

His fingers traced over the scars on his left arm, which were exposed by the short sleeved shirt he was currently wearing; he missed the familiar weight of his arm guards, the security of his knives. He especially missed the blades when it came time for the thrice-weekly sessions with Proust, when he was locked in the room with the man, with the man’s sickening smile and smooth, insinuating voice and roaming hands. Only the threat of being put on meds kept Andrew from snapping the bastard’s arms, from picking up something heavy from the desk and bashing Proust’s head in, but oh it was growing difficult. Especially since Proust was becoming more touchy-feely, was beginning to threaten that if Andrew wanted out in a couple of weeks, he was going to have to be ‘good’.

Andrew had been ‘good’ before, and he was never going to be ‘good’ again. Just the thought of it… his fingers dug into his skin, and it wasn’t until blood began to well up around his nails that he’d realized what he’d done. He stared at the new cuts on his arm before getting up from the bed to take care of them before the aide showed up. He had just stopped the bleeding and changed into a shirt with longer sleeves when the door opened up.

“Come on, Minyard, breakfast is waiting.”

It was Chris today, the man loud but decent, mindful with his hands as he ushered Andrew out to the dining room. Breakfast was some egg and sausage burrito, orange juice and a tube of yogurt, so nice of them to keep the sharp instruments away ‘just in case’. Andrew ate it all without tasting anything, steeling himself for what was to come next.

Except that once he was finished, Chris didn’t lead him to Proust’s office but back to his room. “What’s going on?”

Chris just shrugged, appearing as confused as Andrew. “Don’t know, was just told to take you back to your room. Guess the doc is sick today or something.”

“What a shame.” Andrew was more than willing to spend the next hour and a half in his room reading the book he’d borrowed from the hospital’s library, and he noticed that there was a lot of whispering among the staff when he was led out of his room so he could work out for the next hour; since he was in the ‘violent offender’ program, he was monitored a lot more than the other patients, but since he’d been there for a few weeks already, Chris and the other aides didn’t keep as tight a leash on him as in the beginning. He could stray a few steps here and there, pretend to lag behind to catch a few seconds of whatever movie was playing and so forth.

He caught some of the staff talking along the way, just snippets here and there, mention of ‘Proust’ and his ‘poor wife’ and ‘oh my god, to find him like that?’. That was from Kim, who was shaking her head and appeared upset, but Andrew couldn’t lag anymore since Chris had turned around to look at him before leading him to the workout room.

He could get some running in, which made him snort in derision and think of Neil, could do some push-ups and pull-ups, but no real weights because who wanted some mentally unstable person to have access to something like that, right? At least he got a decent sweat built-up before Chris came to take him back to his room, and there it was again, those snatches of Proust which made Andrew think that the man was out with more than just a stomach bug or something. “Okay, so what, did he fall down the stairs during the night?” Andrew asked when they reached his room. At Chris’ flat look, he rolled his eyes. “Proust.”

Chris sighed and motioned for Andrew to go inside. “Look, I’m not supposed to say anything,” and sighed again when Andrew gave him a flat look in return. “You didn’t hear this from me, okay? They don’t like patients knowing stuff unless it’s cleared, but you’re a stubborn little shit and I don’t want you giving the other aides any trouble, or getting into it yourself.” Andrew huffed at that. “And somehow I doubt this is going to interfere with your ‘therapy’,” Chris added with a wry twist to his thin lips.

“Just tell me already,” Andrew ordered as he went to fetch a clean set of clothes.

“Guy killed himself last night. Wife found him, and guess they’re still figuring out why. Or at least, they haven’t told us why.” Chris shrugged. “Rumors are flying, upper management is freaking so something’s not good. Just stay here until Dr. Slosky figures out what to do with you and the others.”

Andrew tapped his two fingers against his forehead in a salute before he headed to his bathroom to wash off, and Chris closed the door behind him on the way out. After his shower, Andrew had gotten less than a chapter through his book before another aide, Daryl that time, came to take him to his group session with Dr. Tanner.

Nothing was said about Dr. Proust there, but then Andrew didn’t think any of the other patients had the misfortune to suffer the man. Andrew slunk down in his chair and provided the bare minimum of responses, as always, just enough to ensure that he completed the program, and dealt with Dr. Tanner’s weary sighs as always at his bored tone on how he was indeed learning how to control his rage and no longer felt the need to use his fists to solve his problems, wasn’t that nice? Hey, he got through the session without beating up anyone, consider that progress.

Then it was lunch, where he traded an apple and a juice box for a cigarette, and off to his thrice-weekly session with Dr. Slosky. The middle-aged psychiatrist smiled at him, as always, as if he imagined Andrew as some wayward nephew or something. “Andrew, you look well. I’ve been going over your progress reports and good, good. Well, Dr. Tanner says that you might be a bit more forthcoming, but Dr. Dobson did warn us of your introverted nature.”

‘Introverted’ nature. Good one, Bee – Andrew would owe her some hot chocolate for that. “I told you, I don’t like group therapy sessions.” He didn’t like any therapy sessions, especially mandatory ones, though Bee’s were bearable. And was Bee here? No.

The man frowned a little at that as he fiddled with the fancy pen in his hands, but soon rallied back with a smile. “But part of your therapy is to learn how to better interact with people, and you’re managing that, so while your participation isn’t always the best, it’s still a step forward. Now I’m sure you’ve noticed that… well, I’m very sorry to inform you that something has… well, something has happened to Dr. Proust.” Dr. Slosky frowned as he set the pen aside, seemingly upset by the topic. “It’s a tragedy, and as I’m sure you know, these things happen in life, that one day a person is here and the next they’re gone. I’m reviewing the available staff to see which one will be the best fit for you, especially considering the time left during your stay here at Easthaven. It might be more realistic to ask Dr. Zhang to extend her sessions with you, or Dr. Tanner to do some one on one sessions.”

“Dr. Zhang isn’t too bad,” Andrew said while trying not to speak in a rush. The woman wasn’t anything like Bee, but she was better than Tanner. “If she’s free.” She certainly was better than Proust with his groping hands and threats; Andrew wasn’t willing to risk coming across another would-be rapist.

His response seemed to make Slosky pleased. “Good, good! So nice, to see you actively participating in your recovery like that, yes!” He grabbed his pen and jotted something. “I’ll check with her, we should be able to do something.”

After that they seemed to get down to why Andrew was there, with Slosky asking him annoying questions and doing that even more annoying head nod thing of his, bringing up Drake as if to test Andrew’s reactions (it didn’t matter anymore, the bastard was dead), Andrew’s plans when he was released (go back to Palmetto State and make sure that Neil hadn’t done anything stupid, make Neil buy him lots of ice cream and sleep in his own bed for a day or two, with a certain idiot right next to him, though he edited some of that). They talked about Andrew’s plan on avoiding violence in the future (Andrew gave the ‘right’ answers, the ones drilled into his head the last few weeks, which were bullshit and unrealistic in his opinion – if violence avoided him, fine. If it got in his face, he would put it down and just make sure he didn’t get caught next time).

Not soon enough, Daryl came to return him to his room, where Andrew would have some time to himself before dinner – he was hoping to sneak in the cigarette before trading some more food for another one. He didn’t get more than a couple of feet into his room when he came to a stop with the door closing behind him, when he noticed that something was wrong, that something was different. The book he’d left on his bed had been ‘Ulysses’, and now there was a copy of ‘The Little Prince’; a glance around found the other book on the small dresser. Andrew studied the room and noticed that to be the only change, and after a minute he went to pat down the bed before sitting on it.

The book looked to be new and didn’t have any of the bar codes to show that it came from the hospital’s library. When he opened it, a small slip of paper fell out, with handwriting in French. Not the most foolproof way to get a message to him, but he supposed that not everyone would be able to read it on first glance. He picked it up and went still in a mixture of rage and shock once he read all of it.

‘ _Watch your back, one problem down but might be others.  
You failed him, you little prick. I warned you, and you still failed him._ ’

Andrew’s hands shook as he threw the book across the room, his breathing ragged as he jumped to his feet. How long had the book been there? Who had left it? Daryl? Chris? A visitor? He was at the door before common sense kicked in – if he went out there threatening the staff, he’d never get out of the damn place, would never get back to Neil. Would never find out what the hell Stuart meant by this note. Oh, there was a slight chance that this was one of Riko’s tricks… but it was too subtle. No, Riko much preferred the grand gestures, not to let Andrew stew like this over a few words he may or may not have sent.

To set up a doctor to fuck with Andrew? Yeah, that was Riko. That was so Riko that Andrew should have figured it out himself, dammit. And to tell Neil, to rub it in his face? Andrew crumpled the piece of paper in his hand as he began to curse out loud, just enough so he could get some satisfaction out of saying the words but not alert the staff. Fuck, but it was the Monday after that damn banquet was supposed to take place, wasn’t it? Would Riko really go so far as to tell Neil? And would Neil ask Stuart to do something, risk ticking off the main branch and owing the man a favor?

Who the hell was Andrew kidding? He was going to have to explicitly spell out ‘stupid’ to the idiot from now on. Diagrams and flow charts and fucking scenarios simple enough for an addled toddler to understand, because Neil had the survival instincts of a suicidal lemming.

So where did that leave them? Andrew with two weeks left locked up at Easthaven, stuck with the feeling that Neil had done something very, very stupid and that Riko was feeling rather smug just then.

Andrew needed more than one damn cigarette, and he was going to kill a certain limey prick when he got his hands on him.

*******

"Passengers for flight 227 to Las Vegas, please report to Gate A19. Boarding will begin momentarily."

The almost mechanical voice coming over the loud speaker jolted Neil awake – he hadn’t realized that he’d fallen asleep, and it took him a moment to understand the words, English was such a ‘foreign’ language after so many days of Japanese and French. He blinked as the florescent lights of the airport made his eyes ache, the florescent lights and the wash of colors after all the days of being surrounded by black and red. He felt out of sorts and disoriented, confused by the lights and the noise and the people, and it was only the muted roar of a jet engine and another gate announcement that helped Neil to realize that he was at an airport.

He went to rub at his face and hissed at the pain from the pressure against his bandaged hands and bruised skin. Yeah, not a good idea. Gathering the strength and will to move, he forced himself up out of the seat and made himself to start walking, to figure out where he was – had he missed his flight? One of the last things he’d remembered was Jean taking him to the airport, murmuring in French the entire time after bandaging him up yet again. Had Jean left him to get his ticket or something? Yet as Neil walked, he caught sight of the baggage carousels, so that meant he was on the Arrivals side of the airport. Somehow, he must have made it to Upstate Regional Airport, which meant he was in South Carolina even if Neil didn't remember leaving West Virginia.

Neil wavered a little in shock both at the memory loss and the fact that he managed to get out of Castle Evermore despite of everything Riko had done to him. Clutching at the bag slung over his sore shoulder, Neil staggered toward the windows on the other side of the large room and noticed that it was dark outside, that it was now nighttime and he had lost the better part of the day. For a moment he did his best to remember what all had happened, to gain back the hours and then gave up, grateful to just be out of West Virginia, to be free of Riko at last. His legs, already unsteady at best, almost gave up on him at his vast relief.

Then he realized that he was at the airport with no way to get back to campus; Nicky, Aaron and Kevin weren’t due back from New York yet, along with the rest of the Foxes. Neil could probably take a cab back to campus… but with his current condition, he wasn’t certain that he could last the ride without passing out, and so didn’t trust himself to ride with a stranger. As much as it galled him to ask for help…. He limped along the wall, barely having the energy to do that, and followed it until he came across an outlet. Then he slumped to his knees, whimpering from the pain, and dug through his bag for his phone and charger.

The device didn’t have a charge left, after being unused for the past three – no, two weeks, so he plugged in the charger and attached it to the phone, and had to wait an anxious minute or two for it to charge up enough for him to use it, spots dancing in front of his eyes the entire time. As soon as he turned it on, it began to download messages, a ton of them from Nicky, more from the rest of the Foxes, a few from Anna and Kelci, and even a couple from his uncle. He waited for the downloads to stop, and then had to go through his contact list to figure out who to call; it hurt to scroll past Andrew’s name at the top.

He debated on Abby and Wymack for a few seconds before calling Wymack – Abby would ask too many questions, would be too concerned. Hopefully Wymack would just pick him up and drop him off at the dorm.

Wymack answered on the fourth ring. "You have a good reason to be bothering me on a holiday?" He didn’t sound very happy at the moment.

"I… I need a ride," Neil said, surprised at the sound of his own voice, at how raspy and low it had come out. It seemed like all he’d been doing the last day or two had been screaming; apparently his vocal cords still hadn't recovered. He pressed his forehead to the wall and tried to breathe as the memories of the last few days washed through him.

"Neil?" All the annoyance left Wymack's voice until the only thing left was concern. "Are you all right?"

Oh, that was *not* a good thing to ask just then; still, the question made Neil smile, albeit out of bitterness, until his injured face ached. "No. No, I'm not, as a matter of fact. I know it's kind of sudden, but can you come get me?” He paused for a moment as a wave of pain stole his breath away, then thought of something. “Oh, I'm at the airport."

"Wait right there," Wymack said, with rustling noises in the background. "I'm on my way."

Neil nodded, even though Wymack couldn't see it, then hung up. He wasn’t sure if he could stay awake for much longer and so set a timer on his phone for fifteen minutes, and sort of drifted in and out of awareness for a little while. The beeping of the phone startled him enough to make him tense up and wince in pain, after which he yanked the charger from the wall and forced himself upright so he could go outside. Once out there he sat on the curb with his feet in the gutter, uncaring about the way irate drivers honked warnings at him.

Neil was so out of it that he didn't realize Wymack had pulled up to the curb a short ways down until a heavy hand wrapped around his arm. He had just started to lash out when he heard the man’s familiar gruff voice. "Up," Wymack said. "We're getting out of here."

Neil allowed himself to relax a little at that and twisted his hand in Wymack's sleeve while he allowed Wymack to haul him to his feet, needing the man’s help at that point. Wymack got the passenger door open for him and half pushed Neil inside, with Neil biting into his bottom lip to keep from making any noise at the pain. When Neil was safely tucked inside, Wymack slammed the door shut and went around to the driver's side. Neil braced himself for questions, but as he’d hoped, Wymack didn’t say anything, just put the car into drive and pulled back out into traffic. Grateful for that, Neil watched the airport disappear, watched signs blur outside the window, and let his eyes close as exhaustion washed over him once more.

When he opened them again, he was flat on his back on Wymack's couch without any idea how he’d gotten there and felt a strong sense of panic. Okay, another black out was not good, nor was the fact that Wymack hadn’t taken him to the dorm. When he looked around him, he found that Wymack was sitting in a chair to keep watch over him. A bottle of scotch stood almost empty on the coffee table between them. Even with the lid on, Neil could still smell it. He pushed himself up, wincing the entire way, and returned Wymack's guarded expression with one of his own.

"Why am I here?”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me," Wymack said as he rubbed at his face as if exhausted, too, "You call me to pick you up on New Year’s Eve at the airport, appearing as if you got the shit kicked out of you, and then you pass out in my car. You’re lucky I didn’t take you to the hospital.” At Neil’s panicked look, he sighed. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“I just wanted a ride back to the dorms,” Neil said as he hunched over from the pain.

“Not going to happen, first because of you looking like shit, and second, they’re not open yet.”

Neil blinked at that, then realized he’d overlooked that fact; having spent the last three – no, two, dammit – weeks at Castle Evermore, he’d forgotten that most campuses, *normal* campuses, shut down over the holiday.

 “Okay, I'll take your explanation from the top and without a side order of bullshit, thanks. You can start with the fancy new makeover."

Neil looked at Wymack, not understanding. The answer was there, just out of reach, and then some of the memories came filtering back. Of lying on a table unable to move as a buzzing sound filled the air, of Riko’s hands in his hair – no, he wasn’t going to think about that, he told himself he would try to never think of that again. Still, there was the flash of black and red on his skin, of him standing in front of a mirror…. Neil scrambled to get up, his balance shot for a moment or two as he wavered on his feet, and then he was running for Wymack’s bathroom even as his bandaged hands fumbled to remove his coat. Wymack followed him to the room and stood in the bathroom’s doorway while Neil threw on the light and stumbled toward the sink, bandaged hands clutching at the cold porcelain as he stared at his image.

His face was bruised, as Wymack had said, his eyes blackened and even stitches in his lower lip where he’d bitten it through, cuts at the edges from – no, not thinking about that. His hair, usually long and falling into his eyes, had been cut, razored on the bottom and the sides (‘you must look like a Raven, Nathaniel. You must look the part’) but longer on the top, if not as long (‘let me see those pretty eyes of yours’). Just long enough for fingers to- *no*. Neil gagged for a moment and turned his head, and that’s when he caught the glimpse of black and red on the right side of his neck.

Moaning as he reached for the neck of his sweatshirt, he pulled at it to reveal more of the marking, more skin stained with black feathers and red flowers, and then started pulling at the shirt to yank it over his head, uncaring at how much his injuries protested at the sudden movement. A strange noise bubbled up inside of him as the sweatshirt came off, and he heard Wymack call out his name even as he flung the garment aside.

“For fuck’s sake, what the hell happened to you?”

Neil stared at his reflection, at the red flowers (‘peonies, for my carefree devil. Though they can also mean ‘shame’, in your culture. Do you feel shame yet, Nathaniel? Do you think your mutt will feel shame when he sees them?’) and the black feathers along his neck and right arm and shoulder, at the raven he knew was on his back. “One for sorrow,” he said as he stared at the mirror. “One for sorrow, four for boy.” Only it came out in Japanese, and he repeated it next in French. As he reached out to touch the mirror, he started the chant over again, the mantra he’d taken to repeating as a defense to block out whatever it was that Riko had done to him. And oh… Riko had done so very, very much. “One for sorrow, four for boy. One for sorrow, four for boy. One for sorrow, four for boy.” As he repeated it, his voice got louder and louder, and he raised both fists to pound at the mirror.

He got one hit in, the pain inconsequential, when Wymack grabbed onto his waist and spun him around, picked him up and dragged him away from the mirror. Something was being said to him as he fought against the man, against being touched, against being held, shouting to be let go, shouting ‘no’ over and over again even though he’d long learned that it never did him any good.

Wymack set him down on the bathroom floor and held his hands up and away, the man’s expression so odd just then, so full of emotions – emotions that weren’t hunger and pleasure and satisfaction, jealousy and hatred, that Neil couldn’t figure it out just then. He gasped for air as he stared at the man, at the hands held up in the air, at the strange words being repeated along with his name… and then realized that the coach was speaking English - he’d heard so little of the language in the last… last however long.

“Neil… Neil just calm down. For fuck’s sake, please calm down. I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”

Neil shuddered upon hearing that, wanting to believe it so badly just then. He ran his bandaged fingers through his hair despite the pain and had to focus to think in English again. “Just… don’t touch me.” It felt as if he’d broken a couple of stitches while struggling, and everything hurt even worse. He used to the pain to help center himself.

“Okay, I won’t touch you, but please, tell me what happened, all right? The last thing I knew you were supposed to go to New York with Boyd and the others, and then you show up like this. I’m two seconds away from calling an ambulance and the police.”

Hearing that made Neil jerk up his head, his breath once more speeding up. “No. No!” He attempted to stumble back up onto his feet and smacked Wymack’s hands aside when the man went to help him. “You can’t do that!”

“Yeah, I figured that out when you started babbling Japanese.” For a moment anger tightened the man’s face, which made Neil cringe against the wall, and then Wymack was cursing beneath his breath. “What the hell did you do? What happened to make you return beaten up like shit bearing a big-ass raven tattoo?”

A jagged laugh slipped past Neil as he once more went over to the mirror; he could see the bandages wrapped all around his chest, some of them with spots of blood now dotting the white, the dark bruises all over his chest and arms, his face and even his neck, and of course the bright ink of the new tattoo. It had barely healed before he’d left West Virginia, and he remembered the exquisite agony of Riko shoving him in hot water when the inking had been finished: ‘tradition’, it had been called. “’One for sorrow’,” he said in English as he fought down the hysteria. “One for Riko.” His injured fingers dug at his right shoulder. “Chrysanthemums for death, for four,” he explained, knowing that Wymack was looking at his back, at what the raven held in its claws. Neil laughed some more, despite how much it made his ribs hurt until he was gasping for air and barely able to stay on his feet. Riko had been so much more thoughtful when it came to collaring him, in showing everyone who he belonged to, after all. Nothing that could be so easily removed. Nothing so blatant as an outright name. But oh yes, he’d carved himself onto Neil all the same, had made sure that Neil could never forget who he was deep down inside, who he belonged to in the end. Sorrow and death and shame and Riko, forever etched into Neil’s skin.

“That’s insane,” Wymack said, his face flushed with anger, and once more reached for Neil. Neil shook his head and knocked those hands aside, even as it made him tumble onto the hard floor.

“Don’t!” He winced in pain and moaned a little, his legs just as bruised as the rest of him, his back – everything. “Don’t,” he repeated.

“Kid… I don’t even know where to begin with you.” Neil had never heard Wymack sound so uncertain before. “Do you want me to call Abby?”

He wasn’t sure that he could deal with Abby just then, even though there was something that he needed from her, something that only she could do for him. But she would be too concerned, too worried and… he couldn’t deal with those emotions just then. Couldn’t take too much more at the moment. “No, I didn’t call her for a reason. She cares too much.”

It looked as if Wymack had just been punched right then, and for some reason Neil actually felt a flash of guilt when the man’s shoulders slumped and he rubbed at his face as if tired, his appearance suddenly aged. “And what, I don’t? Is that what you actually believe?”

“But… I’m just your striker,” Neil tried to explain as he hunched over in pain.

“Kid… it’s a good thing I get the impression that your parents aren’t around anymore, because there are things I want to do to them right now for contributing to you being an exceedingly fucked up mess,” Wymack ground out. “But first things first, let’s get you cleaned up.” He took a step forward with his hands held up. “Look, I’m going to have to touch you, but it’s just to help you with those wounds, okay? If it gets to be too much, I’ll stop, but you need to be checked out.”

Neil stared at him for a few seconds as he considered the words, and then he nodded and held out his arms so Wymack could help him stand up, then led him back out to the living room to apparently work on his injuries out there – probably more room. He was left on the couch while the man went to collect the necessary stuff, such as a medical kit which looked as if it had been prepped by Abby and some dampened hand towels.

Wymack didn’t say anything about the old scars as he removed the gauze and tape that Jean had bundled around Neil before he’d left the Nest. “So, like I said, you were supposed to be in New York with Boyd and your little gang. What happened to that?”

Neil countered the question with one of his own. “Have you heard about Andrew? Is he still being released?” He trusted that his uncle had kept Andrew safe, but there was still a chance that Riko had gotten to the DA somehow. Neil had to trust now that Riko was looking forward to Andrew seeing his ‘handiwork’.

Wymack gave him an odd look just then. “Yeah, Betsy let us know that Andrew’s scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Why? What does Andrew have to do with any of this?

Neil fought back another wave of hysteria at that. “Everything.” He closed his eyes for a moment, but that only brought up flashbacks of Riko so he gritted his teeth together and forced his eyes open.

“That’s not an answer,” Wymack insisted as he continued to peel away bandages.

“Sorry,” Neil told him, unwilling to go more into it just then.

“No, you’re not, but somehow I’m not surprised.” Wymack sighed and continued on until all of the injuries were exposed, then scrubbed at the dried blood with a surprising delicacy; Neil had ripped some of the stitches loose on one of the gashes down his left side near his waist, but that had been one of his earlier injuries and it was nearly healed. Wymack was careful to test the rest of them, poking at the stitches to see if they were still holding and checking for any signs of infection. Neil had to hand it to Jean, he was talented at fixing up Riko’s victims.

For a moment he thought back to that awful night in Reno, to Andrew stitching him back up after making him the promise. Then he remembered all those times with his mother, them huddled in similar motel rooms, in the houses of her friends or contacts, of her mumbling beneath her breath as she stitched him back together, as she wiped away the blood or checked for broken bones. Grief washed through Neil as it seemed he always lost whatever it was he needed the most, whoever it was who stood between him and the world, and he struggled to draw air into his lungs for a couple of seconds before he could push the grief back down.

“One day we’re going to talk about all of this,” Wymack said in a low, rough voice as he began to redo all of Neil’s bandages.

Neil thought about that and gave a slight nod. “If we beat the Ravens,” he agreed. “I’ll tell you what you want to know, and it’ll even be the truth.” He owed the man that much, if they could pull off that miracle.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Wymack continued taping up a few more stitches, then seemed to realize something. “What happens if we don’t beat the Ravens?”

Neil had been waiting for that and gave him a lopsided smile, his left hand rising up to touch the black feathers and red peonies spilling partway down his right chest. “Then I’m not your problem anymore, because I’ll be leaving Palmetto State. Tetsuji got the main branch to officially agree to new terms – I belong to whichever school wins the championship this year – Edgar Allen or PSU.” His smile faltered as he made it clear that Tetsuji had every intention on what the outcome would be. “I’ve spent the past thr – two weeks preparing to take Kevin’s place on the Ravens’ team.”

Wymack just stared at him for about a minute without saying a word, then gathered up the dirty bandages and towels before taking them to the kitchen. While he was gone, Neil reached for the bottle of scotch and refilled the empty glass near it, then drank it down without any hesitation. The familiar burn in his throat brought a prickle of tears to his eyes, but it wasn’t because of the harsh taste.

Wymack came back into the room but stopped near the doorway, his face carefully blank. “I thought you didn’t care to drink.”

“I don’t, not normally,” Neil explained as he debated another glass of the stuff – it was better quality than his mother had favored, “because it reminds me of how we always used it as anesthetics since we couldn’t risk going to a hospital.” He shuddered a little as he remembered how often that was, how many bottles of cheap bourbon over the years, and found himself unwilling to have any more even though he was desperate for a bit of oblivion just then. “It would raise too many questions, cost us too much time, so we just drank away the pain. Much safer that way.” He pulled back his trembling hand, the fingers still wrapped in bandages, and hid it in his lap as he looked up at Wymack. “That’s it, I’m afraid. Might be the only truth you ever get out of me, really. Riko’s determined not to lose.” He tried for a smile while he fingered the feathers that stretched up onto the right side of his neck.

An explosive noise burst free from Wymack as he jerked forward, not toward Neil but past him, which made Neil flinched. About a minute later, something soft fluttered down onto the couch beside him. “Put that on,” Wymack ordered, his voice rough and expression closed-off, as he dropped into the chair near the couch. “That asshole better get used to disappointment, because his team’s winning streak is about to end.”

Neil just shook his head. “They didn’t lose last year, even after Kevin left.” He picked up what was a zippered hoodie, one of Wymack’s, and began to pull it on. “I’ve spent the past thr-“ dammit, he had to stop that, “two weeks with them, I know what they can do. After Tetsuji talked to the main branch….” Neil closed his eyes and didn’t say any more. Didn’t talk about how Riko had him start boxing up Kevin’s things, so the room is ready for Neil to move in once the Foxes ‘lost’ – Riko was that certain about the Ravens winning. Was that certain that Neil would soon be his new plaything and Kevin would be back, but as the Ravens’ assistant coach and no longer their striker.

The sound of something impacting wood made Neil open his eyes; it looked as if Wymack had slammed the glass onto the coffee table. Once the man noticed that he had Neil’s attention, he glared at him and resumed filling it with the scotch. “It’s not going to happen,” Wymack insisted. “Not unless you’re giving up on us.” When all Neil did was stare back, Wymack motioned at him. “Are you still a Fox, or is that damn tattoo more than just fancy ink?”

Neil’s fingers crept upward once again, and he remembered the nauseating glee on Riko’s face as the thing was inked onto his skin, the way the bastard would stroke along Neil’s skin once it was done. The way that Riko declared Neil as ‘his’ afterward, how everyone would know that fact with just a look…. “I’m a Fox,” Neil said, his voice rough as the words struggled to come out in a rush. He’d rather die than become a Raven, and nearly had done so those last few days.

“Of course you are,” Wymack agreed, as if there wasn’t any doubt.

So nice that someone was so certain of things. Neil let out a shaky breath as he rubbed at his face despite the pain. “What time is it?” Was it even New Year’s Eve still?

“A little before midnight, why?”

Then he still had time; he remembered the year when it was just him and Andrew, remembered the party with Anna and Kelci. “I want to make a wish.”

“You make a wish on shooting stars,” Wymack told him as if speaking to a small child. “New Year’s is for resolutions.” As he spoke, he turned on the television, to a station where there were people laughing and yelling with even more noise in the background, some band playing out on in a crowded street.

“That’s fine,” Neil said. It was the thought that counted, right? Just… just something to get the year off on the right foot. He figured he’d need anything that would help.

Looking about for his bag, he found it on the floor near the couch and dug through it for his phone, which was almost drained of power by then. Opening the message box, he ignored the many text messages from the last couple of weeks and the new ones from Riko since he didn’t have long before the phone died. Moving as fast as his injured fingers would allow, he sent a group message to the Foxes and Anna and Kelci to wish them a simple ‘Happy New Year’, then hit ‘send’.

Within moments, there were already responses, and it didn’t take long for all of the Foxes – except Andrew, of course, even though Neil had included him – to answer him back, along with Anna and Kelci. Neil didn’t bother to read them, but seeing them made him feel better all the same. He just set the phone aside and watched the ball drop, aware that the Foxes hadn’t forgotten him, that there was something to bring Andrew back to him even if….

He shook his head and stretched out on the couch as the pain and exhaustion caught up to him. Whatever happened between him and Andrew because of what he’d done, the Foxes would face the Ravens on the court come spring. They would face each other, and Neil hoped that Wymack was right, that Riko would realize just how far he’d overreached in attempting to tear the team down. Because Neil wasn’t certain he could walk into the Nest again and remain ‘Neil’. He closed his eyes and did his best to not think about knives and Riko’s hands and being on his knees, about broken promises and Andrew.

He woke up the next morning to find that Wymack had draped a blanket over him at some point in the night, and to the man making breakfast in the kitchen. Neil’s body was in even more pain from spending the night on the couch, and it took him a couple of minutes to get up. He shuffled into the kitchen to find a mug of coffee waiting for him, along with two slices of toast, which he choked down while Wymack finished with the eggs. “You’re going to Abby’s today,” Wymack told him. “You need her to look at those injuries, and I don’t think my couch is the best place for you until the dorm opens.”

“Okay.” Neil didn’t have the energy to fight, and after Wymack eyed him as if that had been too easy, they finished their meal in silence. Neil went into the bathroom to get ready, followed by Wymack, and they left the apartment within an hour.

Neil wondered if the coach had called Abby at some point that morning, because she was waiting for them when they pulled up in her driveway, a coat on over her jeans and sweater. As he’d feared, tears welled up in her blue eyes when she caught sight of him, but she didn’t say anything, just ushered him inside while waving Wymack away. Wymack called out something about being by to pick up Neil the next day, but Neil didn’t pay too much attention to it, just let Abby lead him into the now familiar home. They went into the room where he’d spent most of his senior year, and she took care in helping him out of his coat and then his shirt after she fetched her large med bag.

“I don’t understand why this keeps happening to you,” she said, her voice quiet yet fierce, her hands pausing as she took in the new tattoo. “How can anyone do this to another person?”

“It wasn’t that hard, trust me,” Neil told her, and felt bad when the tears returned. ”I’m here now.”

“This never should have happened,” she snapped. “Why weren’t you with the others? When Andrew sees this-“ She noticed his flinch at that and let out a sigh. “Oh Neil, what happened?”

He was quiet for a moment as she began to undo Wymack’s bandages, which had already started to loosen – the man wasn’t half as good at the things as Jean. Then again, Jean had much more experience, Neil was willing to bet. “I need you to do something for me,” he told Abby.

“Hmm, yes?” She didn’t bother to look up from his chest, her brows drawn together in anger.

“It’s something that falls under your job, okay?” He forced himself to get the words out. “And the whole patient confidentiality thing.”

That got Abby’s attention; she snapped her head up, her expression cautious as if she didn’t want to hear what he was about to say. “All right. What do you need me to do?”

He swallowed, his throat suddenly tight, and did his best not to think about what he was about to ask. “I need you to run some blood tests for me.”

The tears were back, and it took a moment for Abby to suppress them, for her to regain her composure. “What… what type of tests?” When Neil just looked at her, his expression deliberately blank, she took a deep, shuddering breath. “I can get results back in a day, but you know it’s always best to keep being tested for a while after the… the most recent exposure.” She went to touch him and then seemed to think about it. “Just… oh god, Neil, how-“

He shook his head. “I don’t – it’s probably nothing, the chances aren’t that high, and he.” He had to stop to take several breaths. “He plays Exy, too, and they – the ERC. They’re strict on that stuff.” It was a high risk, high contact sport, and anyone – even a Moriyama – with any sort of contagious disease was expected to turn over their medical records. That was in part of Abby’s job. And it would mean her job if she hid something like that, and the Foxes more than their rank. “I just want to be sure.” Because Neil didn’t trust anything anymore. Well, almost anything.

“You have to report him,” Abby said as she reached into her bag for the things she needed to take his blood. “You have to tell someone.” When he continued to give her that blank look, she glared at him. “No, you can’t let him get away with something like that, dammit!”

“That’s the least of what he’s done,” Neil admitted in a tired voice as he held out his left arm. “Just take the blood, please.” He wanted to get the examination over with, to have Abby stop touching him. His skin was crawling as it was, and all he wanted was to curl up in a ball and shut out the world for a little while – talking about things wasn’t doing him any good. Talking never did.

Abby’s lips pressed into a thin line as she did just that, taking two vials without saying anything else. Once they were tucked away in the bag, she put a small band-aid on Neil’s arm – what was one more bandage at this point? – and resumed checking Neil’s many injuries. “You should see Bet-“

“*No*.”

Abby cringed at the loud tone of his refusal and was quiet again for a couple of minutes. “I won’t tell you what to do, and it’s your life, Neil. But it’s not always the best thing to keep everything locked inside.” She was quiet as she looked at his fingers, at the dark bruises on each of them, at the dark spots beneath his fingernails from where Riko had – no, Neil forced his mind to clear itself just then. “Look at how little good it did Andrew.”

He gasped at mention of his boyfriend and attempted to pull his hand free, which made Abby stare at him. “You’re going to tell him at least, aren’t you? Oh Neil, tell me you will.”

“I sort of have to, don’t you think?” he gritted out as he forced his right hand back into her outstretched one. How he was going to do that, he still didn’t know, but he had promised Andrew the truth, and he had already broken too many promises between them. Maybe broken enough to make Andrew no longer want anything to do with him.

Some part of his thoughts must have shown on his face just then, because Abby’s expression crumpled as she stroked her fingers along the back of his bruised hand. “Oh sweetie, he’ll understand, don’t you worry. It won’t be you he’ll be upset with, you’ll see.”

She didn’t know Andrew very well, didn’t know how much he hated people who broke their promises with him. Still, Neil just forced a smile on his split and swollen lips and nodded, wanting her to get through the rest of the examination as soon as possible.

It took longer than it had with Wymack, but then she was more thorough, made sure that nothing was infected or had been missed, and made a comment about him being lucky in having someone on hand to tend to his injuries. Neil wasn’t sure that Jean would appreciate the compliment, considering how often Jean had to patch himself up, and felt guilty about how he had gotten out of the Nest when Jean was still there and had no hope of leaving. Once Abby was done, Neil pleaded exhaustion, which was mostly true, and laid down on the bed to get some rest. He was surprised to wake up a couple of hours later, covered with sweat and jolted out of a nightmare.

It took some effort later in the day to wash off due to all of the stitches and bandages, with him gritting his teeth all the while he scrubbed clean. When he was done, he found out that Abby had gone out to fetch a rapid test HIV kit, and after taking an oral swab and one very anxious half an hour or so, told him the result was negative. His blood still needed to be checked out and he shouldn’t assume everything was fine… but in a way, Riko’s life depended on Exy. There were only so many risks the bastard could take, only so much Tetsuji could cover up. That didn’t make Neil feel much better, though.

He retreated to the bedroom again, appetite killed despite barely eating that day, and curled up on the bed as much as his body allowed, wanting nothing more than some space, somewhere alone, someplace safe where no one could barge in and drag him out, could come in and touch him and- He understand now, Andrew’s insistence on that locked door back in Racine, on keeping people out of their bedroom in Columbia, on no one touching their bed back in the dorm.

He eventually went out to fix himself a sandwich later in the night, his schedule all out of whack now that he was back in ‘normal’ time, back to twenty-four hours in a day, and slept for a few more hours that night before once again being woken up with nightmares. He wished that he was back in the dorms and able to fetch the blades he’d left there, able to feel some sense of security with them – with the weapons he’d long feared, but anything would be better than to feel so helpless anymore.

Abby read Wymack the riot act when the coach came to pick him up the next morning about not letting Neil practice Exy anytime soon, to keep him out of any gear and definitely not hold a racquet with his hands in their condition, and if she found out that Neil was exercising, especially with weights? Oh yes, the Foxes would need a new coach. Wymack gave Neil a sour look during the entire verbal takedown while Neil just huddled in his coat and tried to pretend as if he wasn’t present for it, then told his girlfriend ‘yes, ma’am’ in the meekest voice Neil had ever heard from the man.

She finally allowed them to leave, both Wymack and Neil anxious to get away from her rather baleful stare, and Neil had to put up with another lecture, that time from his coach, about how there was no way he was going to practice until Abby cleared him so don’t even think about pulling any of his foolish shit, got it?  Neil didn’t even understand why the hell he was going to the Foxhole Court, except that apparently Wymack didn’t trust him out of the man’s sight or something like that. So he wandered around while Wymack headed to his office, warned that he’d be benched if he even so much as contemplated gearing up, and ended up out on the court after a while. It felt… some of the tension in him relaxed, being back on the smaller court after the last few weeks at Evermore, with all its black and red and imposing architecture. Neil noticed that over the holiday break that they’d prepared things for the upcoming championship games, with banners for each of the Foxes, including Seth Gordon. For a moment, he wondered how Allison would react when she saw it. He wondered how Andrew- no. Not now.

He lay down on the court, still exhausted, still out of sorts with adjusting to life out of the Nest, still in a lot of pain; Abby had offered meds to him, but he was reluctant to use them considering his current mental state. So he lay there and stared up at the banners, at the rows of orange and white seats and let his mind drift on anything except what had happened over the holiday break and what lay ahead of him.

“You forget how to stand up, Josten?”

Neil had left the door to the court open, unwilling to feel trapped out on it, and now Wymack stood in the doorway and stared at him.

“How long as it been?” he asked as he rolled his head a bit better to look at the man, confused over why Wymack had come to get him already; didn’t he have paperwork to do? Or was he checking up Neil, making sure he wasn’t doing something stupid, like practicing or… or yeah, doing something stupid. Neil forced himself to sit up, hoping it was that and not that his sense of time was so screwed up that he’d spent half a day zoned out of his mind.

“It’s time to go,” Wymack said. When Neil just stared at him, Wymack sighed. “They should be landing now, Kevin and the others.”

Panic shot through Neil at that – he’d done his best to live in the moment since leaving the Nest, to forget about what lay ahead of them, that he’d deliberately blanked on the thought of facing Kevin and Nicky and Aaron, let alone the rest of the Foxes. He’d shoved aside the thought of facing *Andrew*, leaving it as something he’d have to do eventually. “Shit,” he said as he struggled not to hyperventilate, his sore, bandaged fingers running through his hair.

“Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten about them,” Wymack said, sounding incredulous at the moment. “It’s bad enough that you haven’t been talking to them. Try answering your phone sometime, dammit.”

Finally regaining control of himself, Neil forced himself onto his feet and reached with trembling hands into his pocket for his phone, which he showed to Wymack. “Ah, looks like I forgot to charge it.” He hadn’t wanted to deal with everyone’s questions, hadn’t wanted to deal with Riko so soon after escaping.

“Imagine that,” Wymack drawled while giving him a searching look which Neil met with a blank one of his own. He’d given Wymack all the truth he’d planned the other night, and bared too much of himself to Abby as well. He hadn’t been ready to face questions from anyone else, still wasn’t ready, but he’d long ago learned that life didn’t give much of a damn about what he needed or wanted.

“Come on, they’re at baggage claim by now,” Wymack told him.

Neil nodded once and left the court, making sure to bolt the door behind him and follow Wymack into the locker room. He was caught unaware when Wymack cut the lights to the stadium right when he was looking behind to catch one last glimpse of the empty court, and for a moment was reminded of Castle Evermore with all the darkness, with its black seats and walls. Panic warred with anger and hatred, making him clench his bruised fingers as he struggled to contain the awful memories before they overwhelmed him.

“You know, Kevin called me yesterday.” The sound of Wymack’s voice, and in English, a language Neil had barely heard during his stay during the Nest, jolted Neil out of his disturbing thoughts. “He was concerned because he couldn’t get ahold of you.”

Neil just shrugged as he followed the man out of the stadium. “And?” He’d told Kevin that he’d make it back, and he had.

Wymack didn’t seem pleased with Neil’s lack of response. “He was worried about you and wanted to make sure that you were all right. Imagine my surprise when I found out that he’d known where you were the entire time.”

What was Neil supposed to say to that? There seemed little point in lying, not after Kevin had already told Wymack the truth, so he just shrugged again. “Yes.”

“My god, no wonder Andrew drinks so damn much,” Wymack complained as he rubbed at his face, while Neil started at the mention of his boyfriend’s name. “I made him tell the others.”

That… wasn’t what Neil either expected or wanted to hear. When he went to… he didn’t know, to yell or something at the man, Wymack held up his hand and shook his head. “No, they needed to know what had happened, and even more they need to know what they’re coming back to.” His gaze roamed over Neil’s face and then down to his neck, where the tattoo peaked out of the collar of his shirt. “You freak out when people try to help you… I can’t imagine what you’re going to do now.” Wymack’s lips pressed together in a thin line as if he was thinking of New Year’s Eve. “I don’t think Andrew is going to appreciate you being locked up for snapping just because your teammates give a shit about you.”

Neil wrapped his arms around himself and squeezed his upper arms hard enough to hurt; he didn’t want his friends’ concern, didn’t want their pity for what had happened to him… and didn’t think he could take Nicky hugging him, Matt touching him, Kevin leaning on him for comfort. “Oh god.”

“Yeah, exactly. No wonder you were stalling.” Wymack shoved a cigarette into the corner of his mouth but didn’t light it. “So I did it for you. I told them you look like you've gone six rounds with a Sasquatch and that you most likely wouldn’t want to talk about it. That you need space, physically and mentally. They promised not to smother you, but I don't know if they'll keep that promise when they see you up close.” He lit the cigarette while Neil fought to breathe evenly. “Though I didn’t say anything about your fancy new ink, so….”

“Kind of hard to miss,” Neil said as his fingers skimmed along his neck.

“Still trying to wrap my head around why he did it.” Wymack gazed at Neil as if waiting for more of an explanation. “Yeah, all right, we’ll see what you tell them. Easier ways to ‘mark’ someone, you know. ‘Property of Moriyama’ on your fool head, for one.”

But that could mean any Moriyama, while this was tied to Riko, *the* Raven. Was tied to what Neil was fighting so hard not to be, and what Andrew had turned down. Riko couldn’t put something as blatant as his own name on Neil, not when Neil did technically belong to the main branch, but the raven tattoo was something Kengo or Ichiro couldn’t object to but would still infuriate Andrew, while still clearly standing for Riko.

Wymack took Neil back to the Fox Tower, where the others would be headed once they picked up their luggage from baggage claim and retrieved Matt’s truck from the airport’s long-termed parking. Neil’s stomach twisted into knots the entire drive across campus as he thought about his friends’ reaction, on what he’d say to them.

Wymack pulled his car up to the curb and waited for Neil to fetch his duffel bag out of the back seat. “Do you want me to come along or anything? Referee the discussion?”

Neil blinked in surprise at the offer. “No, I’ll handle them.”

Wymack gave him a look as if he was being particularly dense. “I meant when you go to Columbia.”

Neil nearly dropped his bag at that reminder, having focused so much on dealing with the others first. “No, it’ll be fine,” he lied.

“Josten….” Wymack blew out a lungful of smoke then shook his head. “Abby doesn’t need to keep patching you up, dammit.”

“I know,” he told the man, meaning it.

“Whatever you went to that damn place for, I hope it was worth it. And charge your damn phone,” Wymack told him before driving off.

Was it worth it? Neil rubbed his fingers along the new tattoo and felt an absurd urge to cry. As long as Andrew was released unharmed, then yes. Neil’s life was in ashes all around him, but yes, it was worth it; he had never understood his mother as well as he had these last few weeks, understood how she could have given up everything for him. The only difference was that she’d given up everything and kept Neil with her until the end. He’d given up everything and lost Andrew while doing it.

Neil headed into the dorm with that thought on his mind, his nose bothered by the scent of cleaning detergent in the air as he went up the stairs then down the hall to the suite; it was clear that the university had taken advantage of the break to clean up the place. Once in the suite, he walked around to make sure that everything was fine and in its place, then went into the bedroom where he plugged in his phone then fished the pack of cigarettes out of his bag so he could light one up, perched on the one windowsill to let the smoke out. He was on his second one when the others finally returned, the sound of footsteps filling the suite.

He stubbed out the cigarette and looked up as Nicky and Matt stepped into the room, the eager expressions on their faces soon turning into mixtures of horror and disbelief. Nicky dropped some bags as his hands rose to his mouth while he made a choked cry of something, and Matt flinched. “Jesus Christ, Neil.”

“It’s not that bad,” Neil lied as he gave a slight shrug despite the pain the movement caused.

“Don’t, just don’t,” Matt said while Nicky started to cry. “Just… wait here.” Matt didn’t say anything else as he spun around and stalked out of the room. Neil frowned at that and got up from the window, his movements a bit stiff, and attempted to placate Nicky without touching him.

“Really, it’s not that bad,” he told his friend while staying out of reach. “It’ll get better soon-“ He stopped when he heard the sound of a body slamming into a wall, followed by Matt’s furious voice, and hurried as much as he could out of the bedroom.

“You fucking knew!” Matt yelled at a blank-faced Kevin, his right hand pulled back to punch the striker again. “You fucking *knew*!” Meanwhile, Aaron just looked on without doing anything.

“Stop it!” Neil went to grab Matt but stopped when he got close and couldn’t force himself to touch. “Dammit, he didn’t want me to go, it was my choice!”

Matt punched the wall near Kevin then spun around to face Neil while Aaron stared wide-eyed at Neil. “He still let you go! He didn’t say anything the entire time you were there!” Matt took a step toward Neil but stopped when Neil recoiled. “Dammit, look at you! We could have-“

“You couldn’t have done a damn thing,” Neil told him in a furious tone. “Nobody could have, all right? It was my decision to go, mine alone, and all of this is on me. Leave Kevin alone.”

Matt let out a frustrated noise as he jerked his hands through his already disheveled hair. “Did Coach at least yell at you?”

“Yes, for all the good it did.” Neil huddled forward to ease the ache in his chest, his sore ribs. “I did what I had to do, all right? I’d do it again without any hesitation, because of what’s important to me.”

“Because of Andrew,” Matt said. “He told us that much at least.”

Neil closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes.”

Things were quiet for several seconds.

“Fuck, I can’t believe what that bastard did to you. I want to break him into tiny pieces for this,” Matt said, his voice thick with hate. “If he so much as comes within a thousand yards of you again, I’ll-

“He has to,” Neil told him as he opened his eyes to glare. “We’re playing the Ravens in the finals. Don’t do something stupid and get red carded.” There was no way the Foxes could win without Matt.

Matt stared at him as if he was insane. “You look like that and you’re worried about some damn game?” When all Neil did was stare at him, he let out a breath and shook his head. “Okay, no killing Kevin and no killing Riko. But we’re going to talk some more about this.” He glared at Neil as if for added measure then seemed to catch sight of what was on Neil’s neck. “Ah, yeah, we’re going to talk some more, later.” He went over to pick up his suitcase then waved before leaving the suite.

Neil was left feeling drained by the encounter, and he knew that it was only the first one of many. He let out a slow breath as he looked over at Kevin, at the darkening eye and bruise forming on his left cheek. “You all right?”

Kevin joined in to the whole ‘are you insane’ club. “You’re asking me?”

Yeah, it was going to be a fun next few days. “Come on, we need to get going.” Neil glared at Aaron as if to ask him if he was going to say anything, but all Aaron did was just shake his head and hold up his hands. Neil turned around to go back to fetch his phone, and found Nicky still standing in the middle of the room, sniffling back his tears.

“Nicky….”

“We were having fun the entire time, dammit.”

Guilt stabbed at Neil for some odd reason. “Because I didn’t tell you what I was doing or where I was going. There was a reason for that.” He steeled himself as he gave Nicky’s arm a quick pat, then hurried away before Nicky could latch on to him. “It’s on me, not you. Now come on, we’re going to get Andrew,” he said as he snatched up his phone.

“He’s going to kill us when he sees what happened to you.”

“No, I think the one he’s going to be upset with is me,” Neil told him, thinking of the broken promises, of what Riko had done to him. Then he sighed when it was Nicky’s turn do to the whole ‘you are clearly very, very insane’ thing. “Come on,” he snapped, unwilling to put up with those looks anymore and just wanting to get the whole Andrew thing over with as soon as possible.

“Maybe Aaron’s right, you have taken too many hits to the head,” Nicky muttered as he followed him out of the room.

*******

Dr. Slosky smiled at Andrew as he packed the bag with the clothes that Betsy had picked up for him along with those the hospital had supplied, and his cell phone that had been returned. “I’ll leave Kim here to help you finish with the signing out process, and see you again once you’re ready to leave. I’m really proud of everything you’ve accomplished during your stay here.”

“Yeah.” Andrew couldn’t wait for the man to leave and continued with his packing, just wanting to get out of the place. His hand hovered over the copy of ‘The Little Prince’, and he shoved it into the bag before anyone noticed, to be covered with a t-shirt.

“Good luck,” Slosky wished him before finally going the fuck away, and then Kim, one of the admins, came in with a clipboard and a pen.

“Just sign wherever there’s an ‘x’, okay?” She gave him an encouraging smile. “You’ll do fine, you’ve got family, right? Sure they’re waiting for you downstairs.”

“Yeah,” Andrew repeated as he flipped through the pages and scrawled his name by each marked place. Nicky would be down there, he was willing to bet, and probably Kevin, anxious to have his security blanket back. Aaron… well, the chances of that were fifty/fifty. But would Neil be there? Would Andrew have to go drag him out of whatever stupid shit the idiot had gotten himself into?

Dammit, he’d been able to think of little else since finding the note left by the limey prick, to wonder what the hell it was that Neil had done to make his uncle reach out like that. There had been growing rumors of what exactly had driven Proust to kill himself, so yeah, kudos to Stuart for doing a bang-up job there, ruining a prick’s life like that. Andrew wanted to shake the man’s hand and then break it for that damn note, for bothering with Andrew when his own fucking nephew needed to be kept on a leash.

Somehow, Andrew knew that Neil had something to do with the whole damn thing, and it only made him that much more furious with his idiot. Because if Neil had sent Stuart to deal with things for Andrew instead of having his uncle go after Riko for his own damn sake….

The pen began to tear through the paper, so Andrew had to push down the anger and finish the fucking paperwork before he did something to get himself re-admitted.

“Oh, a little eager, are we? It’s understandable.” Kim laughed as she took back the clipboard. “Let me just check this and you’ll be good to go!”

“Fine,” Andrew said, doing his best to not scream at the woman to hurry up. She smiled at him and stepped out of the room, and he was counting down from a hundred in an effort to control his temper when she finally stepped back.

“All right, you’re all cleared now! We just have to wait for Dr. Slosky to take you back down and then you can leave!” Kim smiled as she waved for Andrew to step out of the room.

“I think I can manage an elevator by myself,” Andrew told her with an immense effort to remain civil.

“Oh, sorry hon, but it’s procedures.”

It was almost ironic, how Andrew would be reduced to violent tendencies when he was finally ‘cured’ of them. He had taken to contemplating how he could maim the inane woman with her own badge when Slosky finally arrived on the floor, a wide grin on his face.

“Ah, Andrew, you’ve quite the welcoming committee downstairs. I think your friends are going to be very happy to see you.”

“How many?” When the man just stared at him, Andrew huffed. “How many are down there?”

“Uhm, four young men. Are you ready to – ah, yes, it looks like you are!” Slosky hurried to fall in step beside Andrew, who had hitched his bag higher up onto his shoulder and stalked toward the elevator in a hurry to get downstairs, then had to wait for the doctor since he had the badge which would allow the damn thing to move.

‘Four’ should mean that Neil, Kevin, Nicky and Aaron were downstairs. *Should*. He wouldn’t know for certain until he got downstairs, but it was the most logical conclusion. Andrew glared at the floors as they counted down, then rushed out as soon as the doors opened. Slosky had to run to catch up to him, and as soon as they turned the corner from the elevator bay, they came out to the waiting area.

Andrew caught sight of Neil right away, since his boyfriend was sitting on the couch facing the elevator bay next to Kevin; something had happened to his hair, had trimmed it so it didn’t fall onto his face as much as before, which left evident the awful bruises around his eyes and the swollen lips. He sat hunched over, as if in pain, his jaw tight and eyes shadowed, and there were bandages on his fingers. It was plain that the damage wasn’t limited to his hands and his face, and there was some black mark on his neck.

Neil had done something very, very stupid.

Something must have caught his attention, either Slosky’s white overcoat or their motion or something, because he looked up and noticed Andrew, and Andrew saw the emotions flash over Neil’s face just then: the panic, the guilt, the fear, then an awful expression similar to loss.

Oh yes, Neil had done something very, *very* stupid. And Andrew knew who was to blame.

Unable to take it any longer, Andrew spun around, unwilling to deal with what was in front of him any longer without hurting someone. Without an act of great destruction. Because Neil had done something so incredibly stupid and rash because Andrew had been locked up, and if Stuart was to be believed, in part because of Andrew.

He heard Slosky say something, but he didn’t care anymore, because he was done with Easthaven, had been released and all of that shit. He didn’t stop until he was outside, and then only paused to look around him for a moment, then spotted some dumpsters off in the distance. Stomping off toward them, he let the rage bubble up for a few seconds, rage at Riko and Stuart and Neil, but mostly at himself. Dammit, why the hell had he believed for a moment that things would work out, that Riko wouldn’t pounce on the chance presented with Andrew locked up?

Stuart had indeed warned Andrew. Fuck, Neil had tried to warn him, back in Reno. That he would alter the fucking terms if he thought that too much was being asked of Andrew. But dammit, Andrew was used to that, was used to people taking pieces of him and giving him nothing in return.

Damn Neil. *Damn him*.

He fetched his phone out of the bag but threw everything else away, not wanting anything that reminded him of this place, of what being here had cost him. He had a feeling there would be more than enough reminders, anyway.

When he turned around, he found Neil and Kevin standing not too far off in the distance, and Nicky and Aaron past them in the parking lot, near the GS. He focused his attention on the car and walked toward it without saying a word, not trusting himself at the moment.

Neil would have keys for the car, but Nicky did, too, and handed them over to Andrew after glancing at Andrew’s closed-off expression and unlocking the car. Nicky even went so far as to climb into the backseat of the car with Aaron.

Andrew kept the door open but didn’t climb in, instead he rested his arms on top of the car and waited for Kevin and Neil to approach; oh yes, Neil was definitely nursing some serious injuries, considering how he moved, and he kept a careful arm’s distance away from Kevin at all time, which was new. As for Kevin, it looked as if he’d been in a fight recently, which meant that Neil hadn’t been living up to his job of protecting Kevin… or hadn’t been able to do it.

Both paused when they got to the GS as if to see if Andrew would do anything, and after a moment, Andrew dismissed them with a flick of his hand. He waved for Kevin to get in the front seat, and noticed how Neil tensed up at that, his face paling as he stared at Aaron and Nicky in the backseat. It gave Andrew a chance to see what looked to be the tips of black feathers on the right side of Neil’s neck, something that *hadn’t* been there back in November, and then Neil’s expression went too blank as he climbed into the back of the GS.

Andrew’s hands clenched into fists, especially when Kevin, *Kevin*, cast a worried expression back at Neil, until Andrew thumped a fist onto the roof of the GS. That got the coward into the car in a hurry, and Andrew slid behind the wheel so they could leave the damn place.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Andrew adjust the rearview mirror, and in glancing into the backseat, noticed that Neil was pressed as far into the corner as possible, his face still pale and eyes closed. Nicky stared at him in evident worry and reached over to give Neil’s left wrist a squeeze. “You okay? You look-“

Neil gasped in evident pain and jerked his arm out of Nick’s grasp. “Don’t,” he managed to choke out.

“Oh my god, Neil, I’m so-“

Andrew turned up the radio as loud as possible so he didn’t have to listen to Nicky’s apology, to Neil say that he was ‘fine’, Andrew’s jaw clenched as he stared at the road ahead. He thought he heard Nicky curse him out, but the rock music did a good job of drowning things out, while beside him, Kevin sat huddled in the seat as if in an attempt to make himself as small as possible.

Hmm, Andrew was willing to bet that a certain striker knew something, that they were feeling a bit guilty just then and hoping to not become a target.

It was – other than the loud music – a quiet ride back to campus, and as soon as the car came to a stop in the Fox Tower’s parking lot, Neil was out the door as if the car was on fire. He nearly fell on his face, he was that desperate to get out of the vehicle, and could barely stand as a result. Andrew was out a moment later and stood near his boyfriend, stood close enough to take in the panic and the shaking. Neil seemed even more upset by his close presence, staring at him with eyes gone wide as if he had no idea what to do next, and then Nicky was there, unusually solemn; Andrew had the impression that he was trying to act as a buffer of sorts. Andrew gave his cousin a cool look and waited until Aaron and Kevin were out of the car, then waved them off while staring at Nicky. “You stay, everyone else goes.”

Neil stared at Nicky in evident surprise, but Nicky just nodded and gave Neil an uneven smile while Aaron tugged at Neil’s sleeve. A bit surprised at his twin stepping in like that, Andrew’s eyes narrowed, but then even Kevin was quick to motion for Neil to leave as well while giving Andrew a displeased look. Andrew waved them all away one more time, and the idiots finally got the hint.

As soon as the other three left, Andrew turned back to Nicky and wished that he had a damn cigarette. “What the fuck happened while I was gone?” he asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

“Yeah, here’s the part where you kill us all,” Nicky said while he rubbed at his face, suddenly appearing exhausted and a few years older than he really was.

That was so encouraging, wasn’t it? “What the fuck have you done?” Andrew asked as he grabbed the front of Nicky’s black coat.

It was even worse when Nicky didn’t smile or try to talk his way out of it, or act like an idiot. He just shook his head and sighed. “Look, we didn’t know. Well, most of us didn’t know, not really. Not until the other day.”

“Didn’t know what?” Andrew glared as he gave Nicky a harsh shake. “This isn’t you telling me anything.”

“All I know is that something happened at the Christmas banquet, okay?” Nicky gave Andrew a mournful look. “From what I can tell, Riko came down hard on Neil before that, he had it really rough without you. We tried to be there for him, and he was getting better. We even planned to go to New York for the holidays, and then something happened at Breckenridge. He came back from there and made up some story about meeting up with his uncle for the holidays instead.”

“But he didn’t,” Andrew ground out. “Where did he go?”

Nicky hesitated for a moment, and Andrew knew it wasn’t going to be good. “Edgar Allen.”

Andrew held on to his cousin’s coat for a moment, and then he flung Nicky away from him. “For fuck’s sake, and you let him?” No wonder Stuart had left that note, had told Andrew that he’d failed Neil. So much rage bubbled up inside of Andrew at the moment that he couldn’t breathe. He’d told Neil to not be stupid, to not feed the monster, and Neil had handed himself over to Riko instead.

Nicky cried out as he stumbled onto the ground and stayed down, which kept him in one piece. “We didn’t do anything!” he snapped, and then he let out a bitter laugh. “We didn’t do anything.” He tugged at his hair. “Dammit, we knew he was doing something, but not that. Never would have let him go if we’d known that.”

“So you just let him change plans like that?” Something didn’t add up.

Nicky hesitated again. “Kevin knew he was going.” Upon seeing Andrew’s expression just then, Nicky held up his hands. “He wasn’t happy about it, either! All we got out of Neil was that he had to go… and yeah, it had something to do with you.”

It felt as if someone had punched Andrew just then, hearing those words. “So Neil went to Edgar Allen because of me, and only Kevin knew. Is that why someone decided to improve Kevin’s looks?”

“Yeah, that would have been Matt, once he caught sight of Neil and, well, you know.” Nicky gestured around his face. “We spent the holidays with him and his mom, and he was with us when Kevin finally told the truth about Neil being at Edgar Allen. He lost it when we came back and saw Neil all beat up.”

“Imagine that,” Andrew said in a cold voice. Still, the Foxes knew that no one was supposed to touch Kevin, not without dealing with Andrew as a result. He would have to give them a refresher course, apparently.

“Neil put a stop to it,” Nicky told him. “Said it wasn’t Kevin’s fault.”

Nice to see that Neil had remembered one or two things that Andrew had told him, though not the most important ones. Not the ones that would have kept him safe. Would have kept him out of Riko’s hands.

Andrew’s hands clenched so hard that his fingernails bit into the palms of his hands, and he wanted so badly to break something, to lash out until everything in front of him was reduced to rubble. Seven weeks of stupid therapy and it was amazing how soon he was tempted to throw it all away, to start a senseless rampage. All because an immature prick couldn’t keep his hands to himself, and an idiot martyr was only too willing to throw himself on a blade meant for someone else.

“You know, he really missed you, Neil did. It was obvious to everyone. It was driving him crazy, you not being here. You mean everything to him.”

“Nicky…, shut up,” Andrew told his cousin. That was not what Andrew wanted to hear just then, not when Andrew had to find out just how deep of a hole Neil had dug himself into. Not when Andrew got a sick feeling at watching how Neil had flinched at being near other people.

“I’m just saying that- okay.” Nicky got up onto his feet then held up his hands. “Do you need me for anything else?”

“Give me a few minutes and then tell Neil to come up to the roof, I want to talk to him up there.” Andrew wanted to talk to Neil in private, away from the others. He had a feeling that their discussion wouldn’t be one that should be overheard, especially by busybodies like his cousin or brother.

“Okay, I can do that.” Nicky nodded as well. “Ah, and Andrew? It’s good to have you back.”

Andrew waved him aside as he headed for the building, intent on heading up to the roof for a few minutes to help cool off before dealing with Neil. As he went, he pulled out his phone and powered it back on; it should still a decent charge since it had been at half power when he’d been admitted. As it lit up, it took a couple of seconds for some emails and texts to download – not many, since most of the people he knew had been aware of where he’d been these last few weeks and so hadn’t bothered to send anything. There was what looked to be a few texts from Roland, some shit about Happy New Year’s from various people… and several texts from Riko, most of them from the last couple of days. Huh, wasn’t that interesting?

Reaching the roof, Andrew went over and sat down on the ledge despite the fact that it was cold out and he didn’t have a coat, more than pissed off at the moment to care about a simple thing like that.

While he waited for his idiot to show up, he began to read what the prick had sent so he could get a feel for how bad the situation was, going through the oldest first.

‘he heals quick, which is good, because he doesn’t learn as fast’

‘he’s beautiful on his knees. I can keep him like that for hours’

‘when you look at him now, will you think of me? or how you’ve already lost him?’

‘think of me when you see him. he’ll never forget me’

The last message included a file attachment, some sort of video, and a sense of foreboding filled Andrew as he stared at it. Taking a deep breath, he clicked on it, and sound burst out from his phone. The motion was blurry for a moment, and then it focused on two figures in a room that was black on black on black – black walls, black floor, black bedding. It made Neil’s pale skin stand out all the more as he knelt naked in front of Riko, hands bound behind his back with metal cuffs that made his wrists bleed from the way he was struggling so much, body covered in mottled bruises and what looked to be new stitches – too many new stitches. Worse of all was something red and black and white splashed all over his upper right side, from about halfway up his forearm all the way to his neck, his upper chest and back – a fucking tattoo, Andrew realized.

Riko grabbed onto Neil’s hair with one hand and smacked him across the face with another, hard enough to daze Neil, and then pulled a knife out of the unfastened pants he wore. He said something in Japanese, to which Neil replied back, his words slurred. Riko appeared displeased at that, and held the knife to Neil’s face. Neil didn’t do anything, which caused Riko to grin and lower the knife to cut a line along the left side of Neil’s upper chest. Neil hissed at that, and then Riko brought up the blade to Neil’s left ear, the blade pressing against the lobe for a moment while he spoke in Japanese again. Whatever he said prompted a sudden rush of French from around the camera.

“You – you can’t do that! Riko, please!”

Riko turned a furious expression toward the camera – toward Moreau, Andrew realized, having recognized the voice. The camera shook a little, then straightened out while Riko let loose a torrent of Japanese. When he was done, he slipped the knife into the back pocket of his pants, then finished unzipping his pants so he could expose himself to a stone-faced Neil.

Andrew watched the next minute or so, just to be certain, then paused the video as the rage thundered inside of him so potent it was as if a symphony of drums were beating inside his head, as if something was clawing at the inside of his ribcage with a desperate fervor to break out. All he could think of just then was how he’d had Riko’s throat between his hands in October and he’d failed to kill the bastard. He’d had his chance and he’d lost it.

He was wondering how long it would take him to drive to West Virginia when the door opened to let Neil out onto the roof, hunched inside his grey coat and lovely face bruised and shadowed. He stared at Andrew with a wariness that he hadn’t possessed since being Alex, and something about that look shoved something sharp inside of Andrew’s chest and twisted it, hard.

Andrew wanted to ask him how he was, but might throw both of them off the roof if the idiot said ‘I’m fine’. So instead, he said, “I’ll take an explanation now. Something tells me that you have a story to tell.”

Neil flinched at that, but stepped forward after a second or two. He came over to the ledge and sat down, within arm’s reach but not as close as he usually did, and reached into his pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. Andrew let out a low groan of satisfaction upon seeing them, and was mindful not to touch Neil’s bandaged fingers as one was handed over to him, along with the packet of matches.

Nothing was said until both sticks were lit. “You don’t want to do this somewhere warm?” Neil asked in a voice that contained a bit of a rasp, casting a glance at Andrew’s sweatshirt; it was the same one he’d worn the night Betsy had admitted him to Easthaven.

“I think there are more important things to worry about right now than a simple case of exposure, such as did I break my promise or did you break yours?” He went to touch Neil’s face and stopped when Neil drew in a sharp breath.

“I… I’m not sure,” Neil admitted. “You said not to… but I couldn’t… I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

Andrew glared at the idiot for that. “I told you not to do anything stupid. I *told* you! What made you think going to fucking Evermore was a good idea!”

Neil shook his head as he got up from the ledge, the cigarette falling from his hands. “He said that there was this doctor at the hospital! That he’d paid him off, just like he did Drake’s lawyers, and that he’d hurt you, he’d… he’d do things to you!” Neil glared at Andrew, who sat there in silence as he took in that bit about Drake. “I wasn’t going to do nothing while some bastard raped you, okay! So yeah, I went to the Nest! I told you however long ago that I wouldn’t just let you risk yourself for me and I meant it, dammit!” He was panting at the end there, his eyes bright with anger and cheeks flushed, which only made the dark bruising on his face stand out more. A trickle of blood ran down the right side of his chin from where a cut at the edge of his mouth had split open from him yelling.

It took a couple of seconds for Andrew to push down the anger enough so he could speak without shouting. “You stopped Proust from raping me. Wasn’t that so nice of you? I didn’t realize I was so helpless.”

“Fuck you,” Neil spat out, his voice ragged and breathing still uneven. “Riko wouldn’t have sicced him on you unless he knew the guy could do it.”

Andrew would never admit how close it had come, before Stuart had stepped in. But that wasn’t the point, what was at the moment was how Neil had tried to take something on himself and only made things worse. “So you sent your uncle to save little old me, and you left yourself wide open to Riko. Brilliant move there, Josten.”

Neil flinched at that. “I… it didn’t matter. I knew-“

“No, you didn’t, did you?” Andrew got up to stand on his feet and held out his phone. “You didn’t know *anything*, you didn’t listen to me, you stupid little shit, you just kept feeding the beast!” He was shouting then, which made Neil’s face pale again. “No matter how much I told you not to, no matter how I tried to warn you, you just had to go be the fucking martyr! And what did that get you?” Andrew pulled up the video and hit ‘play’.

It took Neil a moment to catch on, to recognize what it was – he recoiled when he heard Riko’s voice, and then he moaned when he must have figured out what was being said, when he *remembered* what had been said. “No,” he moaned as he buried his fingers in hair. “No, no, no!”

“It got you on your fucking knees, just where the prick wanted you,” Andrew snarled as he shoved the video in Neil’s face. “It- fuck!” He threw the phone aside when Neil all but dropped to his knees, hyperventilating in an obvious panic attack, hands tearing at his hair as his eyes stared at nothing as he repeated the word ‘no’, except now in Japanese – Andrew recognized that much after hanging around Neil and Kevin for so long.

Hesitating just for a moment, Andrew knelt in front of his boyfriend and reached for Neil’s hands, mindful of the bandages and the injuries which lie beneath. “Shh, it’s okay. Calm down, all right? Just calm down, Josten. Stop being such a dramatic idiot.” He kept repeating the words as he gently tugged Neil’s hands free then lowered them down to Neil’s sides before combing his own fingers through the now restyled hair. It might look a lot more fashionable, but he missed the tousled, often tangled mop. “Shh,” he soothed.

It took a few minutes, but Neil’s breathing eventually evened out and his eyes seemed to focus on Andrew’s chest, as if he was finally seeing what was in front of him instead of what was in his head. His fingers twitched, as if wanting to reach for something, and Andrew’s left hand stopped combing through Neil’s hair so he could urge Neil’s right hand to grab onto his shirt. Neil shuddered at that and closed his eyes.

“Were you going to tell me?” Andrew asked after a minute or two of silence, his hand skimming along the top of Neil’s head to rest against the back of Neil’s neck; so far, his boyfriend wasn’t pulling away from his touch.

“Yes,” Neil sighed, his eyes still closed. “Just… just hadn’t figured out how.”

Well, Riko solved that problem for them, hadn’t he?

Andrew almost asked if there was more, just what all Riko had done to Neil… and decided it didn’t matter. Neil had never asked Andrew about Drake, about all the others back in California, had never cared. Had only been interested in Andrew, in what Andrew could offer him, had taken all of Andrew’s issues and limits and been happy. Now was Andrew going to turn into a hypocrite when the tables had turned? When it was clear that Riko hoped to drive Andrew away with what he’d done?

He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, cautious for a moment about Neil’s reaction. “No lying to me,” he ground out as he struggled to control the anger roiling inside of him, the urge to break something until it was unidentifiable. More than anything he wanted to get his hands on Riko and keep hitting and hitting and hitting until the prick was nothing but a mass of shattered bone and twisted flesh, but that wasn’t possible at the moment, was it? “No lying to me about *anything*,” he told Neil. “You keep nothing back, and when I tell you not to do something *fucking* *stupid*, you listen.”

“I-“

“No,” Andrew cut him off. “We’ll get to your fucked up definition of that word later. All right? Just agree with me right now, because I’ve had enough. Now, think about that, and let me know if there’s anything else I need to be told. I think I know enough about what Riko did to you,” he added, because it was clear that Neil needed things spelled out, and Andrew was already clawing at the edges of his control as it were.

Neil shivered as if cold, despite his coat. “If the Ravens win the championship this spring, I’m to transfer this summer to Edgar Allen,” he said in a tone of voice that might be mistaken for simply quiet, if one didn’t notice the bleak expression on his face. “Tetsuji got the main house to agree to it, there’s no arguing or changing their minds. No more chances left.”

Well, that wasn’t so much as a surprise as a disappointment; they’d known that there was always a chance that if the Foxes didn’t do well, the main branch would make that call, but the Ravens were the best team in the Class I division. It was a bit much for the Moriyamas to expect the Foxes to best them so easily… but it could be done. It would be done, if Andrew had to drag the Foxes along behind him.

“Is that it?” His eyes narrowed when Neil’s fingers clenched even tighter around his shirt. “What else?”

Neil wiped at his face with his left hand, despite how that had to hurt. “Uncle Stuart.”

That got Andrew’s attention. “What about him?”

“Owe him a favor.” Neil leaned back, his expression now guarded. “For helping you.”

“Ah yes, for dealing with Proust,” Andrew remarked. “And what exactly is that favor? What can you do for him?” Then something occurred to Andrew, something Stuart had been after for a while. “Do not even *think* to tell me the limey prick-“

“I’m to go out with McCormick,” Neil said as he let go of Andrew’s shirt, his hands now folded on his lap and his voice flat. “Carlton McCormick. One date.”

Andrew stared at Neil for several seconds as the rage bubbled forth. “Well, you’re expanding your horizons all around, aren’t you?” Something twisted inside of him when Neil flinched; it wasn’t fair, but Neil was the only target around just then even if he didn’t deserve Andrew’s wrath. “Stay up here for a while,” he told his boyfriend as he rocked up onto his feet. “I don’t want to see you for a bit.” He couldn’t see Neil, because he’d just hurt him again, keep hurting him because he couldn’t hurt Riko or Stuart.

Neil hunched down onto himself as if to make himself as small as possible, to make himself less of a target, his gorgeous, bruised face an expression of abject misery while Andrew went over to his phone. He stomped down on it, hard, until it began to break apart beneath his feet, then bent down to retrieve the SIM card from it, which he snapped beneath his fingers. That dealt with, he left the roof without another glance at Neil.

Once down on the third floor, Andrew contemplated dealing with Boyd… but wasn’t sure he’d stop, if he got his hands on the backliner. No, best to leave teaching him a lesson to another day. So instead, he went to the suite and realized that his keys had been left back in Columbia. A couple of swift bangs on the door, however, got Nicky to open it.

His cousin gave him a nervous smile. “Ah, you’re back.” Then his expression turned wary. “Where’s Neil?”

“Meditating on the definition of ‘stupid’ up on the roof. I foresee it taking some time,” Andrew told him. When Nicky went to leave the suite, Andrew latched onto his arm. “Leave him there,” he ordered; Neil needed some space, not Nicky hanging on him. ”He’s a big boy, he can figure out his way down all on his own.”

“But… you’ve seen him. I don’t think he should be left alone right now,” Nicky argued.

Andrew had indeed seen him, a lot more than Nicky had, and disagreed. “Leave him alone,” Andrew told his cousin in no uncertain terms. Nicky dared to glare back at him for several seconds before his defiance crumpled and he shifted away.

Andrew stepped further into the room and found Aaron giving him an intent look. “Anything you want to add?”

“So nice to have you back,” Aaron said a moment and then returned to playing his video game. That left one other person, who was staring at one of his history books as if it contained the secrets of the universe. “Ah, just the person I wanted to talk to,” Andrew declared as he stalked over to Kevin’s desk and grabbed the coward by the shoulder. “Heel.”

Kevin made a sound of protest while Andrew dragged him into the bedroom; once inside, he threw Kevin away from him as if cowardness was contagious, which for all he knew it very well may be. “You let him go,” he said in French, tone almost conversational but Kevin knew better, which was why the coward scurried to the far side of the room as quickly as possible. As for Andrew, he went to sit down on his bed, and paused when he noticed his arm guards resting on top of his pillow. How long had they been there? A question to ask Neil later, he supposed.

“He wouldn’t listen to me!” Kevin huddled by his bed with his hands tucked into his armpits as if to protect them. “I told him not to go, about what would happen if he did, but he wouldn’t listen! Riko used you against him!”

“And of course you were only so happy about the fact that you didn’t have to go as well, weren’t you?” Andrew bared his teeth at Kevin as he pushed up his sleeves so he could put back on the arm guards. Hmm, he had to resize them, so yes, it looked as if Neil had worn them at some point.

Kevin shook his head. “I told him not to go,” he repeated.

“What did Riko say to him at the banquet?”

Kevin kept shaking his head. “I didn’t hear most of it. He came for us, him and Jean, and the two of them got into it right away. They both ordered me to leave, and Jean gave me a ticket for Neil before they got into a fight.” Kevin winced. “Neil punched Riko, and they had to be pulled apart. Afterwards, Neil told the others that Riko was behind… behind Drake and then asked me about the ticket. He left the next day.” He eyed Andrew with evident fear when Andrew slipped a knife free. “I tried to warn him, I did. But… I didn’t think it would be that bad.”

“Hmm?” Andrew gave him a mocking look. “Bad? How so?”

Kevin gestured to his neck, around where Neil’s lovely new artwork showed. “I’ve never seen him do that to any of the other Ravens. To leave something so… visible.”

“Oh Kevin, dear cowardly Kevin, you’ve no idea what you let Neil blunder into this time, not at all.” Andrew toyed with the idea of flinging the knife, of inflicting a fraction of the pain that Neil bore just then onto the person who had brought it down upon them, but he had a need of dear Kevin, yes he did. Unfortunately he did, dammit. Getting up from the bed, he kept the blade in hand and forced a tighter rein on his temper when Kevin cringe. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to stop letting Riko control you, to win in those little mind games he so loves to play,” Andrew told the coward as he held up the knife near Kevin’s precious tattoo. “Because when it comes time to play again? When we face him on the court? We’re not going to let him win.”

Sweat broke out on Kevin’s face as he seemed unable to decide if he should focus on Andrew or the knife, before settling on Andrew. “We can’t-“

“No,” Andrew told him as the knife pressed closer. “No excuses, no whining, no telling me how they’re unbeatable. Riko’s reign comes to an end this spring, do you understand me? Say ‘yes’.”

Kevin gulped and went to nod, but couldn’t because of the knife. “Yuh-yeah.”

Andrew smiled at him, but it didn’t seem to reassure the poor coward. “Good. Because if it doesn’t? He’s going to claim Neil, and if that happens? You might as well pack your bags and go back to Edgar Allen as well because there’s no more point to our deal, do you understand?” Kevin paled upon hearing that. “Does that give you the proper incentive, hmm?”

“You… our agreement,” Kevin stuttered out.

“Was to keep Neil from becoming a Raven,” Andrew reminded him. “Which is going to happen if those bastards win this year.” He tapped the flat of the knife against Kevin’s left cheek, which made Kevin twitch. “Time to up your game, Day. You gonna let Riko beat you down forever?” Having said his piece, he stepped back and watched the coward stagger from the room, probably in search of the nearest bottle of liquor. Some people were so predictable.

Andrew went out into the kitchen after that to fetch a bottle of soda and a bag of chips, then retreated back into the bedroom, unwilling to deal with anyone just then; he noticed that Nicky was staring at the front door, and Kevin was indeed drinking already. Leaving the door open so he could hear what was going on in the rest of the suite, he retreated to his bed with his laptop and did his best to shut out the world for a while, only paying half attention when he heard Nicky call out Neil’s name after he’d finished the soda and was looking into what he could find out about Proust online. It sounded as if Nicky was unhappy about something, but Neil’s voice was too low for Andrew to hear anything, and whatever he said hushed Nicky up soon enough.

It took a couple of hours, but Andrew finally dug up enough information to satisfy his curiosity; he might be pissed off at Stuart right then, oh yes, but he had to hand it to the limey prick, he did good work. Not only did it seem that there was no doubt at all about Proust’s death being a suicide, but it also appeared that upon arrival onto the scene, investigators had found ‘questionable’ content on the man’s computer. Seemed he’d typed up a note and hadn’t cleared his cache or any of his files, which contained content of a highly deviant and disgusting nature which would ensure that no one would mourn the poor man and probably bring to light some of his past victims. Ah, no wonder the hospital hadn’t wanted to say much about the ‘good’ doctor. Andrew thought about the bastard’s roaming hands, about him talking about incidents from Andrew’s past with such evident glee, and hoped that Stuart had made Proust suffer in his final moments.

He shut down his laptop then went back to the kitchen for something else to eat after hitting the bathroom, and only spared a fleeting glance at the living room. Kevin looked passed out at his desk, Aaron was playing video games as if nothing else mattered in the world other than reaching some new high score, and Nicky looked away from the tv to glare at Andrew in obvious disgust. Neil was curled up on the couch swaddled in blankets in a clear sign of Nicky’s maternal side taking over, and didn’t look up from tearing holes in the cuffs of his sweatshirt.

Andrew went back to his room and grabbed a book.

At some point toward the second half of the book, Aaron came into the room, glanced at Andrew then shook his head before he pulled off his jersey then his jeans before climbing up into his bed. Andrew waited a little longer, and sure enough, Nicky followed about ten minutes or so later, pointedly ignoring him as he climbed up onto the bunk bed.

Andrew waited a little longer to see if Neil or Kevin would come in as well, and sighed when nothing happened after another chapter. He set the book aside, kicked off Neil’s duffel bag, which was still at the foot of the bed, and went to go fetch the idiot.

Kevin was still passed out at his desk, which fine, let him wake up with a sore neck, but Neil was stretched out on the couch. Andrew was half-tempted to leave him there to teach him a lesson, but was getting too tired of the ‘martyr’ bullshit in the end. It was one thing if Neil couldn’t stand to sleep in the same bed with him, another if he was pulling some ‘woe is me’ shit.

“Hey,” Andrew called out as he tugged on the blanket draped over his boyfriend, mindful not to touch Neil; the reaction was almost instant, was Neil’s eyes flying open as his arms flailed about, hands curled into fists. It took a few seconds for his brain to catch up to his body, and by that point he had pushed himself into the corner of the couch.

“An-andrew,” he gasped, eyes wide and chest heaving.

“Yeah, impressive memory there,” Andrew told him, voice quiet as he waited for the idiot to calm down. “What are you doing out here?”

Neil rubbed at his forehead as he seemed to think that over. “Uhm… you said….”

Yeah, more martyr shit. “I said ‘for a bit’. Get your ass into the bed.” He pointed to the bedroom. “I’ll sleep here.”

Neil’s face went blank at that. “You just got back.”

“And you look as if you just went three rounds with a gorilla and lost. I’m not in the mood for this sacrificial shit of yours, Josten. Get in the damn bed.”

It seemed as if Neil wanted to argue, but maybe he finally realized it was in his best interest to listen for once. He pushed the blanket aside and shuffled to the edge of the couch, then winced as he stood up. Andrew had some dark thoughts for the idiot at that – at least until Neil slowly reached out to grab onto the hem of Andrew’s sweatshirt and gave it a gentle tug, the meaning obvious when he took a step toward the bedroom.

“I’m not sure you’re thinking things through,” Andrew told him.

“Tired of sleeping alone,” Neil told him.

“Neil….” Andrew grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and pulled it free from his sweatshirt, while his other hand tugged up Neil’s sleeve to reveal the bandage wrapped around Neil’s wrist; he could only imagine the damage beneath the white material, considering the little he’d seen in the video. “Not a good idea.”

Now Neil appeared stubborn. “I know the difference between you and… and….” He shook his head, his lips pressed together. “Unless you don’t want to.”

Yeah, make it all Andrew’s fault, nice. Still, he wondered if this was Neil’s way of seeing if Andrew accepted him or if it was something else. “Why?” he asked as he let go of Neil’s hand.

Neil frowned at him, as if wondering what that ‘why’ meant, and then glanced aside. “I miss you,” was all he said before turning away and going off to the bedroom.

Andrew watched him walk away for several seconds, and then went to the bathroom to get ready. He stripped down to his boxers in there, and when he got into the bedroom, found Neil already in bed and beneath the covers.

He pulled on some loose cotton pants and an old, worn t-shirt that would be comfortable to sleep in, then was careful to disturb Neil as little as possible as he climbed into his usual spot near the wall. Neil was still awake and held up the covers for him, stretched out closer to the other edge of the bed than normal so there was plenty of space between them.

The message was clear – Neil wanted him there, but things weren’t all right, oh no. Andrew thought about how great it would feel to slide his knives into Riko again and again. “Get some sleep,” he told Neil, who lay on his side staring at Andrew as if anxious about what was going to happen next.

Neil didn’t say anything, but he slowly reached out until the fingers of his right hand tangled in Andrew’s t-shirt, as if to assure himself that Andrew was really there. Andrew sighed at that but didn’t complain and didn’t tell him ‘no’. “You’re an idiot.”

That made Neil smile and close his eyes. “Good night,” Neil murmured.

Andrew closed his eyes as well, but it took him a while to fall asleep, mindful as he was about Neil being not too far away and with the rage still simmering beneath the surface. So when the nightmares started, as expected, when Neil let go of his shirt and began to shift about on the bed, he woke from a light sleep and stared at his boyfriend as he sat up, fingers combing through his hair as he attempted to figure out the best way to go about things. All it took was jostling Neil’s pillow a little to get the desired effect, and Neil was once more gasping awake with such a sudden motion that Andrew had to wonder if he was tearing any stitches.

It happened two more times during the night, before Neil was up after three am, bleary eyed and stumbling around the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Andrew got up with him, figuring he could always sleep later in the day or something, appreciating how quiet the suite was at that time and that he *could* get up and do whatever the hell he wanted now after seven weeks in the damn hospital.

“Sixteen hour days,” Neil explained as the coffee brewed. “It’s sixteen hour days in the Nest.” He stared at the bandages on his trembling hands. “So it was like three weeks there. I’m still trying to adjust.”

Andrew remembered Kevin saying something about the Ravens having their own fucked up schedule, another way to set them apart from everyone else, to enforce their cult-like mindset. “What happened to them?” Andrew motioned to Neil’s hands.

“I did a little too well, the last couple of games.” Neil stared at his hands as he leaned against the counter. “Couple of backliners decided to teach me a lesson about making them look bad. Nothing permanent, of course.” His face became expressionless as he talked. “Didn’t hurt as bad as the needles beneath my nails.”

Needles beneath – Andrew was in front of Neil within a few heartbeats, and a part of him registered that Neil didn’t flinch, not from him. “Who were they?” Neil blinked at the question. “Those backliners, who were they!”

“Federov and Atkins,” Neil told him. “Why?”

“I’m making a list of who’s been naughty and nice,” Andrew told him. When Neil frowned, he shook his head. “Oh no, you don’t get to disapprove, not after doing this. Consider it a lesson – there’s always repercussions to your actions. You get to sic your uncle on people who try to hurt me, what do you think I’m going to do to the ones who touch you, hmm?”

Neil made a low sound of frustration as he tugged on his bangs. “And what happens if you get in trouble again?”

Andrew gave him a sharp grin. “I won’t, I’ve learned my lesson. Wait until there aren’t any witnesses and then beat them to death.”

“Oh that’s so damn reassuring,” Neil hissed. “I don’t want to have to go on more than one date with that Carlton guy, do you understand? That’s already more than enough.”

“Trust me, that’s not going to happen,” Andrew told Neil, the grin wiped from his face. They stared at each other after that, until the coffee maker sputtered out the last few drops of the freshly brewed pot.

Neil sighed as he turned around to fetch two mugs, which he filled up with coffee and then fixed one of them to Andrew’s satisfaction with sugar and milk without being asked. Once that was done, he picked up the mug of black coffee and went into the living area, appearing so tired all of a sudden.

Andrew found him on the couch, just sitting there as if lost in his thoughts. Andrew paused for a moment, then sat down next to him, but not too close. He was sipping his coffee when Neil began to inch over, little by little, until almost but not quite pressed against his side.

“Don’t be an idiot,” he reminded his boyfriend. “Don’t push.”

“I’m not,” Neil insisted. “It’s just… it’s you. It’s all right if it’s you. Just you,” Neil said as he stared into his mug. “It’s what got me through… through it,” he said with a hitch to his breath. “Thinking of you, that you’d be all right.”

“Do you think I want to hear this?” Andrew set his mug down before he threw it. “What you did for me? What you let him do to you for me, dammit!” He had to struggle not to yell, to grab onto Neil and shake him until all the stupid came out – oh, that was never going to happen, was it?”

Neil kept staring into his mug, though now there was a hint of red along his high cheekbones, mottled with bruises as they were. “I… I’m sorry,” he said, as if Andrew wanted to hear those words. “I couldn’t just stand there and let that happen to you.”

“Never again,” Andrew gritted out as he struggled not to grab onto Neil, to… he didn’t know what just then. “You never put yourself in that position again, do you hear me?”

Neil was quiet for several seconds, and just when Andrew was about to grab him, to make him answer, he took a sip of coffee, his gaze distant. “He didn’t… you saw what he did to me,” Neil said, his voice rough and quiet, as if mindful of Kevin across the room. “There were other things… but he didn’t… he didn’t.” Neil closed his eyes and Andrew had to take the mug away, Neil’s hands were shaking too much. “In the summer, he said. When I’m officially a Raven. It’ll just be the two of us in the Black Hall, in the room together, and he can take his time.” Neil was speaking so quietly just then that Andrew had to lean forward to hear him, his body trembling and hands clenched around his arms. “He wants me to think about it until then, what it’ll be like.”

The prick wanted to fuck up Neil’s mind just as much as he hoped to fuck Neil, in other words. He wanted to send Andrew a broken, fucked-up mess, wanted Andrew to fuck up Neil even more by being revolted by his own boyfriend, and hoped to drive a wedge into the Foxes that would help break the team apart, most likely.

“Neil,” Andrew said, and had to repeat it again to make his boyfriend look at him. When Neil finally did, his expression solemn, Andrew held up his hands on either side of Neil’s face, and had to wait a couple of seconds before Neil nodded. He cupped his hands oh so loose against warm skin, thumbs brushing against the faint rasp of stubble and fingertips in soft hair, and leaned forward. “Yes or no?”

Neil’s breath hitched at that, but Neil gave him a quiet ‘yes’. All Andrew did was bridge the space between them for a gentle, lingering press of the lips, and felt Neil’s body slowly relax, felt Neil’s hands come to rest on his shoulders.

After less than a minute, he pulled away; he knew too well about pushing too far, but wanted Neil to know that Andrew was still there for him, still *with* him, and Riko hadn’t ruined that. “He’s never going to get that chance,” Andrew said as he looked his boyfriend in the eyes. “I’ll break his fucking neck first.”

Neil teethed at his tattered bottom lip then nodded. “No witnesses.” He sounded rather insistent about that.

“No witnesses who’ll complain about it,” Andrew countered.

The idiot seemed to think that. “Hmm, okay. I can live with that.”

“You better,” Andrew huffed as he reached for their mugs. Hmm, that should make his job a hell of a lot easier, as the list of people who wanted to see Riko dead grew by the minute.

That time, Neil rested against him as they drank their coffee, just a little bit of contact but Andrew accepted it for the important step that it was. “I told you that he had me box up Kevin’s things, didn’t I?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Hmm.” Neil frowned as he tugged on his bangs. “It’s… dammit, I hope I get back to normal, soon. Anyway, he still had all of Kevin’s things in the room when I got there.” Neil glanced over at Kevin, who was still asleep and switched to German. “Jean told me something when I arrived, about a letter Kevin’s mother wrote naming Kevin’s father. It seems that Kevin found it one day while he and Jean were in Tetsuji’s library.”

“Oh?” Andrew had a feeling that there was a point to this story. “Do tell.”

“There’s another reason he came here, besides wanting you to help him.” Neil stared at Andrew as if waiting for him to figure it out.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he looked over at Kevin’s slumped figure. “Oh, the *coward*,” he hissed as the pieces came together. “Coach?”

Neil nodded before he sipped some more coffee. “Yes, I was quite surprised when Jean told me. He said that Kevin must be trying to protect him from the main branch’s wrath, that’s why he never told him.”

“He’s a fucking coward,” Andrew insisted. “So where’s this letter?”

“In my bag,” Neil said, which surprised Andrew. “Kevin kept it in his room at the Nest, and I took it while I was packing up his stuff.” Neil gave Andrew an innocent look. “What? Might come in handy, right?”

“Nice to know there’s occasional lapses in your stupidity.”

Neil winced at that. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to know what percentage I’m at right now.”

“No,” Andrew informed him. “No, you do not.” Because Andrew didn’t have a high enough number, to be honest.

They finished their coffees and then sat there, Neil appearing content just to have Andrew back again and not yelling at him, Andrew becoming sleepy despite the caffeine and sugar, content to have Neil back as well and thinking about the most recent revelations. He was even more determined to kill Riko now, and it helped, having added incentive to make sure that Kevin would toe the line if he started spouting any ‘but they’re the Ravens, they’re the best’ crap.

Busy thinking of the season ahead, Andrew was contemplating various teams one minute, and the next… the next thing he knew it was morning, was bright outside and he was alone on the couch with a blanket over him. Kevin was still slumped over at his desk – oh yeah, the pain would be so interesting when the coward woke up – and there was someone in the kitchen. Andrew got up to see if it was Neil, and was surprised to find Nicky in there.

His cousin seemed in a better mood that morning. “Hey, you’re up! Want something to eat? Or is Neil picking something up for you?” His smile faltered when Andrew took to glaring at him. “What?”

“Neil’s not here?”

“Ah, no, thought maybe he ran out to get something.” Nicky gave a nervous laugh. “Everything’s all right, yeah? I mean, you two seemed to make up last night.”

Andrew scrubbed his fingers through his hair and went in search of his phone, wondering why Riko hadn’t just put a damn collar on Neil instead of a useless tattoo.

*******

After Andrew had fallen asleep, Neil had tried to sit there in the quiet apartment, but he was too awake and too bored. Dammit, he really, really hoped that he adjusted back to a ‘normal’ schedule soon, because it wasn’t going to be fun, dealing with classes and practice in another day with his internal clock all fucked up. Maybe if he pushed himself all day and then crashed hard that night?

He got up from the couch without waking up Andrew, draped a blanket over his boyfriend and then went into the bedroom to change into a pair of sweats, then grabbed his sneakers so he could leave the apartment and go run. He couldn’t do that much of a workout because of his injuries, but Riko and the rest of the Ravens hadn’t been able to target his legs as much as the rest of his body because he still needed to play. Hadn’t that been so kind of them?

Despite the pain in his legs (well, everywhere, if he was honest, but especially in his legs), there was something freeing to being out on campus after all that time in the Nest, to seeing the skies above him and the roads before him, to being able to just run in any direction. There was also the sense of relief in having Andrew back in his life – a pissed off Andrew, but Andrew none-the-less. Neil wasn’t foolish enough to believe that things were perfect between them, but Andrew hadn’t been driven away by what he’d done, by what *Riko* had done, so… so they’d work on things. Neil would do whatever he had to in order to keep Andrew. More importantly… he knew that Andrew wouldn’t let him do something stupid (there was that word again) in order to keep Andrew by his side.

It hurt, to want someone so much, to need them, and yet have this fear of what they’d do to you. It wasn’t there all of the time with Andrew as it was with other people, but it flared up here and there, which surprised Neil. Then he would focus on Andrew saying ‘yes and no’, on how Andrew never pushed things at certain times, how Andrew could drive *him* to frustration by holding back. When the nightmares of Riko had gotten to Neil and he’d wanted to just run and hide, he’d laid back down beside his boyfriend last night with those thoughts in his mind.

Neil shook his head, no longer wanting to think much of that, of what had happened and what might happen, and continued to run. The sun was up now, which made things easier, made him smile a little at the bright pops of color which he’d missed so much, and he pushed himself to the point of exhaustion. He was on his way back when a familiar black shape pulled up beside him, making him falter a little and then slow down.

“Are you really that much of an idiot?” Andrew shouted through the open passenger side window. “Is your learning curve a horizontal line or something?”

Neil finally came to a stop, covered in sweat and panting for breath. “I… I needed to get out for a bit. To move about.”

“So you went running. At what, four in the fucking morning? I’m going to save Riko the fucking effort and kill you myself,” Andrew gritted out. He made as if to lean over and open the door, then noticed Neil’s sweat-soaked clothes and shook his head before motioning for Neil to start running again. Smiling a little at his boyfriend’s obsession with cars, Neil did just that, and had a rather expensive, furious escort back to Fox Tower.

Andrew hovered near him once the GS was parked; Neil could tell that his boyfriend wanted to grab onto his arm as if to drag him back to their suite but didn’t, though once they were inside, Andrew did pinch the sleeve of Neil’s sweatshirt to lead him into the bathroom. “Strip,” Andrew told him, then seemed to think better of it.

“It’s okay,” Neil told him. “Think I’ll need your help.” Now that he had slowed down, his body was becoming stiff and his legs a bit numb.

“Fucking idiot,” Andrew snarled, but it was lacking the usual heat. “You’re treating me to breakfast after this.”

“All right.” Neil winced as Andrew yanked the sweatshirt over his head with a bit too much force. “Ah, and then I have to stop by the stadium afterwards.” At Andrew’s curious look, he tried for a nonchalant shrug. “Abby wants to give me a check-up before Wymack’s meeting with all of the Foxes, and… and she has the test results from my blood work.”

Andrew went still at that for a moment, then started the water running for the shower. “You said he didn’t force you to have any anal sex.”

“No.” Neil tried to think of it in the clinical way Andrew was treating it, to put some distance behind everything. “But….” Yeah, hard to treat this with any distance. “You saw… and…. Well, there’s always some risk, right? I don’t, I just want to be certain,” Neil tried to explain. “She already did the rapid test and it was negative, I just want to be certain.”

Andrew’s expression was that awful blank one as he tested the water, then he came over to tug on Neil’s sweatpants. “Come on, you stink. Let’s hurry this up.”

“Huh?” Neil eyed his boyfriend with some trepidation. “But.”

“I’m just going to help, nothing else,” Andrew insisted. “And you worry too much. You know the rules in Exy about stuff like that.”

Neil nodded; even though he’d thought much the same thing, it felt better hearing it from someone else. He hesitated only a moment longer before shedding his clothes, and felt a twitch of fear when Andrew stepped out of his jeans as well. Yet that was all the clothes Andrew removed before joining him in the shower.

He gave Andrew an odd look for that, but Andrew kept his expression mostly blank as he helped Neil wash off, his touch gentle and a bit removed, focusing on Neil’s upper body to clean him of sweat and dirt as quickly as possible so the water didn’t linger too long on the most recent stitches. Neil was grateful for the help and for the assistance in washing his hair, even if Andrew got a bit wet in the process.

He was drying himself, while Andrew peeled off his wet clothes and wrapped himself in a towel, and started at a light touch to his right shoulder. He froze up at first, then let out a slow breath as Andrew stared at the fresh ink, his expression utterly blank once more.

“Did you ever hear that old counting rhyme, about the birds?”

Andrew blinked at the question. “The one about crows?” A slight frown turned down the corners of his mouth as he traced a finger over a long feather down Neil’s right arm, which made Neil shiver.

“Yeah, for crows and ravens.” Neil smiled a little as he thought about Baltimore.

“How did it go….” Andrew’s thick, blond brows drew together as he began to recite the poem:  
“One for sorrow  
Two for joy  
Three for girl  
Four for boy  
Five for silver  
Six for gold  
Seven for a secret never to be told.”

Neil nodded. “My mom was British, right? She told me it was about magpies, originally, and taught me a different verse, one that went like this:

One for sorrow  
Two for mirth  
Three for a wedding  
Four for a birth  
Five for silver  
Six for gold  
Seven of a secret not to be told  
Eight for heaven  
Nine for hell  
And ten for the devil's own self.”

Neil stared down at the ink on his arm. “At one point, it was all I could think about, those two rhymes. While the guy was doing the tattoo, while Riko was gloating and telling me how this meant that I was his forever, how it meant I was a Raven, a Wesninski….” He gave a slight huff. “How I was marked for the Moriyamas and the Ravens and the Wesninskis in so many ways now. Those silly rhymes helped to get me through it.” Had helped to remind him that there was more meaning than what Riko was shoving down his throat, had helped to remind him of quiet days of walking around Baltimore streets with his mother.

Andrew’s fingers dug into his arm, which made Neil look up. “You’re nothing but what you want yourself to be,” his boyfriend insisted. “This is just a bunch of ink, a pretty design of a smart bird and bright flowers. It means nothing unless you allow it to, and it can mean whatever the hell it wants. Don’t let Riko define it.”

Neil stared at him for several seconds before he gave a slight huff. “Rather dramatic way to say I’m an Edgar Allen Poe fan, no?”

“Idiot,” Andrew snarled before giving him a slight push away. “Go get dressed, I’m hungry.” He paused for a moment in picking up his clothes. “And you’re growing out your damn hair. Look like some fucking hipster.”

“All right.” Neil smiled at that and let Andrew leave so he could finish getting ready, feeling better than he had in weeks.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> *tries to whistles* Yeah, hopefully that all made sense. I'm sure you'll let me know if it does or not.  
> My head canon on the Proust thing is, Riko would basically enjoy having Proust really fuck with Andrew (in every sense of the word) AFTER Neil went to Evermore, so he could throw that in his face later on ('oh, yeah, just so you know...' type of thing), so here, Stuart stepped in before it escalated to that point. 
> 
> And yeah, now to pick up the pieces.
> 
> As always, the kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. Amazed at the response to the last chapter, and the guesses to things et all (sorry for putting some of you through the ringer!). Hopefully getting this chapter out a little early made up for it!  
> *******


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the last chapter had the most graphic stuff in it (such as it was), but obviously the poor boys are still dealing with fall-out of certain events. So just a head's up, vague references to past non-con events in this chapter, but nothing graphic.
> 
> And yeah, this one goes back and forth a bit. As you can tell, Neil and Andrew picking up the pieces and moving forward, but it's not all dark. They get a bit of a break. I think.  
> *******

*******

After a large breakfast (waffles with enough whipped cream and hot fudge to make Neil look sick, a side of bacon and half of Neil’s breakfast as well since he seemed to lose some of his appetite when the server couldn’t stop staring at him despite the hoodie pulled as far over his head as possible), Andrew dragged Neil off with him to get a new phone. Neil spent the entire time tugging on the top of the hood while the staff of the store almost tripped over their feet to wait on Andrew, bumping him up in the queue even, and Andrew gave his boyfriend an evil smile while commenting on how nice it was, such personalized service. Neil glared at him, then cringed when another customer complained over the fact that he’d been there longer and was still waiting while one of the store employees remarked that Andrew and Neil had ‘preferred status’. Oh, what perks there were to buying a new phone every week or so.

“Preferred status,” Andrew said as they left the store. “Isn’t that wonderful? Maybe we’ll get our own parking space soon, with your name on the spot. Or better yet, they’ll put a picture of you up right on the wall.”

Neil looked as if he was going to throw up any moment now. “Oh god.”

Andrew smiled at him. “Feeling particularly stupid right now?”

“Go to hell.” Neil made as if to rub at his face and moaned. “I hate my life so much.”

“Hmm. And now you get to deal with the rest of the Foxes,” Andrew reminded him. “So nice when I don’t have to worry about coming up with any punishments, when Fate does all the hard work for me.”

Neil slanted him a highly displeased look just then. “What was the point of all that therapy you just went through again?”

“So I can inflict all this lovely damage without breaking any bones.”

“Oh what joy,” Neil declared as they got into the GS. “What’s your new number this time?”

“I’ll text you it once we get to the stadium.” Andrew frowned as he threw the bag with the phone into the backseat. “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen your phone. How many have you gone through while I’ve been gone?”

“A couple.” Neil fidgeted in the passenger seat then sighed as he pulled out his own, which looked to be powered off. “I sent you the text at New Year’s, but….” He sighed again and tugged at his bangs, which were barely long enough to cover the scar on his forehead. “Keep forgetting to charge it.”

Right. “Keep forgetting or just won’t?”

Neil cast him a glance out of the side of his eyes then shook his head. “Won’t. I don’t want to put up with Riko right now.” He let go of his hair to slip his fingers inside of the hoodie, around his neck where the new tattoo was hidden. “I need a break from his games.”

Andrew reached over to snatch up the phone and dropped it onto his lap. “Then I’ll deal with it this time.” He had no problem seeing what the prick had sent and sending back a message of his own.

That got him another glance and head shake from Neil. “Have fun.” A slight smile lingered on his lips even as he fingered the edge of his arm guards – the one now bearing Renee’s knives. “Sure you’ll be exceedingly polite to him.”

“Oh, we’ll have the most civil of discussions.” One were Andrew made it extremely clear that Neil in no way belonged to the psychotic prick and what Andrew would do to him if Riko ever so much as breathed on Neil again.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Neil closed his eyes for a moment then sighed. “A god-damned parking spot.”

“Won’t it be so nice? ‘Reserved for Neil Josten, customer extraordinaire.’”

The pained sound from Neil just then was so amusing.

They reached the stadium a few minutes later, where Abby was waiting for Neil in the lounge. As soon as she saw the both of them, she smiled brightly at Neil, and he let out a slow breath at that before he followed her into her exam room; Andrew took that to mean that the test results were good, since Abby wasn’t known for any sadistic tendencies. Masochistic, maybe, since she dated Wymack and worked for the Foxes, but she seemed to have a soft spot for Neil so yes, it was a good sign. He felt an odd sort of relief at that and rubbed at the back of his neck.

Meanwhile, Wymack came out of his office when he heard the two of them walk past. “Minyard, so they actually let you out. The people running the place must be crazier than the inmates.”

“Gee, Coach, just the thought of your love and warmth was enough to get me through those long and lonely weeks,” Andrew told him. “Did you miss me, too?”

“Like the plague,” Wymack said while wiping his hand over his face. “Come on, let’s talk.”

“Oh, those are the magic words to make me follow you anywhere,” Andrew drawled as Wymack headed down the hallway and back outside. Hmm, it seemed as if their fearless coach didn’t want to chance anyone overhearing them, maybe someone who was currently being looked at by Abby?

Wymack lit up a cigarette once he was outside, so Andrew did the same. “Here I am, all yours, you lucky fellow,” Andrew told him.

“’Luck’ isn’t how I’d describe it,” Wymack complained. “I’m leaning toward ‘cursed’.

Andrew gasped and clutched at his chest with his left hand. “Ah Coach, you wound me.”

“Yeah, right, I’m beginning to think silver bullets wouldn’t do that.” Wymack scoffed then shook his head. “Enough with the playful banter, I asked you out here for a reason.” He glanced back the way they had come. “You get any sort of explanation out of Neil?”

Andrew dropped the slight smile on his face and blew out a plume of smoke. “Why do you ask?” Did the man not understand that Neil wasn’t his concern?

Wymack groaned as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “What the hell is it with the two of you? You’re such a damn matched pair – you lock down on anything that has to do with each other when people push, you shut out almost everyone if they’re not in your precious little clique.”

“Because we’ve learned the hard way why it’s so much better, not to let you helpful yet helpless do-gooders in,” Andrew informed the man as he flicked his cigarette aside; he noticed that off in the distance, Boyd’s monster blue truck pulled into the parking lot. “Pig Higgins tried that ‘help’ thing, and gee, what a mess that turned out to be,” he reminded Wymack with a sharp grin. “What did that get us again? Let’s do a little review, shall we? A dead body,” oh, how Wymack flinched at that, “Nicky permanently estranged from his precious parents, and me locked up for seven weeks.”

“And what about Neil?” Wymack asked after a moment’s hesitation. “What did it cost him, besides the obvious?”

Andrew gave him a flat look, no longer willing to play. “We’re not talking about that.”

“I think we need to, because it’s plain that it’s a hell of a lot more than just some fancy ink,” Wymack insisted as he folded his arms over his chest. “I picked him up from the airport that night, I saw him. As bad as he was while you were away, he was breaking down from whatever the hell Riko did to him at Castle Evermore. I thought that the bastard did a number on Kevin, but….” He shook his head in seeming disbelief.

“It’s not your concern,” Andrew informed him as he slashed his right hand through the air, then frowned at the furious expression on Wymack’s face.

“Not my- all right, where the hell do you two get off on thinking that?” Wymack was yelling at that point. “Do you honestly think that I don’t give a shit about you? Either of you?”

Andrew shrugged and scoffed at the same time. “I think you should worry about the rest of your little rejects and pity projects, and leave Neil to me.” He gave Wymack a cold look as he toed at his cigarette on the ground. “Neil is *my* concern, I’ll take care of him. I thought I made that clear from the very beginning.”

“He’s a Fox,” Wymack said, his demeanor weary all of a sudden. “You both are. Let the damn team in. They’re trying to be there for you. They want to be there for you. And from what I can tell? You need them.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed upon hearing that. “We don’t need anything from you or your precious charity projects, other than them to win some damn games.” Because to rely upon them for anything more would just lead to disappointment, would lead to too much risk.

“So damn stubborn,” Wymack complained as he stared at Andrew with something akin to pity. “Would it really kill you to trust us?”

He flinched at the look Andrew gave him for that ridiculous question. “Funny you ask that, when it seems that I had the mistaken belief that Neil would be kept safe while I was stuck in Easthaven.” That Renee and Nicky and everyone else would raise some sort of objection if Neil started to do something so spectacularly stupid – at the very least slow the idiot down. “I should have been checked out for mass delusions, not violent tendencies,” he informed a wincing Wymack. “Now, if we’re done here? I’m going to go check up on that boyfriend of mine, considering the trouble he gets into while improperly supervised. Forgive me if I fail to recommend your child-sitting services in the future – clearly you suck at it. I dread to imagine what you’d do if left to watch over a poor dog or something.”

Wymack shoved another cigarette between his lips and looked ready to strangle someone. “Why the hell was I happy about you getting released? Can we recommit you for a few more months?”

Andrew gave him the finger and headed back into the stadium. Just as he was coming into the lounge, wonders of wonders, he crossed paths with Boyd; was it a late Christmas present or what?

Boyd paused as if checking to see who was coming into the lounge, and Andrew used that to his advantage to put every bit of his strength into his punch; oh, did he have a wee bit of frustration and rage to vent just then, even if Boyd wasn’t Riko or Stuart. Still, he had to teach the backliner a lesson for touching Kevin, and a convenient punching bag was a convenient punching bag.

The thought that Dr. Slosky would be so disappointed just then made Andrew a wee bit happy, too. As did seeing Boyd tumble to the ground, despite being more than a foot taller than Andrew.

Still, on the ground or not, Andrew didn’t let up on the asshole, he followed him down and threw another punch before Boyd could regain his senses or anyone intervened, enjoying the feel of his knuckles hitting flesh. Hmm, that felt so good that he did it again. He was pulling his arm back to deliver another blow when Neil got there, the killjoy, with Dan not too far behind. Neil just got into Andrew’s space, his bandaged hands held up, and shook his head.

“Enough.”

Andrew gave his boyfriend a cool look for the interference. “I warned everyone what would happen if they laid a hand on Kevin,” Andrew told the idiot, “yet he was stupid enough to do it twice. If he does it again I will not be as friendly." Neil held his gaze for a couple of seconds before bowing his head in acceptance.

Meanwhile, Dan wasn’t quite so gracious. "You're not seriously threatening him," she said in evident disbelief. “He was standing up for your damn boyfriend!”

Neil sent her an annoyed look for that. “I didn’t ask him to.”

Now Dan turned that incredulous look Neil’s way. “What the hell? You come back looking like that and you don’t think we’re going to do something about it? Especially when Kevin knew where you were all along?”

“Kevin wasn’t the one to do this to me,” Neil told her with a bit of heat even as he was mindful to remain out of reach of everyone but Andrew. “So leave him the hell alone. And Andrew, too.”

“See, Neil gets it,” Andrew said as he came over to Neil’s side. “Even if he’s stupid most of the time.”

“Nice to see you, too, monster,” Boyd said as Dan helped him to stand up, the words heavy with sarcasm. He wiped at his bloody nose before trying to sniff back some of the thick liquid then grimaced. “Good to see that you’re still bug-fuck crazy despite them letting you go.”

“What do you expect,” Aaron called out from farther back in the lounge. “It would take more like seven years, not seven weeks.” He gave Andrew a slight smile when Andrew gave his twin the finger for that comment.

Meanwhile, Renee came forward, missing her usual disgusting smile and placid demeanor. “Hello, Andrew.” She eyed the way that Neil shuffled closer to Andrew upon her approach, inching out of her reach, that hint of darkness flaring in her eyes for a moment before being replaced by sadness.

Andrew didn’t say anything to her, just gave her a cool look in return. He didn’t care that she’d practiced with Neil, that she’d passed on her blades – he’d asked her to do something and she’d failed to do it. She looked at him for a few more seconds before glancing aside, her shoulders drooping and a slight frown on her lips.

It was about then that Abby came into the room with her purse on her left shoulder, and she immediately appeared to pick up on the tension in the room. Her gaze flickered to Neil and then to Andrew before she glanced around at the rest of the Foxes. Then she noticed Dan and Boyd standing together, the furious expression on Dan’s face and Boyd’s bloody nose, and sighed a little. “Andrew, I’m so happy that you’re back, it hasn’t been the same since you’ve been gone.” She smiled at him, and didn’t seem bothered when he didn’t reply. “I’ll be going out to pick up the food, and will be back soon. Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m gone.”

“Thanks,” Dan told her, and it seemed as if Abby had barely gone out the door when Wymack entered it, having finished with his cigarette break at last. He took in Boyd’s bloody nose then turned toward Andrew with a disappointed expression.

“Really?” he asked. “All that therapy and this?”

“Hey, he’s still alive,” Andrew remarked, which made Neil sigh and Dan curse out loud. “That’s an improvement.”

Wymack just looked as if he was counting down the days to his retirement for a moment. “Where the hell is Allison?” He gave Andrew a pointed look as if he had something to do with the dealer’s disappearance.

"She went to see the championship banners," Neil said in a hurry, as if to change the topic.

"She'll come back when she's done crying over Seth’s," Nicky added.

"She's not crying," Neil snapped, a frown on his face. Andrew frowned at that, wondering when Neil had taken to caring about Reynolds.

"Five bucks says she is,” Nicky answered with a grin.

That only seemed to annoy Neil even more. “I don’t find that amusing,” he told Nicky as his curled his injured fingers into fists.

Nicky looked at Neil in shock, the grin wiped from his face as if he was trying to figure out why Neil was upset. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he admitted. “It was just… it was a joke.” The others looked on in confusion, as if trying to figure out what had set off Neil as well; Andrew wondered himself, if it was the betting or something else.

Meanwhile, Wymack cleared his throat as he glared at Nicky. “Get off your ass and go check on her. There’s a lot we have to get through and we need her here to do that.” When Nicky didn’t move, Wymack leaned forward. “I meant you, Hemmick. Josten’s too banged up to play errand boy right now.”

Neil twitched at that. “I can-“

“You can shut up and stay out of trouble for once,” Wymack told him without even looking in Neil’s direction. For once Andrew approved of the man.

While Nicky heaved an aggrieved sigh and went to fetch Reynolds, Andrew slid a hand along the back of Neil’s neck, mindful of his boyfriend’s reaction, and motioned him toward the couch. “Sit down and behave for once.”

Neil shivered a little at his touch, but didn’t flinch and moved with him over to the piece of furniture. Andrew had to sit in the middle, rather than have Neil tucked next to Kevin, but it was worth it when Neil didn’t react when they were pressed together. In fact, he relaxed a bit against Andrew, as if dealing with everyone was getting to him, and having Andrew next to him was some sort of relief.

“What did Abby say?” Andrew murmured in French while everyone was settling in their seats.

“Everything was negative,” Neil told him, just as he’d expected. “But I can’t practice or play for a week.”

“Junkie,” Andrew chided him, and ignored the way that Kevin was glancing their way as if curious about something.

It was then that Reynolds and Nicky returned, with Reynolds disappointingly dry-eyed and appearing almost defiant. She sat down near Renee and Dan, and came across almost impatient as she stared at Wymack. “Who are we eliminating first?”

All right, that was the attitude Andrew wanted to hear from these fuck-ups.

Wymack gave her a considering look before he checked his clipboard. "Round one: southeast versus southwest. Odd-ranked teams play on Thursdays this year, so we've got Fridays,” he rattled off. “January 12th, we're away against University of Texas. The good news is that Austin's just outside the thousand-mile range, which means the board's going to let us fly there.” Andrew did NOT consider that good news. "The 19th we're home for a rematch against Belmonte” That cheered the Foxes up, considering their win earlier in the season. “January 26th we're away against Arkansas.”

He paused to look over the Foxes. “It's two out of three to proceed to death matches. Belmonte is fourth-ranked, but you remember what they were like last fall. SUA is also fourth-ranked, while UT is second-ranked, and they have been second in their region for the past five years. All three of these teams have been in spring championships before with varying results.” Wymack paused again as if to let that sink in. “They know what they're doing. They know what it takes to qualify, whereas we are the weak link. That doesn't mean we're going to break. It just means we have to work twice as hard to keep up. If you're willing to do that, we have a fighting chance."

There was another break as if to give them some time to think while Wymack took a stack of papers and handed them to Boyd to pass around; Andrew took two, one for him and for Neil, which earned an odd look from Matt. They were the round one packets, with the information on UT, everything about the team’s fall schedule, blah blah blah. Andrew would read it, but wasn’t that worried about a team that kept falling out in the third round. Also in there was the information for Belmonte and SUA.

“We’ll go over the teams’ playing styles and strategies on Monday,” Wymack said, which sounded like so much fun. “I’ll have copies of their games for you to watch by then, if you’re interested.” Andrew sighed when Kevin and Neil perked up at that. “But you’ll do that on your own time, since I’m not taking the time out of our practices to show you more than a few highlights.”

"There's a week break between round one and the first set of death matches," Wymack continued. "Bad news is we won't know who we're up against until February. The good news? This year the Big Three are all in the odds bracket. They have to face each other in the third round. For the first time in six years one of them is getting knocked out before semifinals." And that was because the Foxes had finally qualified, and placed where they did. Andrew wasn’t going to quibble, not when it would make it easier to take on the Ravens.

"Oh, damn," Dan said, startled by the news. “That’s good for us.”

 "My money's on Penn dropping," Nicky said with too much confidence when one considered what was at stake.

 "Don't," Kevin said before the others could place any of their stupid bets. "It doesn't matter which one is eliminated; we are nowhere near ready to face any of them.” Ah yes, one had to love the coward’s sense of confidence. “How long is Neil benched?"

"A week," Neil said, and Andrew almost smiled at the resentful tone. "Abby won't reconsider until next Tuesday." When he almost said something else, Andrew gave the back of his neck a gentle squeeze.

"Generous," Dan said as she eyed Neil up and down. "I'd have benched you for the entire first round. I know Coach said to expect you looking rough but…." Her lips pressed together in a grim line as she shook her head.

"I'm fine to play," Neil argued, and before Andrew could do anything, Kevin reached behind the both of them to smack the back of Neil’s head.

“What did I say about lying about your health? You’re no good to us in your current condition.” He looked ready to say something else to Neil, but a warning glare from Andrew cut him short; while Andrew could appreciate someone else taking Neil to task about being an idiot, he also could see how Neil clenched his bandaged fingers together and struggled to breathe evenly at the moment.

“I… I played just fine… played days ago,” Neil said, his voice strained and his eyes unfocused with his head bowed. “I can play,” he insisted, and didn’t seem to notice how the rest of their teammates, especially Nicky and Dan and Boyd, stared at him in horror.

"Shut up," Wymack told him in a rough voice. "When you're sporting fewer than fifty stitches I'll consider letting you on my court again. If I catch you so much as looking at your gear before then I will bench you another week out of spite. Do you understand?"

"But—" Neil was stuck in a damn stubborn fit and wouldn’t go down easily. He was too used to fighting everything to go down so easily.

 "Give me a 'Yes, Coach'."

"But I-“

Tired of the stupidity at the moment, Andrew picked up Neil’s right hand and slid his fingers down to Neil’s wrist, to the thick bandages around the skin and tendons and bones. He didn’t even have to do much after that, just slight pressure was enough to make Neil catch his breath and jerk his head up to stare at Andrew, who was giving him a narrow look in return. Neil took a deep breath before shaking his head. “Yes, Coach,” he finally said.

“Well, that’s settled, I think.” Wymack turned his attention to Andrew. “How far behind are you? I didn’t see much in the way of proper work-out facilities listed at Easthaven.”

“I managed,” Andrew told him.

“Wonderful.” Wymack regarded the two of them for a moment before shaking his head as well. "Morning practices are at the gym again, except for Neil. Until you're back on the court, you'll be meeting me here instead,” he told the idiot. “I'll put you to work watching tapes and researching UT's defense. Tomorrow afternoon we're doing semester meet-and-greets with Betsy.” He gave a pointed look at Neil at that. “You know the routine: you can't go with someone who plays the same position. Dan'll figure out the pairs and give you an allotted time during morning practice. Right?"

“Oh yeah, I’m on it,” she agreed, while Neil grew tense next to Andrew. Oh yes, someone was going to have such *fun* tomorrow.

"Last order of official business from me is damage control," Wymack said. "We've got everyone's attention with this past year. A winning year and everything else that’s gone down means we're the talk of the town, and this year people might actually root for the underdog.” He grew quiet as if thinking of his next words and their impact. “The board wants us to encourage that fever with more publicity, so expect more cameras at games, more interviews, and more nosiness in general.” Oh yes, that would go down so well with a certain idiot. “If I could ban some of you from ever opening your mouth in public, I would, but this is out of my hands.” Andrew wondered who *that* was directed to, and cast a glance at Neil, who was burying his face in his hands. “Attempt to behave yourselves without sacrificing your confident image. Think you can do that?"

"You're no fun, Coach," Nicky said even as he looked over at Neil with blatant pity.

"I will be a lot less fun if you make us look like fools," Wymack said. "But I'm not as worried about you as I am about our resident punching bag and his smart mouth. Anyone have ideas on how to make Neil look a bit less like a battered wife?"

"It's under control," Reynolds said with a bit too much confidence for Andrew’s liking, and glanced over at Neil. "You'll come to our room after the meeting."

Oh was he? Neil’s gaze flickered at Andrew as if he  was confused by that statement. "Uhm, I was going to buy my textbooks today," Neil said.

"I wasn't asking," Reynolds stated. "You can go when I'm done with you, unless you want to go out looking like that."

Neil took to tugging at his bangs, obviously torn between being stared at for his bruises and not wanting to deal with Reynolds or, well, anyone. At least, until Renee spoke up.

"We all promised not to ask about Christmas," she said in an effort to reassure. "It'll only take a couple minutes, I think." She smiled at Neil, and didn’t seem to notice that Reynolds was annoyed at her for that, as if she was ruining Reynolds’ fun.  

Neil glanced from Renee to Andrew, who just shrugged; it was up to Neil to decide what he wanted to do, what he was comfortable doing. "Okay,” Neil said after a few seconds.

"I need to get my stuff, too," Nicky told Neil in a hurry, as if sensing that he still had a few doubts. "We can go when they're done with you."

“Great, so happy to be here while you figure out your social calendars,” Wymack added as he surveyed his team. "Anyone got anything else to say?"

“We’re going to need something to put our championship trophy on,” Dan told him in a show of confidence. “A shelf or something. Can we rearrange some things?”

Wymack shook his head. “The Board won’t sign off on a purchase like that until we’re through our second death-match. Nice try, though.”

Reynolds made a rude noise. “Forget the Board, they’re too stingy and have bad taste. I’ll buy the damn thing, because we deserve the best.” She looked over at Matt. “Measure the bed of your truck so I know what’ll fit in it before I go out shopping.”

“Must be nice to be young and filthy rich,” Nicky muttered.

Reynolds had a slight, knowing smile on her face as she considered her manicured nails. “It is.”

For a moment it looked as if Nicky was going to say something about Andrew and Neil, but Andrew gave his idiot cousin a warning look to make him keep quiet.

Wymack glanced around the room to see if anyone else had anything to say. “Any other comments?” No one else spoke up, and the door opened to admit Abby who had their lunch, which turned out to be Chinese. “Good. Now eat up and get your asses out of here so I can get some work done.”

Abby only stayed long enough to make sure that everyone had their food and then left, which was fine with Andrew. He was pleased to note that Neil had ordered some sweet and sour pork for him, along with enough egg rolls, while his boyfriend settled for Singapore noodles. Kevin seemed a bit offended at their choices, going for the steamed chicken and vegetables and brown rice, so Andrew took great joy in eating his egg rolls and bright orange fried pork pieces in front of the coward.

Everyone was rather quiet while they ate, focusing on the meal, and once they were finished with their food, everyone headed back to the dorms. Neil rode with Andrew in the GS, but went off with evident reluctance with Dan and Reynolds while Andrew shared at look with Renee. Reynolds noticed that Renee wasn’t following along and came to a stop. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll be there in a little while,” Renee told her roommate.

Reynolds gave Andrew a displeased look before shrugging. “Whatever. Just don’t make me have to do you as well.”

Renee waved off Reynolds’ concern before following Andrew up to the roof; once outside, Andrew lit a cigarette then went to sit on the ledge. “So, have a fun time with Stephanie? Do all that wonderful Christian stuff? Church and carols and praising baby Jesus while Neil was being tortured?”

Renee drew in a breath and tugged at her precious cross while she shook her head, the pastel ends of her hair flying through the air. “No. Oh Andrew, I am so, so sorry. If I could take away his pain, his – if I could have gone in his place, I would have.”

Andrew scoffed at that; there was no way to undo the past, they both knew that. “What’s that charming phrase? Shit in one hand and wish in the other, then see what you have? Your wishing does Neil little good, Christian Girl,” he told Renee. “It doesn’t undo the beatings, the new scars, the nightmares.” It didn’t undo the sight of Neil on his knees in front of Riko, of Neil flinching from everyone. “Two weeks at the Nest – it was quite the present for Riko this year, and you played your part in it.”

“I’m sorry,” Renee repeated as she held on to that useless necklace and stared at him.

He was off of the ledge and in her face within seconds, so full of rage that he barely recalled moving. “I don’t want your pathetic ‘sorry’s,” he yelled at her. “You were supposed to watch over him! I asked one fucking thing of you, and you couldn’t do that?” He had thought that he could trust her, and oh how wrong he’d been. “’Let me help you’, you said. Help with what? Hand Neil over with a damn ribbon to the man who-“ He let out an inarticulate shout as he spun away, unwilling to spill Neil’s secrets even if he suspected that Renee already knew. She’d be one of the few who had enough experience to know better, after all.

“You have every right to hate me,” Renee said, and for the first time ever, Andrew heard a roughness to her voice, heard that darkness she only showed glimpses of now and then. “I messed up, I know it. I worked with Neil, I helped him with the knives and he was getting better, was getting stronger. I thought… oh, how stupid of me, I thought he was strong enough at the banquet. Strong enough that I could divide my attention between him and the others.” She paused to shake her head, her eyes closed as if thinking about something. “I was wrong, and I should have watched him better. Should have made sure he got on that plane with Matt and Kevin and the others. You have no idea how much I regret that now.”

Andrew stared out over the campus and wondered how many happy people were out there, how many lived lives where they were perfectly content and safe and never had to worry about things like nightmares where you relived people holding you down to hurt and use you, or hiding old scars so people didn’t stare and ask painful questions, or trying to move forward without some prick destroying the life you struggled so hard to build – wondered and hated them for those happy lives. “Regret doesn’t do any of us a damn bit of good.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Renee agreed with that same ragged, dark voice. “So what do you want me to do? Get down on my knees and offer up some form of absolution? Go to Edgar Allen and kill Riko? Leave Palmetto so you don’t have to see me again?”

“The first is utterly useless to me, no to the second since that deprives me of something I plan on enjoying myself, and the third… hmm, tempting, but the Foxes have a need for your semi-pathetic skills,” Andrew explained as he turned around to face Renee. “For now, you can spar with me.”

Renee hesitated a moment before she nodded. “I’ll have to go get my-“

He cut her off. “Oh no, we’ll do without the knives for once. I’ll be much too tempted to put them to good use, if I pull them,” he explained.

“All right,” Renee agreed, and spun around for the door without saying anything else. Andrew followed, and had to wonder if Renee had guessed the outcome of their discussion because he just then noticed that Renee was dressed in loose cotton pants and a sweatshirt instead of a skirt and a matching top of some sort.

Andrew had to remove his arm guards once they reached the study room, making certain to tuck them out of the way on the stacked tables so they weren’t readily available, and it wasn’t soon after that before the fight began. He didn’t hold back – there was too much rage built up inside of him because of what had happened to Neil, and he was surprised when Renee matched him blow for blow at first. He’d go out on a limb and say that she was just as furious, either for Neil’s sake or because of her own guilt. Whatever the reason, they pummeled each other, lashing out with hands and feet, driving the other back and forth across the room.

Andrew had the advantage of strength and ferocity, Renee in strategy and reach. Most of the time they were evenly matched, with Renee edging him out if he didn’t control his temper, but not that day. Andrew wore her down and kept hitting until Renee fell, arms raised to ward off a particularly vicious blow, and while part of him wanted to keep hitting, to grab her by the throat and start smashing her head against the hard floor… he forced himself to back off.

Renee took a few deep, rapid breaths then shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said yet again. “I know it doesn’t change anything, but I am.”

“Tell that to Neil,” Andrew spat out as he examined the knuckles on both hands; bruised and split in a couple of places, but he could move his fingers with only a bit of pain. “See if he buys into those empty words.”

“It’s not worth the effort, because he doesn’t care,” she explained as she forced herself onto her unsteady feet, wincing the entire time. “All that matters to him is that you’re safe.”

Andrew glared at her for that, and felt a small twinge of satisfaction that Neil wouldn’t be the only bruised Fox in the near future; Renee was sporting a reddened cheekbone, a split upper lip and a black eye. “We’re done here, stay out of my sight for a while,” he told her as he left the room. Fighting her had helped to calm down some of the rage inside of him, but he wouldn’t forget that in the end, she had let him down. Perhaps she couldn’t have done anything to keep Neil, stubborn fool that he was, from going to Edgar Allen, but Andrew wouldn’t be so quick to put his trust in Renee when it came to something so important in the future.

Now to see what her roommates had done to his idiot, and to charge Neil’s phone and find out what fun waited on it. Andrew had a feeling that they might be returning to the store for a new phone very soon.

*******

Neil did his best to sit still and not flinch while he waited on the couch in the girls’ suite while Allison dug through her suitcase for something. After a minute or two, she pulled out a shopping bag and dumped its contents on the space between them.

“It would have been better if you were in the store with us,” she told him, as if he’d even been aware of the plan to use makeup to cover his bruises. “Anyway, I just bought out the whole row.” There were several bottles of stuff of various shades, and he didn’t understand why she needed so many. Dan was perched on the arm of the couch behind Allison and just shook her head, while Allison picked up first one bottle and then another. “I’ll figure it out, but until then just sit there quiet and don’t say a word unless I ask a question.”

That was encouraging. Neil’s hands clenched as she held up the bottle near his face, only to go with another one. Then she held two up, shook her head, and went with another pair before picking up yet another set, doing that a couple of times before narrowing the selection down to three bottles. Once that was done, she started swiping the liquid on Neil’s face with a sponge while he did his best to breathe evenly; it helped that she wasn’t too close and that there were only a couple of women Ravens. That… well, he told himself that she wasn’t interested in… that she wasn’t interested in him. Still, it was someone touching him.

Then Dan came in a bit closer, and he began to grit his teeth. “Why would someone do that to you? What was he after? To prove something?”

Neil didn’t need to think about Riko just then, dammit.

Allison might have noticed the way that he’d flinched, because she sent Dan an annoyed look and shooed her away. “We promised, remember? That’s enough, Dan.”

Dan shook her head. “You promised, not me.”

Well acquainted with how stubborn Dan could be by now, Neil decided to give Dan some sort of answer before she hounded him all season long. “He… he wanted to get at Kevin,” he said, which was a partial truth; Riko still was upset with Kevin leaving, judging from the way Kevin’s side of the room had been preserved, by the way Riko had ranted to Neil about how Kevin’s place was back at the Nest even if only as an assistant coach. There was no way Neil would admit to Dan that Riko had also been hoping to upset Andrew, not when… no.

“Riko’s not ready to let Kevin go,” he continued on. “He’s kept all of his belongings, his books, his clothes, everything that Kevin left behind. He might belittle Kevin and say he’s no longer fit to play Exy, but he wants Kevin back at Castle Evermore. Except Kevin’s moving on without him, so he’s striking back by trying to make Kevin jealous. By trying to replace Kevin, so Kevin becomes jealous as well and returns ‘home’, where he belongs, rather than see someone else take his place.” Neil and Jean had talked about it now and then, when Jean had been patching up Neil. How childish Riko was behaving, how determined he was to fill the void Kevin had left in his life. A void he had created in the first place.

Dan stared at him for a moment before shaking her head in obvious disgust and finally returning to the other end of the couch. “What an immature asshole.”

“Yeah,” Neil agreed as he flexed his injured fingers. “No argument here.”

“Still, don’t see why he had to beat the shit out of you and do what he did to Andrew,” Dan insisted. “That’s really fucked up.”

“Because we support Kevin,” Neil argued. And defied Riko. And Riko just liked to hurt things. And okay, too much thinking about Riko, dammit.

“Yeah, and you went through all of that,” Dan said while motioning to Neil’s face, “for just Kevin.” Her eyes narrowed when he gave her a blank look in response. “You’re not telling us everything, are you? I think he wanted you there for more than just Kevin.” When all Neil did was just stare back at her, she huffed in annoyance and threw her hands up in the air. “God, it’s like… it’s like talking to a, I don’t know-“

“A brick wall,” Neil supplied.

“*Yes*!”

“I get that a lot.”

Allison made a sound of annoyance. “You shouldn’t sound so pleased about that, and look forward, dammit. I didn’t tell you that you could look away.”

Neil drew in a breath as she resumed patting on the makeup. “So, what are we going to do with this lovely artwork, hmm? Which I have to say, never took you for the tattoo type, especially the neck tattoo type.” Allison paused as she held up the makeup sponge.

“Just… just leave it,” Neil told her. There was no point in covering it up, because if he started, then when would he stop?

“All right.” Allison’s eyes narrowed. “I notice that you’re not talking about it. About how you came back beaten up *and* with a tattoo.”

“I thought you promised no questions,” Neil said, hoping that she finished soon because his body was aching from being so tense for so long. Well, aching even more.

Allison’s lips pursed together for a moment. “I should have done you up, full kit and all, for that.” She checked something out on his face before nodding, then got up to fetch a hand-mirror from her desk. “All right, you’re done.”

Neil accepted the mirror but set it face down on the couch. “I’m sure it looks fine.”

Allison shook her head as she folded her arms over her chest. “You waltz in and out of Evermore like it’s nothing but you’re scared of your own reflection? It goes without saying, Josten, but you have issues. Did you come by them naturally or did your parents have some hand in them?”

Neil stared at Allison for the flippant question, left speechless at the moment, and then Dan jumped off of the end of the couch. “Yeah, it looks great!” she enthused. “I doubt anyone will notice unless they get really close, but even then they probably won’t ask. You’ll have to stop by after morning practices so Allison can put your face on until the bruises go away.” She seemed to think about something. “Do you have any nine o’clock classes?”

“No,” Neil said as he stood up, quick to put some space between him and the two of them. “I should have enough time.” He forced himself to smile at Allison even as he dreaded having to go through the process for several more days. “Thank you, I hadn’t thought about doing something like this before. It seems useful.”

She nodded as she started putting the unused bottles of makeup away. “It is, I picked it up when I started playing and wanted to keep the paparazzi off my back. Haven’t had the need to use it since then.” She paused in cleaning up to wave him away. “Now go, get your textbooks and see how well it works out.”

“All right.” He picked up his coat from where it was folded on the other end of the couch and nodded.

Before he could leave, Dan held up her right hand as if to stop him, and frowned when he took a hasty step back. “Look, I just want you to know that if you want to talk about, well, anything,” she motioned to his face and then the right side of his neck, “we’re here, okay? Whatever it is, you can talk to us.”

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before he gave a slight nod. “Okay.” He didn’t know what else to say about that, so he just nodded again and went around her so he could leave the suite.

Nicky was waiting for him in their suite, an anxious smile on his face. “Ah, you know, there wasn’t any time before for these.” He handed a large bag to Neil, which Neil thought he recognized from the day before. “It’s your Christmas present. I got one for you and one for Andrew, Erik helped me to pick them out while he was over.”

Neil felt horrible when he heard that. “I… I completely forgot,” he admitted; he hadn’t gotten anyone presents that year, hadn’t even remembered the holiday what with being in the Nest. “I’m so sorry.”

Nicky shook his head. “Oh no, don’t feel bad! I understand! I mean, considering where you and Andrew were and all.” Then he winced when he thought about what he’d just said. “Just, you know, wear them and everything, that’s enough for me.”

The coat was black, which Andrew would love, and looked warm. It also looked a lot more form-fitting than Neil usually preferred, so he set it aside for the time being. “Ah, I’ll try it on later,” he told his friend. “After….” He gave Nicky a nervous smile and held up his bandaged hands.

Nicky seemed to get the hint. “Oh! Oh yeah, sure! Let’s, uhm, let’s go get your books, right?” He seemed a bit dejected about everything, until Neil gave his left arm a quick squeeze by way of ‘thanks’. “All right, I’m driving!”

“Yay.” Neil figured traumatizing a few students on campus was worth it for his friend to be back in a good mood, and braced himself for Nicky’s awful driving; they got to the store and back in record time, Neil got the books he needed for class, and Andrew had returned by then. Neil sighed when he noticed the swollen lower lip and bruised left cheek that his boyfriend sported, along with the bruised and scraped knuckles, and hoped that Renee wasn’t that much worse off. “Feel better?” he asked as he set the bag of books down on his desk.

“Hmm, not really.” Andrew held up something, and Neil noticed that it was his phone, currently being charged. “Everything the prick sent you is in Japanese.”

Nicky dropped his books off with a nervous laugh. “You know what? I think… yeah, I’ve got a few more errands to run.”

Kevin, who had gone with them to the bookstore, dropped off his books as well and followed Nicky out the door. “I’m coming with you,” he called out. Neil watched them leave with a bit of envy, wishing he could flee his life just as easily, and hoped that Aaron had the good sense to stay with Katelyn for a while longer.

“All right, so do I look at them or what?” Neil asked as he came over to Andrew’s desk, where his phone was plugged in.

Andrew frowned at the phone in his hand and then selected one text seemingly at random. “What does this one say?”

Neil took a deep breath to help brace himself, and had his breath hitch when Andrew’s left hand settled on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes for a moment and reached up to give Andrew’s fingers a quick squeeze, grateful for his solid, grounding presence. After another deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked down at his phone so he could translate the message.

“Ah.” He winced and tugged on his bangs once he read what Riko had sent, for a moment considering lying about it before he remembered his promise to Andrew. “Dammit. ‘You’re missed by us. After practice sessions aren’t the same now.’” He rubbed at his face as he waited for Andrew’s reaction.

Andrew gave him a flat stare for several seconds. “Who all is ‘missing’ you?”

“Is this part of your ‘naughty and nice’ list?” Neil met Andrew’s gaze for a few heartbeats then sighed. “Federov, Phillips, Atkins, and Bautista.” He winced as he thought about – yeah, no.

“Not Moreau?” Andrew asked as he narrowed his eyes.

“No!” Neil shook his head. “He didn’t do any of that… that stuff!” Neil tugged on his bangs as he leaned against the desk. “No!”

“All right, it’s a fair question. The guy was there when- never mind.” Andrew slammed the phone down on the desk, then sighed as he came to stand in front of Neil. “Hey, are you freaking out again?”

“… no?” Neil eyed Andrew in front of him before reaching out to grab onto the hem of his boyfriend’s black long-sleeved shirt and slowly pulled him in closer. “I don’t want to see what else he sent, though. It’s just going to be shit to make you mad and me… I already know this shit.” He’d lived through it and just wanted to move past it.

Andrew stared at him for a few seconds. “There’s a video or two.”

“Fuck,” Neil said as he closed his eyes.

“Should I watch them?”

Neil rubbed at his face, the pain helping to keep him from panicking. “I’m not going to stop you.” Andrew had asked for the truth, after all.

He took a deep breath when Andrew picked up the phone, but all his boyfriend did was pick it up and flip through the screen, then hold it out while looking at him. “Yes or no?”

The question made him blink for a moment, surprised as he was by Andrew asking it just then, but in the end he trusted Andrew so he said ‘yes’. His boyfriend leaned in and much like that morning, it was little more than the press of lips against his own, but Neil felt safe enough to close his eyes, to bring up his left hand to touch Andrew’s hair. As if that was a signal, Andrew’s hand came up to cup his cheek just as there was the sound of the phone’s camera ‘clicking’.

Neil pulled away a few seconds later, to see Andrew hold the phone in both hands and start typing. He didn’t say anything, especially at that bright gleam in those hazel eyes, and somehow wasn’t surprised when the phone rang about a minute later – it would be before the afternoon practice session at the Nest, after all.

There was a hint of a smile on Andrew’s face as he answered the call. “Oh hello, Riko,” he said, voice thick with malevolence. “What an unpleasant surprise. Hmm, Neil? Sorry, he’s busy.” Andrew’s fingers tapped against Neil’s right shoulder while he listened. “Really? Well, the video quality was a bit lacking, and I have to say, I wasn’t impressed on several fronts. I would think you’d have more pride in yourself than to share images of your… well, ‘inadequacies’ is the only polite word that comes to mind.” The smile took on a vicious edge. “What’s that? Japanese for ‘I’m not tiny, it was just really, really cold?’ Now, now, Riko, we’re all friends here, you don’t need to lie. Just-“ Andrew blinked as he lowered the phone, all of a sudden rather pleased with himself. “Huh, he hung up.”

Neil didn’t know if he should laugh or just bang his head against something very, very hard and hope he became unconscious for a long time. “You know what, just keep my phone for a while longer.”

Andrew shrugged as he began to go through the texts and delete them. “I don’t know why he’d be upset.” Once he was done, he set it back down on the desk.

“Oh no, no idea at all.” Neil smiled as he tugged on Andrew’s shirt. “Do you feel better now?”

“Not as much as if I’d stabbed him in the gut, but that was mildly cathartic, I must admit.” Andrew slowly reached out and placed his hands on either side of the desk beside Neil, his eyes intent on Neil’s face as if to watch his reaction.

“I think we can safely say that Easthaven’s therapy program is a failure,” Neil said as he let go of Andrew’s shirt so he could skim his hands up to press against Andrew’s chest; it was reassuring to feel the warmth and firm muscles beneath his fingertips, and know that he could push all that strength away with barely any effort.

“I don’t know, it certainly works as excellent incentive to not be careless and get caught from now on.” Andrew leaned in, only stopping when he was about an inch from Neil’s face, breath fanning against Neil’s skin, and Neil’s fingers had twitched against his chest. “What did I tell you about letting that prick define you? Don’t let him get in your head. Don’t let him dictate what you do. Pick up your damn phone and keep it charged, because I want to know where you are and to be able to reach you. I don’t care if you delete every one of his messages as soon as they come in, but you’re not going to cut yourself off from the world because of one prick.”

“Yet you say this after using my phone to piss him off,” Neil pointed out, and winced when Andrew took to glaring. “Fine, I get it.”

“That would be a first,” Andrew muttered.

“Asshole,” Neil complained as his fingers smoothed out against Andrew’s chest; the warmth felt good – all of this felt good. It had been too long since Neil had been with someone he could trust, where he could just relax and… where he felt safe.

“Idiot,” Andrew shot back. He remained still, not pulling away and not moving any closer, as if waiting for Neil to do something. “Hmm, Reynolds didn’t do half-bad a job on the makeup. Too bad she didn’t cover up that awful tattoo.”

For a moment Neil thought that Andrew meant the new one, and then he realized that his boyfriend was staring at the ‘4’ on his cheek. “Oh. I think she left it because everyone’s used to it by now. Would seem weird if it vanished.” That reminded Neil of something, though, something that had flashed through his mind earlier when Andrew had talked about not letting Riko define things for him. The raven tattoo was too big to do much about, but the other one…. “Know any tattoo artists?”

Andrew gave him a curious look for the question. “Not my style. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of getting more done.”

“No.” Neil tilted his head to the left. “Just… maybe changing one of them. It’s like you said, time to redefine some things.” To prove to Riko that the bastard would never own Neil, that he’d never win.

“Not sure that’s what I intended, but we’ll see where you’re going with this one. I’d say ask Wymack, he’s the only other idiot all inked up,” Andrew said after a moment’s thought.

“So helpful you are.” Neil smiled to take any sting out of the words, then drew in a slow breath before he spoke again. “Yes or no?”

“Pushing,” Andrew said, but he didn’t pull away.

“Yes or no,” Neil repeated.

Andrew was quiet for a few seconds, his gaze assessing; Neil didn’t look away, didn’t flinch or twitch or move his hands at all. Finally, Andrew said “yes.”

It wasn’t a kiss much different than the other two, but Neil was the one to initiate it. He was the one to close the space between them, to press his lips against Andrew’s, to give a slight, pleased sigh at taking control after so long. His fingers curled up against Andrew’s chest, and before he did something stupid (he was learning) that would ruin things, he pulled away. “Thank you.”

The look on Andrew’s face just then was almost one of pain, so it wasn’t a surprise when he shook his head a little. “I hate you,” he told Neil even as he slumped down and rested his head against Neil’s right shoulder.

“I know.” Neil combed his fingers through Andrew’s short hair and smiled. “So, Nicky got us coats for Christmas. You’ll love yours, it’s nice and black.”

“He’s annoying.”

“Well, he is related to you.” Neil grinned when Andrew stepped away from him. “What?”

“Don’t think I’ll spare you an ass-kicking just because you’re already all beaten up,” Andrew warned.

“Perish the thought.” Neil checked to make sure his phone was still charging and had to plug it in a bit better before pushing away from the desk. “Did you get your books? Do you need anything for classes?”

They did some running around to get Andrew his books and anything else the two of them needed for class, as well as a few more groceries. Neil could feel a sense of exhaustion creeping in, but did his best to fight it, wanting to remain awake until a reasonable time to go to bed in hopes of getting a decent night’s sleep for once.

They returned to the dorms to find that everyone was back in the suite, with Nicky and Aaron playing a game and Kevin watching Exy on his laptop. Neil checked his phone to find it fully charged and several new messages on it, a couple from Riko which he deleted unread and one from his uncle asking where the hell he was. He showed it to Andrew before calling the man back while heading into the bedroom, with Andrew right behind him, the phone on speaker.

“Where the hell you been, kiddo?”

Neil winced at the concern in his uncle’s voice. “At Palmetto St-“

“I know that, you little twat, I mean why haven’t you been answering your messages?”

“Sorry, it’s… it’s been a rough couple of days,” Neil admitted as he sat down on the bed, with Andrew curling up nearby. “And to be honest, I haven’t really been checking my phone.”

Stuart was quiet for almost a minute. “Look, I’ve… I’ve heard some of the shite that went down there. I know it was… rough.” Neil cringed at that, at what all his uncle might know about his time at the Nest. “But I appreciate hearing from you that you’re alive, kiddo.”

“Yeah, I’m still here,” Neil told him, his voice rough from suppressed emotions. “And thanks, for helping out with Andrew.”

“Well, won’t say it was all that unpleasant, taking out that bastard for the little prick. Not often when it seems I’m doing the world a big favor.”

“Yet you’re still extorting your nephew to go out on a date with a wannabe mobster,” Andrew called out. “How wonderful.”

Neil glared at him for that, even if he wasn’t that pleased with owing that favor in return for his uncle’s help.

“Oh, what a surprise, the little prick is there,” Stuart drawled. “They actually let him out? How I miss Bedlam, that place had standards.”

Neil gritted his teeth together and took to tugging at his bangs. “Yes, they let him out, and not funny.”

“You’re dating a psychopath, kiddo. I don’t think you’re a good judge of humor.”

“Sociopath,” Andrew shouted, while Neil wondered why he put himself through this. Also, where Kevin had stashed his alcohol.

“I have a family history of serial killers and career criminals, what do you expect,” Neil pointed out. “Also, judgmental much?”

Stuart clicked his tongue a couple of times. “Not much when it comes to your taste in men, apparently, which is why I’m trying to help you out. Carlton’s good, you’ll see.” Neil took to banging his head back against the pillow, while Andrew had pulled out a knife. “Seems decent looking, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, at least he’s not a fuckin’ midget, has these things called ‘manners’, hasn’t been committed or arrested, all good stuff, yeah?”

“Neil’s gonna hate him,” Andrew sang out. “So boring.”

“Fucking manners,” Stuart repeated. “And powerful alliances with some other organizations that might make the main branch reconsider letting a certain spoiled asshole lay hands on you again. So yeah, think on that, kiddo.”

Neil sucked in his breath upon hearing that, and stared at a suddenly stone-faced Andrew. He moved his lips to answer but nothing came out at first, then forced himself to speak. “Thank you.” He meant that, he knew his uncle was concerned about him and trying to protect him. But he also couldn’t forget how his father had looked at his mother, as if she was a possession, how there had never been anything remotely good about their relationship – an arranged marriage. “I’ll go out with Carlton, but please don’t expect too much out of it.”

“Just saying. Get some rest and I’ll call you in a couple of weeks when Carlton’s in town for a visit.”

“Okay.” Neil rubbed at his sore eyes and tried not to sound as if he’d rather run a couple of marathons in his current condition than spend a couple of hours out with the guy. “Keep in mind that we’ve got some games coming up.”

“Yeah, I know about the games, Nathaniel,” Neil flinched upon hearing his birth name after the last couple of weeks spent in the Nest, “and what it means if you lose. Another reason why you need to think about the future.”

Andrew snatched the phone from Neil’s hand. “You’re a fucking asshole,” he snarled. “You honestly think we’re not? Go to hell, you limey prick.” Then he hung up on Neil’s uncle and threw the phone over his shoulder. “Wonderful man, truly. Won’t you reconsider letting me bury him in the backyard?”

Neil didn’t say anything, he just stretched out on the bed and wondered how normal people did it, wondered how they lived a life where their parents met at things like university or work or just… just running into each other. Where they didn’t try to kill each other, didn’t steal millions from criminal syndicates and run away, didn’t mess up their children’s lives by treating them like chattel or- “There are days I just… I just want to find run and never stop. Go somewhere there’s not anyone else and stay there forever.”

Andrew looked down at him for a few seconds then got up to leave as if to give him some peace, but Neil caught his hand before he could go very far and tugged him down onto the bed. Not too close, but he didn’t want Andrew to leave, to go away. “Don’t,” was all he said, knowing that his boyfriend wouldn’t like it if he said ‘please’, and Andrew’s expression smoothed out as he lay down with about a foot between them.

They both were quiet for about ten or fifteen minutes or so, and then Andrew sighed. “Neil McCormick.”

“I hate you,” Neil mumbled as he closed his eyes. “It’s going to be awful.”

“Hmm, he has *manners*,” Andrew said in a snide tone of voice. Fingers tugged on Neil’s hair; for a moment he stiffened at the touch, and Andrew shifted on the bed before Neil opened his eyes and reached for Andrew’s hand.

“No, it’s okay,” he said, his voice quiet as he made himself pull Andrew’s hand back to his head.

“What did I say about-“

“*No*,” Neil insisted; he wasn’t going to let Riko take this away from him, wasn’t going to let the bastard ruin this. “Just… what were you saying?” he asked, his voice a bit rough.

Andrew gave him a flat look for a couple of panicked heartbeats, then sighed as his fingers once more combed through Neil’s hair. “Manners, I was talking about how boring Carlton has what I’m sure are such lovely manners.” There was a biting tone to Andrew’s deep voice while he spoke.

“What a concept.” Neil watched his boyfriend for about a minute before he could close his eyes again. “I won’t know what to do.”

“Poor Neil.” The amount of sarcasm in those two words made Neil wince.

“And a date… what do you do on a date?” Neil couldn’t even begin to imagine.

The fingers stilled in his hair again. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, really. I’ve never been on one.” Were they like the ones in the movies Nicky watched? That seemed rather ridiculous.

“I’m really going to kill your uncle now.” Andrew sounded furious for some reason.

“Whatever.” Neil found himself about to fall asleep and groaned as he opened his eyes to force himself to sit up. “Don’t wanna sleep now.” He found Andrew glaring about something and reached out to touch him on the chest. “Hey, it’s just going to be one night. After… after my parents….” He paused to take a deep breath. “I’m just doing this to pay Stuart back.”

Andrew’s glare settled on him and then he huffed, his expression smoothing out after a moment. “You’re going to drive that guy crazy.”

“Eh?” Neil tried to figure out that statement. “What does that mean?”

“Just what I said.” Now there was a somewhat pleased smile on Andrew’s full lips. “Serves your uncle right.” He got off of the bed and hooked a finger in the front of Neil’s hooded shirt to pull him along. “Come, let’s get some caffeine in you to see if we can’t keep you up for a few more hours.”

Andrew lived up to the threat and made Neil drink several cups of coffee, and then ordered pizza for dinner. Nicky scowled at him for Neil’s sake when it turned out to be veggie lovers, but Neil just shook his head and smiled, grateful for some sense of normalcy even if his fingers weren’t up to picking off the damn vegetable pieces and he had to settle for just removing the cheese and all, and eating only the dough and tomato sauce as he leaned against Andrew’s legs while sitting on the floor.

Kevin wanted the two of them to watch some of the old UT games that he’d found on the internet, but even with all that coffee, Neil was fading fast and knew he didn’t have enough focus to do the games any justice. Instead, he put on his coat and let Andrew lead him up to the roof, where the cold air helped to keep him awake a bit longer, and sat there while Andrew smoked, content to breathe in the acrid scent of cigarettes in companionable silence. When he was falling asleep sitting up, Andrew dragged him back downstairs, made him wash off and put him to bed.

He had one nightmare that night, and fell back to sleep with his hands tangled in Andrew’s t-shirt, with the feel of Andrew’s fingers combing through his hair.

He got up about an hour before everyone else, Andrew grumbling before pulling the covers over his head, and had the coffee on for them so they could have some caffeine before heading off to the stadium for the semester’s first official day of practice and class. While everyone worked out in the gym, Neil got to watch the UT games that Wymack had set aside for him and take some notes, still a bit upset that Abby wouldn’t clear him, that he’s being coddled. It was an unusual situation for him, really, especially after the last few weeks.

Once the morning practice was over, he went back to the dorms so Allison could re-apply the makeup, riding in the Nissan with Nicky rather than in Allison’s tiny Porsche. Dan had given him a considering look at that, at least until Renee had stepped in to distract her, a look she still sent his way now and then while Allison hid the bruises in a much faster time than the day before. Neil did what he could to focus his thoughts on his upcoming classes to keep himself from flinching, and jumped off the couch as soon as Allison was finished.

“I’ll walk you to your class,” Renee offered. “Japanese, right? I’ve one near there.”

“Yeah, finishing it up,” Neil said as he hovered near the door while Renee grabbed her bag. He winced a little as he watched her hitched motions, feeling a bit sorry at the bruises on her face that he knew were from Andrew. She waved goodbye to Allison and Dan, and they then left together.

Not much was said until they were outside. “I’m sorry,” Renee offered, as always not one to dance around what she felt was important. “I promised to help you, and you faced Riko alone.”

“That was the point of everything,” Neil said as he gave her a nervous smile. “He didn’t want anyone else there but me, and honestly? I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else there, either.” Wouldn’t want anyone else to have to deal with the bastard.

“Still, you shouldn’t have suffered like you did.”

He shook his head. “It was my choice.” He was quiet as he stared down at the sidewalk. “It’s not your fault, and I’m sorry if Andrew’s making you feel that way.”

“He asked me to watch out for you,” Renee explained.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’re responsible for me.”

“Hmm, he’s very protective.” A slight smile hovered on her lips. “How would you feel if the situation was reversed and he’d gone there for you?” Her smile grew a little wider when Neil scowled. “See? I know it’s not very rational of him, but it’s good, that he cares so much. I’d much rather he blames me, because it means he does care. It means he has something important to him. I’ll just know better next time.” Now her smile was wiped away and she gave Neil a cool look.

“Uhm… I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” he said as he took a careful step to the side.

“Oh, it’s not bad, it just means you won’t be able to sneak away so easily in the future. I’m a bit… annoyed with Riko at the moment, too.” Renee’s eyes narrowed, just a little. “He inspires some rather uncharitable thoughts right now.”

Neil laughed at that. “If by ‘uncharitable’ you mean ‘homicidal’, then yeah, we can agree on that.” He sighed as he held up his left hand, which still bore several band-aids at the moment, and decided to change the subject. “You know, Jean tried to help me.”

“Hmm?” Renee’s gaze sharpened at that. “How so?”

Neil grimaced a little, not pleased at thinking of anything having to do with the Nest but feeling that he owed it to Moreau all the same. “He patched me up whenever Riko… well, whenever Riko was done. He even….” Neil tugged at his bangs and took a deep breath because the new topic wasn’t that much better that the old one.

“You don’t have to,” Renee told him, her hand hovering over his left arm but not touching.

“No, you should know,” he insisted. “Jean tried to rein Riko in a few times, to stop him. He even…,” Neil had a feeling that Renee had already guessed, based on the way she hadn’t touched him, the way she kept distracting Allison and Dan from getting too close or prying too much in what had happened at Castle Evermore. “He couldn’t stop Riko, not entirely, but he made sure the others… that they didn’t go too far when… when Riko wasn’t there.” He had to take a few deep breaths to keep from throwing up. “Oh god.” He had to stop and run his hands through his hair, to close his eyes and push back the memories.

“Neil.” Renee got in front of him, a quiet yet oddly solid presence similar to Andrew who made sure to wave away anyone who came up near them. “Neil, do you want to go back to the dorm? Should I call Andrew?”

“No,” he told her after about a minute. He forced himself to take a deep breath and stand up, and laughed a little when she reached into her bag to pull out a bottle of water. “Thank you.” She handed it over, mindful not to touch his fingers.

“You didn’t have to tell me that,” she said. “But thank you.”

He sipped from the water then motioned for them to continue. “Yes, I did.” He owed Jean that much, because Riko hadn’t been pleased, those times when Jean had stepped in to ‘calm’ him down. Federov and Atkins and the others hadn’t been happy, either, even though Riko had declared Neil as ‘his’ – apparently, that left some ‘leeway’ in the other Ravens’ minds and… yeah. No, Jean had kept an already horrible situation from becoming even worse of a nightmare. “I wouldn’t care if the Nest burned down tonight with every last Raven trapped inside,” he said, voice dripping with venom, “except for Jean.”

Renee was quiet for a yard or two. “I was upset with him, for not telling me that you were there.”

“He’s *their* property,” Neil reminded her. “Don’t blame him for that. He’s still trapped there, he has to survive.” Neil would have to do the same, if the Foxes lost.

“Thank you, for telling me even though it’s cost you.” She gave him a tremulous smile while worry clouded her eyes. “I won’t hold it against him anymore. And thank you, too, for not blaming me for anything.”

There wasn’t much more he could say at that point – he didn’t understand why Andrew blamed her, but he knew Andrew could be stubborn and set in his thoughts. They were quiet the rest of the way to their classes, and Neil’s mind was unfocused as a result, kept skittering over things as he did his best to bury what he’d brought up while talking to Renee. It was a good thing his first two classes were Advanced Japanese, which was a blow-off class to him at this point because – not going there, and another math course for his major.

He met up with Andrew and Kevin for lunch, and Andrew made him eat something even though he didn’t have much of an appetite. Then they went back to the dorms, where Andrew led him up to the roof where he could stare out over the campus and breathe in cigarette smoke for about an hour, away from everyone but his boyfriend, away from the noise and press of other people, and then he was ready to go suffer through another practice where he wouldn’t do anything but look at a bunch of videos while everyone else got to play Exy. At least he knew better than to complain to his boyfriend, who would just give him a scathing reminder about stupidity and being a martyr for no good reason.

He could barely sit through the videos, which earned him a scornful look from Wymack. “Pay attention and take notes. It’s not going to kill you to sit out a couple of sessions, whereas it will kill me if Abby finds out I let you out on that court early.”

“We have to win those games,” Neil reminded the man. “I don’t want to get out of shape and fall behind.”

Wymack scoffed at that. “You spent two weeks playing with the Ravens, somehow I doubt you’re rusty at all, kid. Take a damn break and brush up on some strategy, take some notes and help the others that way. You’ll be back on the court soon enough, and in a decent shape to play.”

Neil did his best not to curse as he followed orders for once, and was about halfway through the second game when it came his turn to head off to Reddin for his second yearly session with Betsy Dobson. For the current semester, he was paired with Aaron, the first time he’d been alone with Andrew’s brother since the new year.

“Ah… so, you and Katelyn?” he dared to ask as he drove them over in the Nissan.

Aaron scowled a little. “Still doing well. You haven’t said anything, have you?”

Neil winced. “You’ll know if I do, trust me.” He took a deep breath and continued. “You’ll have to do something soon, if you plan on continuing.”

Now Aaron’s expression was mulish. “I don’t know, you’re turning out to be a wonderful distraction so far.”

“So pleased that my suffering has proven worthwhile,” Neil intoned in a flat voice, now remembering why he and Aaron didn’t have these heart to heart talks.

“Yeah, it’s been real helpful. Just keep him from killing anyone and we might be able to milk this for another month or two.”

Neil wondered just how upset Andrew would be with him for shoving his twin out of a moving car – then he remembered that they needed Aaron if the Foxes were to win, since he was a better backliner than Nicky. *Dammit*.

Since it was the start of the semester, not too many students were at the medical center around then so Neil didn’t have a problem finding a parking spot, and they just walked in since Betsy was expecting them. Aaron went first, which meant Neil got to sit and wait.

He pulled out his phone and deleted anything that he suspected was from Riko or any other Ravens, and answered a couple of texts from Anna, who was a little miffed at him from taking so long to get back to her. There were even a few from Nicky, who was checking in to see how his first day of class was going. Once that was done, Neil flipped through a magazine and tried not to think about what Betsy was going to ask him.

He had just picked up another magazine when he heard Betsy’s door open and looked up to see Aaron walk out, his expression even more sullen than it had been out in the car, with a smiling Betsy behind him. “Hello, Neil,” she called out to him, so he forced himself out of the chair and passed Aaron on the way to the woman’s office.

It was just as organized as last time, with all the knick-knacks and the scent of chocolate in the air. She smiled at Neil and motioned for him to sit down on the couch. “If you like, I have some tea. I remember you saying that you don’t like any sweets.”

“I’m fine,” he told her while he shook his head, not wanting anything from the woman, not wanting to be in the office at all.

She smiled as she went about fixing a mug of hot chocolate for herself. “It’s been a while. If you don’t mind, tell me how you’re doing.”

He did mind. “The Foxes made the spring championships and Andrew’s back.” Neil been tortured by a sadistic bastard over the holiday break, but yeah, they’d skip that part.

Betsy paused for a moment and waited until she sat down with her hot chocolate. “Congratulations for that, by the way. I know everyone is very excited about the Foxes making it this year, and that everyone is very talented.” She lifted the mug to blow on it, and Neil noticed the way that she glanced at his bandaged fingers. “Is that what you want to talk about?”

He curled his fingers into fists. “What else would I talk about?”

“Anything at all, Neil. These sessions are all about you,” Betsy told him. “Whatever you want to talk about, whatever you want to get off your chest.”

He leaned forward a little, which prompted Betsy to do the same. “I think this is a waste of my time,” he told her. “You’re not going to fix anything in half an hour.” He didn’t see the point to this and was annoyed how everyone kept insisting that she would help him. Help him how? Erase Riko and Nathan Wesninski from his life?

“Do you need something fixed?” she asked him, a slight smile on her face.

He narrowed his eyes as he sat back in his chair, unwilling to take that bait. “You really want me to talk?”

Betsy nodded. “If you want to, yes.”

Neil smiled at her and started speaking in Japanese about the Ravens’ drills that Kevin had taught him, about the Foxes’ upcoming games, and about how annoying it was to watch videos when he wanted to practice. He was careful, just in case she was recording the sessions, and didn’t say anything incriminating, but it amused him when he caught the occasional twitch from her, either in boredom or annoyance, since she couldn’t understand what he was saying and so follow along. Soon enough, his half an hour was up. As soon as he as free, he stood up and didn’t say anything else, didn’t acknowledge her, just left the couch and was out the door. Aaron was quick to fall in step beside him and they didn’t speak until they were at the car.

“I didn’t say anything about you.”

Neil froze in unlocking the doors to look over at Aaron, who looked back at him. “About you,” he gestured to Neil. “What’s going on with that and all.”

“Thanks.” Neil shook his head. “She didn’t ask me anything,” he admitted. “Didn’t really get the chance before I started talking non-stop in Japanese.”

Something akin to respect came over Aaron’s face. “Huh, I didn’t think about that – wonder if I can check with Abby to make sure she doesn’t know German. I just don’t say anything.”

That was impressive, sitting there for half an hour in silence. “Yeah, just talked about random stuff, mostly Exy-related.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Aaron said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Neil wondered if Andrew would continue with the weekly sessions, now that his probation had ended. He’d been considering it before, but after being forced to stay at Easthaven? Neil figured he’d find out soon enough, if Andrew missed out on part of the Wednesday practice sessions.

Neil went back to watching the videos when they returned to the stadium, which of course wasn’t much fun, especially when he had to struggle to stay awake, thanks to his messed up sense of time. After a while Allison and Renee returned from their visit to Betsy, and he was surprised when Renee came over to him with a large cup of coffee. “Here, I thought you might need this,” she told him.

He blinked in surprise at the drink. “Uhm, thanks?”

She smiled at him. “Nicky mentioned that you’re having problems adjusting, and Jean told me about the Ravens’ ‘days’.”

“Ah.” Neil gave her a grateful nod as he accepted the drink. “Yeah, it’s… been a challenge.” He went to rub at his eyes and remembered about the makeup just in time. “I’m hoping to be back to normal next week.”

“The weekend should help,” she told him. “Recovery takes a lot out of you.”

Neil stared at the cup in his hands for a moment before he glanced around to make sure they were alone. “Speaking of… how long… I mean… for taking….” He shook his head, uncertain if he should be asking her that question. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s all right.” She went to touch him and then thought better of it, a sad smile on her face. “You know about my past, and if it can help you right now, then that’s good.” She took a deep breath as if to center herself, her fingers seeking out her cross emblem. “But in all honesty, it’s different for everyone, Neil. Don’t think you only have so long until you have to get better, or that something’s wrong if you seem to be recovering faster than you expect.” Her smile took on a more genuine feel. “It helps, having someone you can trust, you know.”

“Andrew.” Neil stared into his coffee as he thought about what she’d said then took another sip, needing a moment to just take it all in. “Speaking of which, how’s he doing?” He had to wonder how well his boyfriend was doing back on the court after so many weeks away.

Renee’s smile took on an impish quality. “Why don’t you go check? Surely Coach can’t complain about you being out on the court to do that much, and Andrew would appreciate the attention.”

Neil cocked his head to the side and regarded her for a few seconds, not sure he was buying it. “Right. Which one are you trying to get me in trouble with here?”

“Would I do that?”

“I’m not buying it,” Neil told her. “Despite the rumors, I haven’t taken that many hits to the head, and I still remember our training sessions.”

Renee dusted her hands while shaking her head. “I’m going off to find Allison, it’s up to you what you do. I’m just saying that Andrew seems much more cooperative with you around.”

Well, it was a bit difficult to argue with that, wasn’t it? Neil drank some more coffee before he set it aside. “Let’s go see how cooperative he’s being then.”

He went out through the back door and could hear the sound of an Exy ball bouncing around a hard surface as he made his way down to the inner court. Wymack was off by the home bench watching the Foxes practice while taking notes, and Neil hung back a little so he didn’t startle the man.

It looked as if it was Andrew down in the goal with Kevin and Dan taking turns trying to score against him, while Aaron, Matt and Nicky were on defense. Kevin could out-maneuver Nicky and Aaron from time to time, but whenever he and Dan did manage to get their shots past the backliners, Andrew blocked each and every one. Only Andrew wasn’t doing his usual lobs down the court, he was doing something Neil remembered all too well from the days back in Racine and Columbia, from their own private training sessions – Andrew was aiming the return shots at Kevin and Dan’s legs. Kevin was mostly quick enough to dance out of their way, but Dan would have tripped the one time she got a shot at the goal if it weren’t for Matt catching her.

Wymack wasn’t impressed with Andrew’s tough-love training method and was cursing up a storm over it, to the point where he went to slam his clipboard down on the bench and finally noticed that Neil was behind him. Neil gave him a nervous smile and expected to be yelled at for being on the court, but Wymack just grunted and jabbed a finger in his direction.

“You!”

“Uhm, yeah, me,” Neil said.

“Go out there and tell your psycho boyfriend to knock it off before he breaks someone’s leg!”

Neil glared at that. “He’s not pyscho.”

“He’s trying to cripple our offensive line, I’m not buying the argument right now. Go,” Wymack ordered right before he pounded on the wall to put a pause to the scrimmage so Neil could walk out onto the court. Neil sighed as he headed out there, and noticed that Andrew had draped his large racquet over his shoulders and was watching him. He went up to Andrew so they could talk privately to each other and not yell across the court, and gave his boyfriend a confused look.

“So, Coach seems to think you’re trying to take out the offensive line.”

Andrew shrugged his shoulders and looked bored. “They’re not trying hard enough, I’m just giving them a little incentive.”

“It’s the first day of practice,” Neil reminded him. “And that’s Kevin Day out there. Somehow I fail to believe that they’re not trying hard enough.”

Andrew shrugged again. “I’m just calling it as I see it. I figured this method worked so well with you, I’d try it out with these losers.”

Neil took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. “May I remind you that we only have nine players on this team and if someone goes out with a broken ankle, that’s it for us? No more season, no championship game?” No more Foxes for Neil, no more Palmetto State. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but pl- but a little more restraint would be good.”

They both stared at each other for several seconds. “Do you really?”

Okay, like that was easy to follow. “Do I what?”

“Appreciate all this shit?”

Neil gave him an odd look for that. “All right, what exactly am I appreciating here? You trying to cripple people for me or you trying to help the Foxes win some games?” When Andrew gave him an incredibly flat look back, he sighed. “Don’t say it, that’s your ‘he’s such an idiot’ look. To be fair, there’s an awful lot of violence in our relationship, you know. Don’t blame me for wanting a bit of clarification.”

“Who called their uncle to… ‘handle’ a ‘problem’ for me, hmm?”

“This isn’t some sort of point system or contest,” Neil gritted out. “Will you kindly rein in your ‘incentive’ to where it’s not going to maim our own teammates?”

Andrew appeared to consider that for a moment. “You’ll owe me.”

Oh why not? “Fine. At least you’re not asking me to date anyone.”

“That’s not helping to keep me from maiming anyone,” Andrew told him in a too cheerful voice. “Now get off the court, you’re holding up practice.”

Neil muttered beneath his breath in Japanese about frustrating assholes as he spun around, fingers combing through his hair, and got off the court before he did something that would just make Andrew smack him over the head with that huge racquet. Nicky gave him a sympathetic look in passing, while Kevin shook his head.

As soon as he was off the court, the scrimmage resumed, and when Kevin got the ball past defense, Andrew didn’t fire it back at him. No, he lobbed it all the way down to the opposite end of the court, meaning that Kevin or Dan had to run over there to get it. Neil had the feeling that they were soon going to get tired of this new tactic and reconsider having the balls aimed at them.

Wymack stared at Andrew for a minute or two, then at Neil, then looked back at Andrew. “Whatever works,” was what he said before he told Neil to get his ass back to watching games again. By that point, Neil was grateful for the chance to retreat into the lounge and be left alone for a while.

*******

After practice on Friday, Andrew and the rest of the ‘monsters’ got ready for the weekend spent in Columbia and a night at Eden’s Twilight. He had pulled Neil aside earlier to make sure that his boyfriend was willing to go, offering to skip leaving the campus that weekend, but Neil has gotten that damn stubborn look on his face and insisted that they go.

He could understand why Neil was up for it, why he didn’t refuse; if one found too many excuses, one could hide from things for too long, could risk never really recovering. Still, he thought that Neil was pushing a bit much.

So they were in the bathroom while the others changed in the bedroom and Andrew helped Neil with his clothes, Neil still stiff and unable to lift his arms very high. Abby had removed a few more stitches that day, taken off a few more bandages, but there were still too many stitches left and way too many bruises. The bandages were gone from Neil’s fingers, leaving the mottled marks plain to see, along with the dark nails, and the raw, red scabs all over Neil’s wrists which would turn into scars.

Neil was still as Andrew’s fingers traced along the bruises and stitches, along the scabs and the inked feathers. His eyes followed Andrew’s hands as much as possible, but he didn’t pull away and didn’t flinch, didn’t start to panic.

“Do you think there’s some sort of prize for the most scars or something?” Andrew asked while he helped Neil into his shirt for the night, another black one with long sleeves that came past his hands and hooked over his thumbs to help hide the bruises and scabs, but was looser than the other one and had a hood as well.

“Very funny.” Neil gave him a sour look that Andrew covered by pulling the shirt over his head. “Great sense of humor.”

“At least I can dress myself,” Andrew remarked. “And I’m not wearing any makeup.” Andrew found that in falling back into the usual mocking banter, his idiot didn’t tend to dwell on the nightmare of the situation, the dark traps and sink-pits of pain and awful memories. Much better to bait that lovely temper, oh yes, to make those pale eyes light up with fire and narrow on Andrew than glaze over and become dull while Neil focused on what had happened during those weeks at Evermore.

“Hmm, I bet you would....” Neil frowned as he cocked his head to the side. “No, wait, I’m just not seeing it.” He grimaced and shook his head. “No.”

Andrew gave him an evil grin in return. “Can’t get it out of your head now, can you? Not pretty enough for you?”

“It’s the murderous look at the same time, I think. You’d be the most demented drag queen ever – like some mug shot of those women serial killers from the early 1900s or something.”

“And you wonder if we need to reconsider our small talk,” Andrew scoffed. “Did Abby give you pain meds after all?”

“No,” Neil complained as he tugged on the hem of his new shirt, eyes downcast. “Are you… are you going to make me drink tonight?”

Ah, someone was nervous. “Only if you want to,” Andrew told him, no longer in a mood to tease or joke; Neil had been stripped of enough control these last few weeks, he wasn’t going to do that to him tonight even under the best of intentions. “If you think it’ll help, then I’ll make sure it doesn’t go too far. If you don’t want any, then it’s just water or soda.”

Neil was still as he considered that. “Okay.” It wasn’t an answer either way, but Andrew figured that his boyfriend would decide once they got to the club. They both finished getting ready and left the room to meet the others.

Nicky smiled at them and gave a ‘thumb’s up’ as if in approval in the outfit, which he had run out to pick up, and Kevin looked Neil over as well – Andrew realized he was checking the makeup, and gave the striker a cool look for that. Aaron glanced at them for a moment, tearing himself away from his phone for that long, and then the five of them left the suite. Once they hit the stairwell, Andrew lit two cigarettes and passed one to Neil, who let out a shaky breath as he accepted it. He flashed Andrew a grateful smile when they got in the car, Andrew driving and Neil in the passenger seat beside him. Andrew noticed that along the way, Neil would check the arm guards now and then, probably to reassure himself that Renee’s – now his – knives were there. Neil had been on him to forgive her, or at least move past everything, and maybe he’d consider the latter since it seemed that Neil found some reassurance in what Renee had done for him in the last several weeks.

Neil was quiet when they got to Sweetie’s, allowing Nicky to commandeer the conversation and just picking at his ice cream, and not complaining when Andrew took the dish away from him to finish it. He didn’t say anything about the cracker dust, either, didn’t blink or complain, yet didn’t hesitate when it came time to leave for the club.

Of course Eden’s Twilight was busy since it was a Friday night, and Karl got up to greet them when Andrew pulled up to drop off the four of them; he could tell that Neil would have preferred to stay with him while he parked, but Neil needed to learn to be a big boy and deal with these things – Andrew wouldn’t always be around every moment of the day. So Neil took a deep breath and moved forward with the others, and Andrew was almost amused to note the way that Kevin remained close to him in a protective manner, and how Nicky kept Karl from patting Neil on the back before coming over to hand Andrew the VIP parking pass.

They could be such pains in the asses at times, but they could also be semi-decent at times, his little group of ‘monsters’.

He parked the GS and headed back to the front of the club, and accepted Karl and TJ telling him that they were glad to hear that he hadn’t gotten into too much trouble for ‘that shit which went down’. Andrew knew that some of the story had gotten out, but the DA and the cops had kept the more personal details from surfacing and that’s all that he cared about. He nodded back to them and then motioned toward the door, saying he needed to meet up with the rest, and they let him go inside.

Since the place was so packed and there weren’t any tables available, he found his group at the bar, talking to Roland. Well, Nicky talking to Roland, with Neil mostly sandwiched between Kevin and Nicky, the two of them giving him a bit of space between them and Aaron blocking anyone coming up to Neil by standing in front of him while typing on his phone. Aaron nodded to his brother then stepped away, so Andrew could sidle between Kevin and Neil; his boyfriend’s tense body against his chest as Neil leaned back against him.

“About time,” Neil complained, his voice tight but body relaxing as Andrew slid an arm around his waist.

“What did I say about pushing, hmm?”

“I didn’t….” Neil let out a slow, shuddering breath. “It’s dark in here. I forgot about that. Didn’t expect… I’ll get used to it.”

Andrew frowned at that, not quite sure what Neil meant – yeah, the lights overall were dim, but there were also flashing lights here and there. He glanced around the dark painted walls and then remembered the black painted room in the video Riko had sent him. “If you want to go, we-“

“No,” Neil told him. “I’ll get used to it,” he insisted. “Just got taken by surprise.”

He wanted to yell at Neil for pushing, for being a stubborn idiot… but in the end, it was up to Neil. Andrew gritted his teeth together and tightened his arm around his idiot’s waist and looked over to find Roland staring at them as he put together a tray of shots.

“Everything all right? You finally get back here, I figured you’d be a bit happier about that.”

Andrew shrugged. “Same old, same old. What can I say?” Neil twitched at that.

Roland laughed and slid one of the shots over to Andrew. “Only you could say that after being let go after… well, after. Congratulations, by the way. Welcome back to the land of the free.” He nodded to the tray of the drinks. “Guess you’re here to work on the ‘sober’ part, eh?” He slid over more shots for Kevin, Aaron and Nicky to take, and Andrew watched as even Neil reached for one. “Cheers to all of you.”

While Roland went back to putting together the tray for them, Andrew set his empty shot down then reached for Neil’s, which he was holding onto. “I won’t let you go too far,” he promised.

“Just a little tonight,” Neil said as his head lolled back onto Andrew’s shoulder. “I just – everything’s too tight right now. Too close.”

“All right.” Andrew brushed his lips against Neil’s forehead, which made Neil close his eyes and relax a little more.

As soon as all the drinks were assembled, Andrew pulled out the cracker dust and let it get split up, and didn’t complain when the others took a bit more than normal; it had been several weeks since they’d been out and it looked as if Nicky and Kevin at least were determined to make up for lost time. Neil had a couple of shots while the others downed them in rapid succession, clearly wanting some sort of buzz but not oblivion, wanting that ‘little’, and Andrew drank on the slow slide as well. It had been about two months for him and he had promised Neil to watch over him, not to mention he wouldn’t put it past a certain prick to try something on a night when Neil just wanted to go out and relax.

It wasn’t long before the other three were out on the dance floor and acting like idiots, which left them a little more room at the bar. Neil still stood right next to Andrew, clearly seeking some comfort in his presence. “So, the UT game is this coming Friday.”

“What about it?”

Neil sighed as he picked up another shot but didn’t drink it just then. “Do you think we’re ready?”

Andrew shrugged. “I think they won’t be the easiest team for us to beat this season, and they won’t be the hardest.” He sighed when Neil’s face went blank. “As long as those idiots don’t get cocky, Kevin doesn’t overthink things and you’re back in shape, we should do all right. If you’re that worried about things, stop interfering with my training techniques.”

“Your training techniques can cripple people,” Neil pointed out with a hint of a smile.

“You survived it,” Andrew reminded the idiot.

“Yeah, but I think I’ve permanent bruises on my shins.” There was a true smile on Neil’s lips as he tossed back the shot; Abby had removed the stitches earlier that day from his lower lip. Andrew didn’t know what had driven him to biting through it, and it was probably best he didn’t. He already had more than enough reasons to want Riko dead, after all.

“Good, they’ll match that fancy new tattoo of yours.”

“Hmm.” Neil’s expression turned thoughtful as he set the empty glass down. “Part of me hates it, you know. But another part of me?” He ran the fingers of his left hand along his right shoulder. “Harder to see the scars now.”

Andrew made a loud huffing sound at that and picked up another shot himself. “If that’s your intent behind asking for a tattoo artist, then *no*,” he told his boyfriend. “Not sleeping with someone all tatted up like that. You’ll look like a cartoon or something.”

Neil laughed a little. “Yeah, it would be a bit much, wouldn’t it?”

It was around then that Roland came over to check up on then and clear away the empty glasses. “Eh, what are you two up to now?”

“Talking about tattoos,” Neil told him.

“Oh! Yeah, about that.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slip of paper which he handed over to Andrew. “It’s all set up. You said nothing big, right? He’ll see you guys tomorrow right when the shop opens, then.”

Andrew tapped his forehead with the slip of paper in a show of appreciation, while Neil frowned at him. When Roland walked away, he turned to Neil and arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“Exactly. What’s that about?” Neil frowned as he toyed with the long cuffs of his shirt, tugging them even more over his hands.

“You said you wanted to go see a tattoo artist, right?” Andrew waited until Neil nodded. “Figured I’d ask Roland, since a lot of the staff here has some.”

“Thought we were going to check with Coach,” Neil mumbled as he brushed the fingers of his right hand, now covered by the black cloth of his sleeve, along his left cheek – along the ‘4’ tattoo.

“Yeah, figured that we could do without the questions and all that shit,” Andrew admitted. Give Wymack an inch and he’d try to take control of everything. Opening the piece of paper that Roland had given him, there was a name, address and a time, for around 2pm. “So you want to do whatever it us tomorrow?” Neil had been a bit vague on the matter.

Neil stared at the bar’s shiny wooden surface for a moment, fingers still pressed against the number tattoo, then took a deep breath. “Yeah, I want to do this.”

“Then we’re set.” Andrew tucked the paper into his back pocket and had another drink or two.

The decision seemed to help settle Neil, who had another two shots through the night, enough to keep him pleasantly buzzed but just that, to keep him relaxed and a slight smile on his face while he was close to Andrew. There was a nice buzz through Andrew’s blood as well, a welcome relief after so many weeks of anger, of worry, of frustration and suppression. Maybe in another week or two he could truly cut loose, but it wasn’t a bad start.

He got everyone back to the house, and felt a bit more relaxed to be there, at someplace that was his, at somewhere that had become ‘safe’ over the years. Where he could lock the doors and know only a select few could come in, where he could retreat to the room that was his, his and Neil’s. Nicky and Aaron stumbled upstairs, loud enough to wake the dead, Kevin had to be dragged into the den and dropped onto the futon, and Neil didn’t spend much time getting ready for bed so he had the blankets turned down for Andrew by the time he joined his boyfriend.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was that they were in their own room, their own bed, but Neil wasn’t quite so far away that night. He wasn’t curled up right next to Andrew, either, but there was less space between them than there had been all week, and if at some point during the night Andrew woke up and found his hand on Neil’s back, then he just stared at it and removed it before Neil noticed. He at least found some reassurance that he’d done that before Neil woke up with a nightmare another hour or two later, only to rub at his still-bruised face then lie back down and fall back to sleep a minute or two later. It was getting to be routine for them.

Neil snuck out of bed at some point in the morning, schedule still off because of the fucking Nest but getting a bit better, and Andrew got up late morning to find coffee brewed and bacon kept warm in the oven, along with a couple of boxes of donuts on the counter. Neil was sitting at the table with a mug of coffee in his hands, dressed in an old hoodie from Racine and a pair of sweatpants, and gave Andrew a tired smile. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

Andrew munched on some donuts while Neil made eggs and toast to go with the bacon, and Nicky stumbled into the room while they were eating. Andrew made him cook his own damn eggs, but he was happy to join them at the table and complain about how much his head hurt and how one day he’d learn not to drink so much.

“Right,” Andrew said as he picked up another slice of bacon. “You complain about that just about every weekend. Never seem to learn yet.”

“Neil, tell Andrew not to be so mean to me,” Nicky whined as he slumped a little more over his plate.

“If I do that, he’s just going to be even more mean to you, you know,” Neil pointed out, proving how well he knew Andrew.

Nicky sniffled before he took a bite of his eggs. “I’m so unappreciated.”

“There, there,” Neil told the pest while getting up to fetch more coffee. “I got you your custard donuts.”

All seemed right in Nicky’s world upon hearing that. “Oh, really?” He jumped up from the table and made as if to hug Neil, until Neil skittered away from him; something akin to sorrow flashed across Nicky’s face for a moment, to be replaced by a huge grin a second or two later. “Good thing we’re back to practice, because I need to work off all these calories. Don’t want Erik to dump me for getting fat and lazy!”

“Yeah, because he already puts up with you for being a moron,” Andrew commented as he ate another slice of bacon before deciding that he was full.

“Neil!”

“I’m going for a run,” Neil said with a weary sigh. At Andrew’s displeased look, he held up his phone. “It’s on, and yes, I’ll answer it.”

“You get yourself kidnapped or beat up, I’ll kick your ass,” Andrew warned the idiot.

“Thanks so much,” Neil said before grabbing his sneakers; Andrew thought he caught a flash of blue eyes being rolled, but Neil slipped out the door before he could make sure.

“Aw, you two are adorable,” Nicky cooed before taking a bite of his donut. “For, you know, being so messed up.”

Andrew gave him the finger as he left the kitchen. He got ready for the day, and for once didn’t have to wait a couple of hours for Neil to finish with his run, only about an hour before the idiot returned home and cleaned up. That gave them some time to run a few errands and grab a light lunch before they showed up at the tattoo shop Roland had recommended. It was tucked between a coffee shop and a bar, and a girl around their own age with an eyebrow piercing and full arm sleeves of fish and waves smiled at them when they entered the shop. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, we’re here to see Steve?”

Her eyes went wide as she took in first Andrew and then Neil. “No shit, you’re those guys, the Foxes, right? Which one of you is Steve’s two o’clock?” When Andrew motioned to Neil, she grinned. “Hey, Steve,” she called out as she went down the narrow hallway toward the back of the shop. “Your two o’clock is number four!”

“What are you talking about?” Some guy in his thirties, hair cut close to his scalp and face covered with stubble as if he hadn’t bothered to shave that day, arms also decked out with full sleeves of what looked to be some sort of vines with metal bits entwined with the dark green tendrils, came up with the girl. “Oh! Foxes, cool.” He squinted at Neil. “So Josten, right? She said ‘number four’.”

“Ten, actually,” Neil snapped as he rubbed at his cheek, eyes bright with anger. “I’m number ten.”

The guy, Steve, held up his hands. “Sorry, no harm, no foul. Just... you know, occupational hazard.” Then he seemed to notice Neil’s neck. “Wow, that’s new! Who did it? Let me-“ He blinked as Andrew got in his way. “Hi?”

“He’s here about getting something new done, not about that,” Andrew warned, his voice low and face blank. “Is it going to be a problem?”

“Uhm, no?” Steve’s face blanched when Andrew wasn’t pleased with the answer. “No, it’s not!” He gave a nervous laugh and stepped back. “So, ah, Josten, how about you come back here so we can talk about your new design? Beck, you want to get the paperwork ready for him?”

Andrew glanced at Neil to see if he needed to tag along, but Neil gave him a slight smile and followed the man into the back, busy undoing the black coat that Nicky had bought him – a black coat which matched the one Andrew was wearing. The girl  - Beck or whatever – gave Andrew an encouraging smile as she put together some sheets of paper on a clipboard and hurried after Neil and Steve.

Andrew unzipped his own coat and sat down in one of the chairs at the front of the shop, then took to flipping through the artbooks provided by the shop. Huh, some interesting designs; maybe he could get Kevin drunk and have a big fox inked all over his right cheek to remind the coward that he wasn’t a Raven anymore. He’d gotten through two of the books and was checking his phone when Neil came back out, a bandage over his left cheek and the girl, Beck, grinning about something. “That’s $80. Sorry for charging you so much, but it’s our minimum.”

“That’s okay,” Neil said as he pulled out his wallet and handed over what looked to be most of his twenties. “I appreciate it.”

“Here’s the after-care sheet, and some ointment.” She handed him a folded sheet of paper and a small tube of something. “Though you should be used to this stuff by now, right?”

Neil’s smile faltered a little at that. “Yeah.” He shoved both things into the right pocket of his coat. “Thanks again.” Then he nodded to Andrew and headed to the front door.

Andrew had to admit that he was curious about the whole thing, but Neil kept the tattoo covered and didn’t say anything until they got back home. By that point Kevin was up and mostly cognizant, sitting on the couch and watching a professional Exy game. He ignored them at first while they went into their room so Neil could drop off the stuff for the tattoo, but caught sight of the bandage when Neil walked out.

“Wait, what is that?” Kevin rose from the couch, the game forgotten, and approached Neil. When he reached out for the bandage, Neil flinched back and shook his head. “What did you do?”

Andrew smacked Kevin’s hand aside and glared; Nicky came in from the den, where he’d been talking to Erik, and Aaron looked up from the book he’d been reading. “Don’t. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me? What did he do to his number?” Kevin’s voice rose as he spoke until he was almost yelling. “Neil, what the hell did you do?”

Neil’s jaw jutted out in a clear sign of stubbornness, and Andrew didn’t think he was going to answer before he reached up to peel off the bandage. At first it didn’t really look any different, not with the light glancing off of the shiny layer of ointment. And then Andrew realized that the ‘4’ had been altered, that the shape was different, another line had been added at the bottom and at some to the top, that the simple clean lines were now more ornate.

“Oh, he’s going to *kill* you,” Kevin moaned as he shook his head. “He’s going to kill all of us! How could you do this?”

Andrew continued to blink at the new tattoo, while Aaron came over to stand beside him. “Huh, it’s an ‘A’ now.” He laughed a little. “Did you get a matching ‘N’?” he asked Andrew.

Neil flushed at that. “I didn’t want a Raven’s number on me anymore,” he explained with a bit of heat in his voice. “I didn’t want – I’m not letting him own me, dammit.”

“You can’t *do* that,” Kevin shouted in panic as he cupped his hand over his own tattoo as if terrified that someone was going to come and tattoo over it next.

“Well I did!” Neil shouted back. “And maybe you should think about doing it, too!” He glared when Kevin flinched upon hearing it, his hands curled into fists. “I’m not going to his striker, his anything! I’m not going to let people look at me and think that anymore!”

“Do you have any idea what he’s going to do you when he finds out about that?” Kevin asked, already turning around to head into the kitchen – probably in search of some alcohol.

Neil closed his eyes and shuddered “What hasn’t he already done to me?” he asked, the anger in him seeming to just disappear all of a sudden. “I know what’s going to happen if I end up there again, and the last thing I’m worried about is him being angry about this.” He sounded so… so empty just then that Andrew couldn’t think, couldn’t focus on anything but finding Kevin. Finding Kevin and spinning him around, knocking the bottle from his hand and slamming him against the fridge so hard that the appliance rocked, his arm pressed against Kevin’s upper chest to keep him there.

“What? Andr-“

“Shut up,” Andrew hissed, full of so much rage just then that he could barely speak. “I’m tired of it, so fucking tired of hearing you whine about what Riko’s going to do anytime someone shows a bit of spine and stands up to him. Do I have to become an even bigger monster than him to get through to you that he’s just a spoiled little prick, hmm?” Kevin paled at that, his eyes wide and his mouth gaped open. “Do I-“

“Enough, Andrew.” Neil tugged at Andrew’s left arm, his expression tired as he stared at Andrew. “Just… just let him go.”

“This is one of those life moments, Neil. Kevin’s going to thank me later for it,” Andrew told his boyfriend with a too-sharp grin.

“I don’t think he’s getting enough air to appreciate what you’re saying,” Neil pointed out. “So just… let it go. I didn’t do it for him.”

Andrew thought about that for a moment then huffed as he removed the arm jammed across Kevin’s throat and backed away. “Fine, but something better have penetrated that coward’s brain of his.” He gave Kevin a warning look before taking another step back, and was jerked aside by Neil to be kept from stepping in shards of glass from the bottle of what smelled to be whiskey. As it was, his socks were soaked from the alcohol.

Kevin gasped for air and began coughing while Neil led Andrew to their bedroom, Aaron giving them a cautious look while Nicky rushed to help Kevin. Andrew closed the door behind them and locked it for good measure, then grimaced as he removed his wet socks. “Waste of semi-decent whiskey, that was.”

“I’m sure Nicky will run out for some more,” Neil said as he sat down on the bed, his fingers combing through his hair.

Andrew threw the socks aside and went to stand in front of his boyfriend; when Neil looked up, he reached out, his motions slow, and grasped Neil’s chin so he could tilt Neil’s face up better in the light. The tattoo artist – Steve -  had done a good job of merging the new ink with the old, of blending the lines together so one couldn’t really see the ‘4’ beneath the ‘A’. “Subtle.”

Neil smiled. “Don’t be so flattered. My middle name…..” He fell quiet for a moment. “My mom picked it out, it’s from her side of the family. ‘Abram’. She used it whenever she signed me up for little league, since there was no way a coach wanted it to get out that they had Nathan Wesninski’s son on the team.”

“So that it stands for ‘Abram’?” Andrew’s eyes narrowed at that as he let go of Neil’s chin to trace around the tattoo, mindful not to touch it.

“It stands for a few things, to be honest,” Neil admitted as he reached out to tug on the hem of Andrew’s black sweater, that slight smile back on his lips. “But that’s what I can tell people, right? And it’s the truth.”

“I’m sure Riko will be inclined to believe you,” Andrew said as his right forefinger skimmed the air above the ‘A’. Oh, Andrew was so looking forward to the prick finding out about Neil’s latest act of defiance. It didn’t matter how big of a damn bird he forced onto Neil, not when Neil had done this of his own violation – that was something Riko could never get Neil to do for him. Riko could never get Neil to accept him, could he? Not willingly.

“Yes, I’m sure, too.” Neil tugged Andrew closer as he closed his eyes; taking the hint, Andrew leaned in for a slow kiss, hesitating only a moment when Neil’s lips parted after a few seconds. He deepened it, tongue slipping inside just a little, and forced his hands to stay where they were, to not move at all when he wanted so much to push Neil back onto the bed, to hear ‘yes’ and find out just how much Neil was in fact his. It took so much control just then that his hands were trembling when Neil broke off the kiss with a faint sigh.

Andrew wasn’t certain of his voice just then, so it was a good thing that the idiot talked first. “It really is an old family name,” Neil said as his smile took on a wicked edge. “I share it with my uncle, you know.”

All thoughts of desire were wiped from Andrew’s mind upon hearing that – well, not all, because the urge to throttle a certain idiot remained. “Oh really?” Something must have showed on his face, because Neil laughed as he began to crawl back on the bed, but not fast enough – Andrew grabbed onto the cuffs of his jeans and pulled him in close, mindful of Neil’s reactions all the while.

“You’re going down, Josten,” he said as he also grabbed a pillow and began to swat the laughing idiot with it.

******* 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> I feel so bad for Renee in this chapter, it feels like Andrew really beats up on her (in more than one sense), but I just don't think he'd be that forgiving, to be honest. Even though it was Neil's decision to go and he didn't tell Renee (and hence why Neil doesn't want Andrew to be mad at Renee).
> 
> And part of me is like 'more tattooing'? But yeah, I promised that I'd deal with the '4' tattoo (changing certain events somewhat) and that's taking care of that. Hmm, wonder how Riko's going to react... (wait until Allison finds out).
> 
> Hopefully it wasn't too sappy, but yeah, the boys deserve a break. 
> 
> And more of the gangster AU - Neil/Abram POV! I think I'm getting close to a whole chapter to post it here (though I have to figure out a title. Bah!).  
> http://nekojitachan.tumblr.com/post/149052738934/okay-first-thanks-for-the-messages-et-all-in
> 
> And I'm behind on responding to comments, I'll get caught up soon! I truly appreciate it when people take the time to comment on the fic, be it a short comment or not. As always, kudos and comments are so greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter! Though this one... I had to end it somewhere. Not sure about the ending. Meh. And OMFG, can we please be done with summer? Seriously? 
> 
> Behind on so many things (comments one of them). This weekend killed me (summer killed me). I need to move to somewhere it never gets above like 50 degrees F or something....  
> *******

*******

Kevin waited until Sunday’s night practice to bring up the tattoo again – Neil wasn’t allowed to do much thanks to Abby’s decree, but he could help set up the cones and fetch the balls for Kevin at least, and practice a little footwork.

“You know Riko’s going to be furious when he finds out,” Kevin said in Japanese, voice pitched low since Andrew wasn’t too far away, running up and down the stairs.

Neil sighed in annoyance at Kevin’s stubbornness over the topic. “That’s sort of the point to all of this.” He sighed again when Kevin looked at him as if he was insane. “No, I don’t care,” he told his friend. “I’m not letting the world look at me anymore and think that I’m going to be part of his Perfect Court anymore.” That he was going to be Riko’s anything anymore. The raven tattoo he could more or less cover up, he could explain away as something else – could *own* as something else, as Andrew said, but not that ‘4’. He was taking back his life, was moving forward and he refused to let Riko have any part of it. To have any claim on him.

“You shouldn’t have done it,” Kevin insisted as he fired off another shot, voice hoarse and face pale despite having practiced for half an hour or so already, and proof of how distraught he was over the topic showed in the fact that he’d missed the cone. “He’s going… he’ll be determined to do something to you, to teach you a lesson.”

Neil stared at the missed cone. “There’s precious little left for him to do to me at this point,” he admitted in a quiet voice as he clutched at the bucket of balls, and noticed how Kevin flinched out of the corner in his eye. No, Riko had tortured him, had hurt Andrew and others through him, had… had broken Neil down so very much. Had gotten him on his knees after all.

“Neil. Neil?”

The feel of a hand on his shoulder made Neil drop the bucket and lash out, to keep the person from pushing him down, to keep- Neil gasped when he realized that it was Kevin he’d just hit, who was staring at him in shock.

“I’m sorry,” his friend told him as he stepped back, his hands held up and racquet on the floor, along with the balls scattered about. Up in the stands, Andrew came to a stop and even took a step down, and Neil drew a shaky breath as he waved off his boyfriend before Andrew did something to Kevin.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, more a reassurance to himself than anything. “I’m fine,” he repeated in English a moment later.

Part of him was furious with Kevin for not understanding, for picking at the topic when he just needed to accept it and deal. But the rest of him could… well, not understand, but comprehend where Kevin was coming from with his fear and his denial. Neil had been to Evermore, after all, had spent time at the Nest. Had talked to Jean about it while the backliner had patched Neil up, had murmured to Neil to help keep him awake so he didn’t fall asleep or pass out and so be left vulnerable to the others when Riko wasn’t around. There was a difference between being a pet and a possession at the Nest – and while there was a very good reason why Kevin drank so much to forget when allowed, when confronted with the past, why he freaked out when having to face anything to do with Riko or Tetsuji… the only scars he bore were on his left hand. The abuse Riko and Tetsuji had dealt him had been more psychological and emotional in nature, the physical fleeting until the end. They needed Kevin to be their poster boy, after all, and the ERC paid too much attention to Kayleigh Day’s son.

Kevin had a taste of what it meant to not be a child of Exy that one day a couple of Novembers ago, to be a possession in Riko’s eyes.

“Somehow I doubt that,” Kevin told Neil as he bent down to pick up the balls. “I just don’t understand why you’d do such a thing when it’s clear you’re just as scared of him as I-“

Neil stomped his foot down near Kevin’s left hand, which made Kevin let out a yelp and scoot away, his eyes wide once more and hand curled up near his chest. Neil felt a bit bad about that, but it got Kevin’s attention. “Do I want to go back to the Nest?” he asked in a low, rough voice. “*No*. But am I going to let Riko control me? *Hell no*. Andrew’s right, you know. You need to stop giving him such power over you.” He stared at Kevin for several seconds before he bent down to help gather the balls.

Kevin was still for a few seconds before seeming to breathe again. “But you… it’s always been him, for so long. Him and me,” he tried to explain.

“I know, I saw what it was like there,” Neil said. “Thing change, Kevin. You’ve already changed. Don’t let him hold you back, because that’s all he’s ever done.”

That seemed to pull forth a weak smile from the striker, and when Kevin got up to practice, that time he knocked the cone back several feet. Neil left him at it and went to get something to drink, and found Andrew waiting for him at the benches.

“Have a nice heart-to-heart chat?”

Neil sighed at the flat look on his boyfriend’s face. “Just trying to talk some sense into Kevin.”

“Oh, yeah, another of your hopeless causes. Much easier to just take a racquet and beat it into that thick head.” Andrew looked about as if in search of a spare racquet. “Let me help.”

“Why is it that no one can beat him up but you?” Neil asked as he tugged Andrew away from the court’s door.

“I need some sort of perk for keeping him alive all this time.” Andrew dug in his feet for a moment before giving in. “He’s as annoying as Nicky.”

“You seem to surround yourself with a lot of annoying people, do you know that?” Neil smiled a little as they sat down on the bench. “What does that say about you?”

“That your damn martyr complex is infectious?” Andrew snatched up the bottle of water Neil was trying to open, twisted off the lid and splashed some of it on Neil’s head. “Why do I put up with you?”

Neil just hummed in happiness as he wiped at the drops sliding down his face, then got another bottle of water since Andrew was drinking from the other one.

Perhaps it was from joining Andrew in running on the stairs after that until he was too tired to move, or managing to stay up the entire day, so when they finally fell into bed that night, he reached out to rest his hand on Andrew’s hip, wanting to feel a bit of warmth and the way Andrew moved slightly with each breath, and fell into a deep sleep. That was the last thing Neil remembered, until he woke up to the sound of the alarm going off, with Nicky groaning up on the bunk bed above him, Andrew’s arm loose around his waist and nose pressed into the back of his neck. Neil was still as he took it in, noticed that Andrew was still behind him, too, and then he huffed as he gave Andrew’s arm a pat. “Coffee?” he asked, voice a little husky but more from sleep than anything.

“Hell yeah,” Andrew murmured as he let go of Neil so they could get out of bed.

Neil went to the kitchen while Andrew laid first claim to the bathroom, followed by Aaron, and the coffee was ready for Andrew by the time he came into the kitchen. Neil gave him a smile, which of course was ignored, and a mug of sweetened caffeine, which wasn’t, as he went to get ready himself, and it wasn’t long before everyone headed off to morning practice.

He was stuck watching more videos, dammit, and got several odd looks for the bandage on his cheek; he wasn’t in the mood for lots of questions about the new tattoo, not after Kevin’s reaction, and figured that the last thing he needed before the UT game was putting up with Riko. He wasn’t going to hide it away forever, but wanted to at least get through a few more days without unnecessary drama.

So Neil shouldn’t have been too surprised when one of the first things Allison had done when he got to the girls’ suite and was sitting on the couch so she could hide his (thankfully) fading bruises for the day was to peel off the bandage before he could stop her.

“Allison!” Renee cried out in disapproval, while Dan leaned forward to see what she was staring at, obviously curious herself. Allison’s fine, arched brows drew together as she stared at the ‘new’ tattoo, and then she pulled back with a huge grin on her face.

“Yes! Pay up, losers!” she shouted, which made Neil cringe from the noise.

“Dammit,” Dan muttered while giving Neil a displeased look. “The pot was big on that one, too.”

Neil had a very bad feeling about this. “Another bet on me?” He frowned as he looked at Renee for confirmation, and she had the grace to look a bit chagrined.

“It’s a long outstanding one, sorry.”

“Really?” He sighed as he rubbed at the tattoo on his cheek, then forced himself to leave it alone since it was still healing. “What was it this time?”

Allison was still grinning as she pulled out her phone “That you had or would have a tattoo of Andrew’s name on you. Now lower your hand, I need proof so I can get money from the others,” she chided, and snapped a picture of Neil’s face.

“Wait, what?” he stared at her with growing horror. “You bet on *what*?” Maybe he was still in bed and this was all a nightmare.

“Yep, and let me tell you, it’s been a pain trying to figure it out, what with your showering habits,” Allison continued. “And the way you dress, but I figured it was a matter of time.” She finally seemed to notice the way he was looking at her. “Oh come *on*, the very first thing your boyfriend said to me was ‘don’t touch what’s mine’. If that’s not possessive behavior, I don’t know what is. Was only a matter of time before you had ‘property of Andrew Minyard’ stamped on you somewhere.”

Neil didn’t know what to say to that; he stared for a few more seconds and shook his head before he could get anything out. “This,” he motioned to the tattoo on his cheek, “doesn’t stand for Andrew, it’s a family th-“

“Oh don’t even try,” Allison said, voice thick with derision. “Save it for people who’ll believe such obvious tripe, but not us. Not people who’ve seen the two of you together, who saw you falling apart because your boyfriend got locked up, who’re seeing you flinch away from everyone but him since you’ve been back from Edgar Allen.” As if to prove her point, she reached out as if to grab hold of Neil’s chin, only to have him cringe away. “Yeah, exactly.”

Neil sighed as he glanced at Dan and Renee as if for help, only for Dan to shrug and Renee to give him an encouraging smile. “Great.”

“Isn’t it? You made me so much money, I’ll have you know,” Allison said while she reached for a bottle of foundation.

“I don’t want to know,” Neil said as he tugged at his bangs. “Could you guys stop betting on me? Please?” He couldn’t begin to imagine how Andrew would react to the news.

All Allison did was make a loud, scoffing noise, so yeah, he was going to take that as a ‘no’.

“Yeah, thought so,” he sighed.

“Now stay still and let me get to work,” she told him. She was even ‘kind’ enough to put a new bandage on his tattoo, though he had several messages on his phone later from Matt, displeased about losing the bet and asking if Andrew got a matching tattoo, too. Word must have gotten around somehow, because Andrew gave him a very reserved look when they met up for lunch.

“Allison,” was all Neil said as he sat down to eat his sandwich, and Andrew’s look turned thoughtful while he munched on his pizza, leaving Neil to think that the dealer would have an interesting practice ahead of her come their afternoon session.

Neil’s prediction seemed to be proven true, when Allison came back into the lounge cursing about psycho monsters as she stomped off to the girls’ side of the showers while Andrew had a slight smile on his face as he went to the other locker room, but Neil wisely didn’t say anything, just waited for Andrew and the others to be ready so they could go off for dinner then return to the dorms. Once there, Neil and Andrew retreated to their bed to work on their homework, with Neil resting against most of the pillows and Andrew snagging one of them so he could stack it against Neil’s side to lie against him. Neil had stared at his boyfriend for that, then taken to playing with Andrew’s hair while he read his English assignment for the night; it was… comfortable. It felt good to have someone close to him, someone he trusted, someone he wanted near him. It felt good to have an excuse to touch someone else, which he took to be fine with Andrew since he put himself right there, but kept his hands above Andrew’s shoulders just the same.

They went up to the roof for a little bit before going to bed, so Andrew could have a cigarette and Neil center himself in the scent of smoke and the sight of Andrew’s face lit up by the ember of a cigarette’s glowing tip. He fell asleep to the prospect of being allowed to play the next day and Andrew’s arm around him. There were dreams of his mother, of rooms that looked like the house at Baltimore but were painted black, but he managed to wake himself for once before the shadows chasing him turned into – he woke himself up and turned toward Andrew, tucked himself closer to his boyfriend’s sleeping form and forced his mind clear as he fell back asleep himself.

As soon as Abby showed up at the stadium, Neil was waiting for her to check him out to see if he was cleared to play. She frowned as she went over his remaining stitches, checked his ribs and his hands, then stepped back as he pulled on his shirt. “I’m not very happy about this, but you should be all right as long as you take it easy with the scrimmages,” she told him. She sighed as he smiled and jumped down from the exam table. “Don’t make me regret this!”

Neil thought he said something like ‘you won’t’, but was too busy running out to the locker room so he could put on his gear – a week of no practice, no Exy was too much. He didn’t like sitting idle, didn’t like feeling that he wasn’t part of the team, part of being able to pitch in and decide his own future.

As soon as he was suited up, he was out on the court, racquet in hand and thumping on the door to let the others know he was coming out. Dan and Matt let out loud cries as he joined them, and Nicky held out his racquet to knock it against Neil’s when he walked past to join Kevin.

His friend eyed him up and down in a critical manner before speaking. “Don’t do anything rash. We need you for the game on Friday, not today.”

“I know,” Neil said, trying not to think about how much Kevin sounded like Andrew just then. “If it gets bad, I’ll stop.”

Kevin just gave him a look that was definitely too much like one of Andrew’s just then, but motioned for them to get to work on the drills.

Neil was sore from the practice, his muscles unused to so much activity after a week of forced rest, the stitches pulling a little, but it was worth it, and it got better as his body worked out the various kinks and stiffness. He didn’t push too hard, mindful of Abby and Wymack off to the court, and took the occasional break to stretch and catch his breath.

At the end of the day when they met back in the locker room to go over the day’s session, Wymack shot Neil an assessing look. “Well?

“I’m fine,” Neil said, and flinched from the look Kevin was giving him. “No, really, I’m a bit sore, but that’s to be expected.” It was so much better than any of his practice sessions with the Ravens, but somehow he didn’t think anyone wanted to hear that. “If anything gets too difficult, I’ll work around it, but I can manage, all right?”

“Is it too difficult to figure out that we’d rather hear that than ‘I’m fine’?” Dan asked, an amused smile on her face as she shook her head.

“But that’s basically what I said, only without, you know, all the effort.” Neil didn’t get people sometimes. “I’m fine.”

“Just face it, everyone, he’s never going to learn,” Nicky said as he went to tousle Neil’s hair and then thought better of it. Neil gave him a sad smile for that, while Kevin sighed as if exasperated.

“All right,” Wymack said as he looked at his clipboard. “Neil, you’re back at the gym tomorrow, and take it easy for a few days. Adapt the circuit as needed and let me know what doesn’t work.” He waved his left hand about as he gave Neil a frown. “Injure yourself here, not out there on my court or during a game.” That earned him a furious look from Abby, which had the rest of the Foxes wincing and shuffling away from the man, but Wymack ignored it. “That’s it, all of you get out of here, I’m sick of you for the day.” Everyone fled, unwilling to put up with Abby’s ire – even Neil. Especially Neil.

Kevin ‘allowed’ him to gear up for the night’s training session, though Neil still took it a bit easy and only did a few drills. For another night in a row, Neil was more than ready to fall asleep as soon as he got into bed, while Andrew turned on the small light attached on the one wall and did some reading. Neil remembered the feel of fingers in his hair, soothing at last, and must have been too exhausted for nightmares that night.

He swore that Andrew was being an annoying show-off at the gym the next morning, lifting weights as if they were nothing while Neil stuck with cardio and a few leg curls. Though Matt nearly took his life into his hands when he asked Andrew where his matching tattoo was while Andrew was spotting him….

Dan brought that up when they were at the library later that day, working on assignments before the afternoon practice. “I can’t believe I’m dating such a moron,” she said while tapping Matt on the head with a pen. “We need you alive for play-offs.”

“Nice to see how much you love me,” Matt teased as he snatched at the pen, only to miss.

“It’s not for your brains, obviously.”

Matt smirked as he leaned back in his chair. “I can live with you wanting me just for my body.”

Neil sighed, the sound one of much suffering. “Do you two need me to leave?”

“No,” Dan told him while pointing to the table. “You stay, I want to talk to you.” She stared at him for a moment, head cocked to the side. “You know, it was really nice, the last month or two. With having the four of you around.” Then she seemed to think of what she said a bit. “I mean, I know you missed Andrew a lot, but it felt as if we were a real team for the first time. Now it’s like it was before he was gone.”

Neil knew what she meant – Nicky, Aaron – when he wasn’t sneaking off with Katelyn – and Kevin had gone back to hanging out in the room with Andrew instead of over at Matt’s or the girls’. “What did you expect?”

Dan didn’t answer that, or at least not right away. “I just don’t get what he has against us,” she said, and Neil shook his head. Andrew didn’t trust them, plain and simple. They weren’t family, they weren’t anyone who had some sort of promise with Andew so he had no reason to go out of his way to deal with them. “What did you say to him to get him to start practicing with us, the other day? And by practicing, I mean not trying to break our ankles, hmm?”

Neil fidgeted under Dan’s weighted stare. “I asked him to stop.” There was also the fact that he owed Andrew a favor, but on the whole, yeah, he’d asked Andrew and his boyfriend had done it.

“You asked,” Matt said, and Neil was getting tired of people acting so surprised when he told them that. “Nicky said that you asked him to go visit his parents, and you told us that you asked about Halloween. Why is it that he does whatever you ask, when he doesn’t even listen to his own family? Are you that good at s-ow!” Matt winced from being smacked over the head by Dan’s textbook, which saved Neil from having to stab a pen in his arm. “What?”

Dan gave her boyfriend a displeased look before smiling at Neil. “Like I said, he’s an idiot. I’m not pressuring you, Neil, because that’s not the way I want this to happen, but I’m asking you if there’s any way you can make things like they were before the holidays. Can you help bring this team together?”

Neil sighed as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “I can try, but it’s… Nicky’s not the problem, you’ve seen that. Kevin’s willing to get along with everyone – well, as much as he can – because it makes the team stronger. The problems are Aaron and Andrew.”

Dan seemed to think about that. “Aaron wasn’t so bad as long as Katelyn was around. What’s up with that?”

Neil winced and went to rub at his eyes, before he remembered about the makeup. “It’s between him and Andrew,” he warned.

“Huh, why am I not surprised.” Dan continued to stare at Neil as if hoping he’d say some more. “Katelyn can’t be pleased that Aaron’s back to sneaking around with her, now that Andrew’s back.”

He shook his head. “It’s between them, don’t interfere,” Neil said. “I offered to help, but Aaron has to make the first move.”

Dan smiled as something seemed to occur to her. “You told Andrew you wouldn’t interfere between him and his brother, right?” When Neil stared at her, she tapped her left cheek. “It’s something I can imagine him saying, considering how protective he is, of both you and Aaron. Fine, I won’t say anything to either of them… but Katelyn? She’s another matter, and I think it’s about time we have a chat, just some girl talk.” She laughed when Neil groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Oh, it won’t be anything that bad, honest! But Aaron’s serious about her, right?”

Neil reluctantly nodded. “As much as I can figure, yeah.”

“Then she needs to know that, and that nothing’s going to happen unless he stands up to his brother.”

This wasn’t going to end well, Neil suspected, but there wasn’t much he could do about it when Dan was so determined. Aaron had to do something, because sooner or later Andrew was going to figure out his brother wasn’t off just studying, and then Katelyn… okay, yeah, she deserved some sort of warning.

Neil could forget about it during the afternoon practice, putting aside all thoughts in his head except Exy and getting better, on pushing his body but not too much. It felt so good to run, to catch the ball and fling it across the court, to face off against Andrew again and see Kevin waiting for his toss across the court. All too soon they were done for the day and Neil stood in the showers with the hot water pouring down on him, and the thought of Andrew in the stall next to him along with the fact that there was a door in front of him allowed him to relax and stand there with his eyes closed as the water fell on his face.

After dinner, he retreated to the roof with Andrew, where they stared out over the lights of the campus. “Do you think of what will happen once everyone graduates?” he asked as Andrew lit a cigarette.

His boyfriend gave him a blank look at the question. “What brought that on?”

“I don’t know, maybe hearing Dan and Allison talking about how next year is their last one.” Neil shrugged as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his new coat. “Nicky will go off to Germany, that’s a given. Kevin and I will find a pro team to join.” Neil *had* to find a pro team to join. “You going to tag along with us?” He smiled at Andrew as if daring him to say ‘yes’, anxious for an answer.

Andrew clicked his tongue as he flicked ash out into the air. “Somebody has to watch over you idiots, I suppose.”

“Yeah, what would we do without you?” Neil agreed as he grinned in relief. “And then there’s Aaron.”

The change in Andrew’s expression was minute, but it was there – the flatness in his eyes, the tightness in his lips. “What about Aaron?”

“What do you expect will happen once the two of you graduate?”

Andrew was quiet for about a minute. “He goes his way and I go mine.” There was such a definite sense to those words that Neil knew better than to push; he had a general idea of their agreement, but the exact nature of it was only known to the two of them. However, it was clear that Andrew believed the only thing holding them together was that agreement, and that it would end as soon as they left Palmetto State.

So damn stubborn. Neil allowed his boyfriend to finish the cigarette then got up from the ledge. “Hey,” he said as he stood in front of Andrew.

“What?” That came out a bit snappish, but Andrew’s expression smoothed out when Neil just stood in front of him. “What?”

“Yes or no?” Neil asked; Andrew had been almost distant with him since Saturday, since the kiss after the tattoo.

Andrew stared at him for several seconds before answering. “Yes.”

Feeling another wave of relief, Neil reached for Andrew’s hands and led him over to the wall, where Neil then hesitated. He didn’t want Andrew to feel pinned against the wall, but wasn’t sure he could handle being pushed against it himself just then. Andrew seemed to take the choice away from him by making a sound of annoyance and leaning against the wall himself and giving Neil that ‘you’re an idiot’ look.

Neil smiled in gratitude before reaching out, his hands settling on Andrew’s shoulders as he leaned in, eyes closed, for a kiss that started out slow. His hands stroked along Andrew’s neck as his lips parted, a thrill of satisfaction spiking inside of him when he felt his boyfriend shiver at the touch, and a slight moan escaped him when Andrew’s tongue swiped along his lips before slipping inside.

His fingers curled in Andrew’s hair as Andrew’s hands settled on his hips, sliding a little beneath the hem of his coat while the kiss deepened. He rested a bit more against his boyfriend’s solid weight as he trailed his lips down to Andrew’s neck – and then found himself pushed away.

Neil stared at Andrew in surprise, at his flushed face and too blank expression, and wondered what he’d done wrong. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he said as he huddled in his coat. “I… I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s not you,” Andrew gritted out as he rubbed at his face. “Dammit, it’s not you.” Neil stared at him while he gave a jagged laugh. “One of us had to stop.”

That didn’t make sense, that- oh. Neil’s eyes went wide as he looked at Andrew, his breath catching in his throat. He stepped forward, his hand reaching out to… well, he wasn’t certain, really, when Andrew caught it with his left one.

“Don’t,” Andrew said before Neil could speak again, voice deep and eyes bright, but his touch tender as he reached for the back of Neil’s neck. “How often did you curse me out at first? Did you wish that I didn’t stop when I did? So just don’t. It’s *fine*.”

Neil grabbed onto Andrew’s forearm with his free hand and took another breath. “I want you, I do.” It was just buried under a lot of uncertainty and fear right then, and he wasn’t sure how to move past those emotions just yet.

Andrew shook his head. “You don’t have to prove anything. Just… just go downstairs, I’ll be down soon enough.”

Neil could understand what Andrew was saying, and why. He almost did it, too, almost turned around and left, before he took a deep breath and grabbed onto Andrew’s coat to pull him away from the wall.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Just… shut up,” Neil told him as he reversed their positions. “Kiss me,” he ordered as his fingers once more slid into his boyfriend’s hair.

“You’re being stupid,” Andrew told him while glaring.

“Of course.” Neil smiled a little as he leaned against the wall. “What else is new? Now kiss me. Uhm, if you want, that is.” He watched Andrew, waiting for a reaction while growing nervous, until his boyfriend sighed and leaned in to do just that.

Neil closed his eyes and focused on that – Andrew’s mouth on his, Andrew’s wiry hair between his fingers and the hard concrete against his back. The rustle of clothes and the way that Andrew’s breathing grew ragged, lips sliding along his skin and teeth skimming against his neck. It was almost enough to push him over the edge, except that Andrew wasn’t pinning him against the wall, wasn’t pushing him down or hurting him. He could stop this at any time, and that thought helped to keep him calm, along with the slow thrum of pleasure he felt at knowing it was Andrew’s mouth on him, that it was Andrew losing control in part because of him.

Andrew’s lips pressed hard against the side of Neil’s neck and he felt Andrew shudder for a few seconds before relaxing against him; when he stiffened up a moment later, Neil draped his arms over Andrew’s shoulders and held him close, not too tightly but enough to let his boyfriend know that it was all right. They were both quiet for about a minute until Andrew huffed. “We’re a mess, you know.”

“Hmm.” Neil kept his eyes closed a little longer. “So?”

“Let’s hope we can wash these damn coats or Nicky’s going to bitch.”

That wrung a laugh out of him, and when Andrew went to pull away, that time he let him. “Yeah, I can see him being upset over something like that.” Neil looked away while Andrew tended to… well, things, and smiled when Andrew tugged him away from the wall. “What?”

“Come on, let’s see if we can’t sneak back downstairs. I need to shower before Kevin drags us off for practice,” Andrew told him, tone annoyed but expression peaceful. His hand settled on the back of Neil’s neck as he steered him toward the door leading to the stairs, and Neil smiled, feeling a sense of peace himself that they’d work through things. It would keep getting better, and they’d work through things.

*******

Andrew found himself staring after Neil on Thursday, and hated himself for it; he kept waiting for some sign of a breakdown, some sign that they’d taken things too far. That *he’d* taken things too far, that he’d pushed too hard, that he should have been better at setting limits. It was just… it was just so damn *difficult* when Neil didn’t say ‘no’, when Neil asked him to stay. When Neil looked at him with that gorgeous face and that damn ‘A’ tattoo right there for him to see it.

Seven damn weeks. Seven damn weeks of frustration and fear and wanting Neil, just wanting to see Neil and for him to be okay, only to have Riko do his best to destroy everything. Oh, Andrew was willing to wait for however long it took for Neil to recover, to be all right – if ever – but last night… dammit. He’d put an end to things, but Neil had to go and trample all over it and Andrew didn’t know if he should be thankful or not. Or throttle Neil or not. He should probably, definitely, lock Neil up somewhere very far away for the sake of his sanity.

At least there hadn’t been any nightmares, though that might have been because of another long day of practice and Kevin finally believing in the fact that Neil was recovered enough to be worked into the ground by drills. Andrew had to half-carry his idiot back to the dorms, while Kevin hadn’t the grace to even appear sorry about it. So yeah, one idiot passed out in bed, not to wake up until Andrew dragged him out of it the next morning. Neil didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, but then again, he’d been falling asleep at the table when Nicky tried to get him to eat his cereal.

Neil was a bit more energetic at lunch and smiled at Andrew while sharing his fries, and put up with Kevin rattling off various UT stats during the meal. Andrew noticed that Neil’s smile faltered here and there, but got the impression that it had more to do with the thought of the upcoming game. They left to head off to their classes, and Andrew didn’t see Neil until afternoon practice.

Neil appeared better now that he was out on court, testing the Foxes’ backliners while Renee defended the goal. He was racking up the points, him, Kevin and Dan, which was beginning to annoy the defensive team, especially Aaron and Nicky; Andrew would say that Neil had definitely picked up some tricks from his time at the Ravens, and not all of them very nice, judging from the displeased looks Wymack was sending the idiot.

Managing to score another point, Neil went back to stand with Kevin, who said something to him in Japanese. Neil shrugged and tapped the end of his racquet against the ground, and let Dan try to breach the backliners next. When they managed to block her, Neil and Kevin raced to get the ball, and of course Neil got there first.

Matt and Nicky seemed determined to block Neil that time, putting their larger frames to use as well as their racquets, and just as they were closing in on him, he twisted about and fired off the ball to Kevin. However, Nicky didn’t react fast enough and he slammed hard into Neil, knocking both of them into the wooden floor and his racquet pinning Neil’s right arm down.

Wymack was banging on the door in an instant, and Allison was running back into the stadium as Andrew shoved Wymack aside so he could get out onto the court; everyone was gathered around Neil while Nicky babbled in three different languages about being sorry. It looked as if Aaron was doing his best to tell everyone to back the fuck off and give Neil some room, but no one was listening to him.

“Get the fuck away from him,” Andrew snarled as he shoved Dan and Matt aside with enough force to make the two stumble in either direction, and found Neil sitting up with his right arm cradled across his chest and his face pale beneath his helmet.

“Listen, you little-“ Renee yanked Dan away before she could say anything else.

“Give them some space, please,” she told her friend. “Everyone. Let Abby look at him.” For such a quiet tone, it had an awful lot of command behind it.

“For fuck’s sake, use your heads, people. Listen to her.” Wymack came running up to them and shooed everyone away from Neil while Andrew removed his boyfriend’s helmet. “You okay, Josten?”

Neil stared at Andrew while he moved the fingers in his right hand, his body hunched forward until his right shoulder rested against Andrew. “I… I think so. Just stunned.”

“What happened?” Abby came running forward with her med kit. “Neil? Oh god, did you get hit? What’s hurt? Did you hit your head?”

“I got knocked down,” Neil explained as she knelt down on his other side. “Knocked the wind out of me and pinned down my arm.”

Abby glared first at him and then Wymack. “What did I say about no rough scrimmaging?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like that,” Wymack mumbled as he rubbed at the back of his head, and Nicky’s guilty expression increased ten-fold. “Things got out of hand.”

“Yeah, funny how those things happen,” Abby said with a good bit of heat as she checked out Neil’s right hand, made him wiggle the fingers some more. “Did you break any stitches?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’ll check once we’re done here. Any loss of feeling?” As she spoke, she pulled out a pair of scissors and began to cut his orange undershirt after removing his protective gear.

“No, it just hurts where the racquet hit,” Neil explained. “Like it’s sore, I don’t think it’s broken,” he said in a rush as his breathing speeded up. Andrew’s hand wrapped around the back of the idiot’s neck before he had a panic attack at the possibility of being out for the season with a broken arm.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Abby said as she pushed aside the fabric to reveal the black arm guard beneath, which Andrew suspected was in part responsible for protecting Neil’s arm – that and the blades hidden inside. Abby glanced at Neil before she removed it, and Andrew noted how she was careful in doing so, to keep the fact that it contained weapons a secret.

With the sleeve cut open so high and the arm guard removed, Neil’s new tattoo was left visible – at least, most of the arm portion of it. Kind of difficult to miss with the way that Abby twisted his arm about to make sure the bone wasn’t broken or damaged, and to see if Neil had lost any mobility.

“What the hell?” Dan asked as she stared at the black feathers and red peonies. “I thought – it’s not just on the neck?”

“Just how big is the thing?” Matt frowned as he looked down on Neil, who had gone quiet while Abby examined his arm. “You got that at Edgar Allen? Are those black feathers? Like in ravens?”

“Shut the fuck up, Boyd,” Andrew snapped as his fingers tightened on Neil’s neck. When Matt looked ready to say something, Wymack glared at him until he shut up.

Abby reached into her bag to lay some cloth down on Neil’s arm so she could set an ice pack on it. “It looks like it might be bruised a bit, but it’s fine,” she announced. “The armor and everything else protected it.” Once the ice pack was cracked to activate the cooling agent and set on it, she gave Neil a serious look. “No more practice today for you. Not this afternoon, not tonight. Rest the arm and everything else.”

“But the game’s tomorrow-“

“And your arm needs to rest if you want to play in it,” Abby told him in no uncertain terms.

“Kid, considering the way you were tearing through our defensive line today, tomorrow’s not going to be a problem,” Wymack added. “Listen to her.”

Andrew could tell that Neil wanted to argue, and he wasn’t the only one; Kevin crouched down near Neil and shook his head. “Listen to them. What did I say about being stupid about these things?” He looked from Neil to his left hand and shook his head again.

Neil swore low and vicious in Japanese and French for a moment as he leaned against Andrew, then held out his left hand so Andrew could help him stand up.

“Come on, let’s go check you out,” Abby urged as she handed him his arm guard, then bent over to pick up her bag.

Wymack didn’t say anything when Andrew left court with Neil, his boyfriend’s racquet and helmet in his hands, and Nicky appeared miserable when Neil walked past him. Neil hesitated and reached out to pat and Nicky on the arm, and for once didn’t flinch when Nicky tousled his hair in return. “I’m sorry,” Nicky said.

“Hey, nothing that couldn’t happen in a game,” Neil assured him. “And you blocked the shot, right?”

That got Nicky to laugh. “Yeah, I guess.”

Andrew dumped Neil’s gear in the locker room and followed him into Abby’s exam room, daring her to say anything, to which she just gave him a look before turning her attention back to Neil, who didn’t complain about Andrew being there. After removing Neil’s gear and his tops, she went to work on the last of the tape and bandages he was wearing, intent on checking the remaining stitches. “It looks like a couple got pulled, but you’re all right,” she said after a few minutes.

Neil gave a blatant ‘I told you so’ look, and blinked when Abby tapped him on the top of the head. “I’m not doing this to be mean, you know,” she snapped, her expression one of pure frustration. “It’s not normal, to play when you’re all… when you’re… it’s not normal, dammit. I can’t imagine what those people up at Edgar Allen are thinking, to do that to their own players.”

“That nothing matters, except winning,” Andrew supplied in an effort to be helpful. “Awful lot of money and perks involved when you’re a winning team.”

The look Abby gave him just then was one of pure disgust. “There’s more important things in life than winning and money.”

“Aw Neil, it looks like we have an idealist here. How precious,” he drawled.

Abby shook her head as she began to tape up the worst of Neil’s remaining stitches. “Silly me, I prefer to be able to live with myself, to look at my image in the mirror,” Neil flinched a little at that, “instead of having a nice big back account.” She was quiet for a moment. “Maybe I am an idealist and foolish, but I just can’t grasp how those monsters can tear into you, into any of you Foxes. It breaks my heart to have to keep patching you up, season after season.”

“Yet you keep doing it,” Andrew reminded her.

“Yeah, like I said, foolish.” A sad smile came over Abby’s face just then, at least until Neil looked up at her. Then it strengthened as she tapped him on the head again. “But someone has to do it.”

“You’re pretty good at it,” Neil admitted in a quiet voice. “Thank you.”

“Try to give me a bit of a break, all right? Take it easy the rest of today and don’t let anyone too big tackle you tomorrow. I’d appreciate it,” she told him, then glanced at Andrew. “See if you can keep the big guys off of him, all right?”

“It’s a challenging job, but it provides me some amusement,” he said.

Neil groaned as he jumped off of the exam table. “You do realize that you just gave him carte blanche, right?”

Abby tossed Neil his shirts. “Somehow I don’t think he needed it from me when it comes to you. Now go wash off, and no more Exy for today! Rest that arm and give your stitches another day to heal! I think you’re going to be abusing them enough tomorrow.”

“Hmm, she may know us a little,” Andrew remarked as they went back to the locker room, so Neil could stow away his gear and grab what he needed for a shower.

“Maybe.” Neil paused before he took off and leaned in for a kiss, clearly waiting for Andrew to decide if he would indulge or not. Andrew figured ‘why not’ and closed the space between them but didn’t allow it to go too far, mindful of both where they were and what had happened the night before. “You stink, go wash off.”

Neil laughed as he headed off to the showers, and Andrew got to sit on the bench for the rest of practice, which was a rather quiet affair. Which was too quiet, really, considering that they had an important game the next day. Part of it may be that Nicky still seemed guilty and that everyone was worried about Neil, but Abby had declared that Neil would be fit to play. Oh no, something else was brewing.

It surfaced when everyone was back in the locker room, Neil seated next to Andrew and dressed in an old sweatshirt that hid the arm guards and most of his tattoo, his hair still a bit damp from the shower, with everyone else in their gear. Wymack did the run-down of the day’s practice, once more went over the important stats for UT, and reminded everyone that they had a one-twenty flight for Austin, Texas the next day. What fun, flying before the night’s game, Andrew told himself.

When the man asked if anyone had any questions, Dan pushed herself away from the locker she’d been leaning against, an intent look on her face. “Yeah, why does Neil have a huge tattoo he’s been hiding?”

And there it was.

Neil sighed and buried his face in his hands, while Nicky sent the idiot a sympathetic look and Aaron appeared interested in things for once. As for Kevin, he looked around the room, his expression a bit apprehensive, as if wondering if he was going to get yelled at again for the whole ‘you let him go to Edgar Allen, you moron’.

“I don’t see why this is important,” Neil murmured with his head still bowed.

“Oh I do,” Reynolds said while she studied her nails as if bored. “You told us that Riko’s still obsessed with Kevin, that he’s mad at you and the other monster because you’re keeping Kevin from going back to Edgar Allen. Yet Kevin said something about you being there for Andrew, and you come back all tore up and-“ she yelped when Renee kicked her in the foot. “That hurt,” she hissed at her friend, who smiled.

“I think you were getting away from the point,” Renee told her in a sweet tone that Andrew didn’t believe for a moment.

Reynolds huffed as she waved her manicured fingers through the air. “The point is, I fail to see how Neil coming back all tatted up has to do with *Kevin*.”

Things were quiet for several seconds, until Wymack cleared his throat, his attention focused on Neil. “You didn’t tell them?”

That got Neil to lift his head, his expression panicked. “I- what? No. *No*.”

Andrew wasn’t pleased with Wymack’s vague question just then, though he had an idea what the man meant. “If you think you’re being helpful,” oh how he hated that word,” you’re not,” he warned with a displeased look.

“They need to know,” Wymack insisted. “At the least, you can bet that Riko or Tetsuji,” Kevin paled at mention of those names and Neil tensed enough that Andrew began to rub at the back of the idiot’s neck, “are going to start saying stuff soon.”

Dammit, the bastard had a point. “I really dislike you right now,” Andrew informed the man.

“Somehow I’ll find the will to move on. So do you tell them or do I?”

“Tell us *what*?” Dan gritted out in clear frustration.

Neil straightened up with a slight shudder, his gaze focused on something that Andrew suspected wasn’t anywhere in the room at the moment. “That if the Foxes don’t win the championship this year, I’m officially being transferred the Ravens.” He spoke in a quiet, almost detached manner, but Andrew could feel the tension in Neil’s body and knew what those words had cost him.

Matt cursed upon hearing that, loud and vicious. “And you agreed to that, really?” He stood up from the bench and looked ready to step toward Neil, until Neil looked up and stared at him; whatever was in Neil’s eyes just then made Matt shake his head and sit back down.

“What the hell does he have on you that would make you go back there?” Reynolds asked. When Neil didn’t say anything, she waved her hand again. “All right, seeing that whole ‘brick wall’ thing right now.”

Meanwhile, Dan seemed to have a problem with the whole ‘Neil as a Raven’ concept. “But… he has a contract with us,” she argued as she stared at Wymack. “That’s not possible.”

Wymack grimaced as he set his clipboard aside. “I bought out Kevin’s. Tetsuji has a hell of a lot more money at his disposal – it’ll raise a few eyebrows, but it’s doable. It’s been done before.”

“As long as Neil doesn’t object, right?” Reynolds pointed out. “He’s already gone to Edgar Allen once, so I doubt he’ll say anything if they tell him to go again, will he?” She cocked her head to the side as she looked over at him. “What the *hell* do they have on you?”

“Don’t ask that,” Neil said in a ragged voice as he tugged at his hair. “Don’t ever ask that.”

“This is none of your business,” Andrew warned as he glared at the upperclassmen. “For some damn reason you wanted to know what was going on, and now you do. Just shut up about it and play.”

“None of our-“ Matt rubbed at his eyes. “He’s our fucking *friend*,” Matt yelled when he dropped his hand. “You sit there and think we won’t care when we find out that if we lose, Riko’s gonna get his hands on him again?”

“It just means you’ll need a new striker next year,” Andrew scoffed, while Neil took to running his hands through his hair.

“Damn, Andrew,” Nicky muttered, “that’s harsh, even for you.”

It looked as if Dan was about to lunge for Andrew, but Renee got in front of her first. “All right, we found out something a bit surprising, yes?” Renee said, her voice soothing but her eyes hard. “Everyone needs to cool down a little.”

“If I didn’t know that you cared about him, I’d….” Dan threw her hands up in the air and made an inarticulate sound of frustration just then, while Andrew gave her a cool look in return.

“If we’re done here, I’m going to wash off,” he announced in a bored tone. “Tired of smelling everyone.” He gave Neil’s neck one more squeeze. “Go wait in the car,” he said in French.

“Yeah,” Neil answered, his voice hoarse with strain. “Not a problem.” Neil was quick to get up and leave, while Andrew stared down everyone to make sure they didn’t bother him along the way.

While everyone went to their lockers to change out of their gear, Matt glared over at Kevin. “Did you know? Did you have any idea what you were send-“ He flinched back when Andrew punched the locker next to his own.

“Slow learning curve there, Boyd?” Andrew gave him a cruel grin as he shoved his shoulder pads into the locker. “Need another refresher course?”

“You’re still defending him, after everything that happened to Neil? I don’t get you, man.” Matt shook his head as he grabbed his shower kit and stomped off.

Meanwhile, Kevin stared into his own locker as he finished removing his own gear. “I didn’t… I didn’t think…” he stuttered out in French.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Andrew said in English. “You know what I want from you, that’s all.” He slammed his own locker shut and went to wash off, tired of dealing with people for the day.

He got clean as quickly as possible and compromised by waiting outside where he could smoke a cigarette and watch over Neil in the GS yet wait for Kevin and the others to catch up, then left the coward to Aaron and Nicky in the Nissan and drove back to the dorm. Once in their suite, Neil hung up his coat, kicked off his shoes and went over to the couch, where he sat in the corner with his legs pulled up to his chest, his expression blank as he stared straight ahead. Andrew went to fetch some water for both of them, and it wasn’t long before the other three caught up.

Nicky threw his coat more or less on the coat rack and came over to curl up on the bean bag nearest Neil. “When were you going to tell us?” he asked, his whole demeanor one radiating hurt.

Neil shook his head. “I just… it was too much, all right? Coming back and-“ He waved his right hand around before he tugged on his bangs.

Andrew glared at his cousin as he sat down next to Neil and handed over one of the bottles. “You don’t have the right to know everything,” he warned, his voice low and quiet. Just because Nicky liked to think of himself as Neil’s ‘big brother’, it didn’t mean he was.

Nicky dared to glare back for a moment before he sighed. “We can help out, you know. If you let us.”

“You do,” Neil assured him, rubbing at his face enough to ruin Reynolds’ makeup job.

Aaron came to stand by the couch and frowned at Andrew. “So what, we have to beat the Ravens or else? They still get him if another team wins?”

“The only other team who might have a chance of winning is USC, and they’re not good enough,” Kevin argued, his expression bleak. “They haven’t managed it yet.”

Aaron shot him a sour look. “Wow, what confidence.”

“Yes, very helpful, isn’t he?” Andrew agreed.

“They’re the two best schools in the division! They’re-“ Kevin held up his hands when Andrew got up off of the couch. “It’s going to take more than me and Neil to get the Foxes up to their level.”

“Good thing we still have a few months to go then, no?” Andrew set his untouched water bottle aside then reached for Neil’s left arm. “Now if you don’t mind….”

Neil set his water bottle down on the table as well and let Andrew lead him off to the bedroom, with the door firmly shut behind them. “Are you going to freak out about tomorrow?” Andrew asked.

“Maybe. Depending on how things go,” Neil admitted. “If my arm still hurts and everything.” He let out a slow breath as he stretched on their bed. “I just want to get through the game.”

Andrew could understand that. “So don’t obsess about the damn thing right now.”

Neil smiled at him about that, and laughed a little as he fell back onto the pillows. “All right, I won’t talk much about obsessing about playing and winning and all that stuff.”

“You better not talk about obsessing in anything regards to Exy, you idiot,” Andrew snapped.

That got him another wide grin before Neil began to fuss with his right arm. “That really doesn’t leave me too much.”

“You’re pathetic,” Andrew stated before he shoved a pillow toward Neil. “Go fetch a fucking text book or something.”

Neil laughed some more as he stretched out beside Andrew, seemingly unconcerned about studying or anything for the time being. He just lay there while Andrew stroked his fingers through Neil’s soft hair and along Neil’s back, his thoughts on the next day and how annoying the rest of the Foxes were becoming and how Aaron was disappearing so much lately.

After about half an hour or so, there was a knock on the bedroom door, and after a slight pause, Nicky peeked inside. “Uhm, we’re going to order some Mexican. The usual for you two?”

Andrew glanced at Neil, who just shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Nicky smiled at them before closing the door, and Andrew got up from the bed so he could have a cigarette while Neil stretched out and checked his phone. Judging from the frown on Neil’s face just then, Andrew would bet that there were a couple of texts from Riko that were deleted without being read, and then Neil buried his face against the mattress.

“What is it?”

Neil made a muffled sound before he raised his head. “Uncle Stuart let me know that he gave Carlton McCormick my number. Said that it was likely that he’d be in the area next weekend.” Neil stared at his phone as if he expected something vile to appear on it at any moment.

Andrew wanted to cross the room to snatch up Neil’s phone and destroy it just then, but he reminded himself that this was something that Neil owed his bastard uncle, that it wasn’t a thing that Neil was looking forward to, in fact he’d rather go out and buy a new phone than deal with the lovely, boring Carlton McCormick. But still, something twisted inside of Andrew at the thought of that ‘date’… and that Stuart, the limey prick, seemed to have set it up on the weekend when the Foxes should know if they had advanced past the death match stage of the championships.

Finished with his cigarette, Andrew pulled out his own phone and typed out a message to Renee, where he stated that if she wanted to work on earning a way back into his good graces, she could do something for him. It didn’t take her too long to respond, and of course she was oh so willing to oblige.

It wasn’t too long after that when Nicky gave another cautious knock then peeked into the room to let them know that the food had arrived. Then it was homework and Kevin put on the start of the Ravens’ game, and an early night of practice where Neil and Andrew watched Kevin out on the court and Neil fussed over his wrist, then back to the suite where they caught the rest of the Ravens’ game. Of course the assholes won, dammit.

Neil had nightmares during the night, but Andrew didn’t think it had anything to do with the night before, no. He figured it was the bastard Stuart’s fault, and Riko’s. It was the prospect of Neil being sent back to the Nest, with no chance of ever being able to flee again.

It was pouring down rain on Friday, which seemed to fit Andrew’s mood just fine. Pouring down rain and some of it freezing because of the cold temperatures, and his mood was not helped by idiots sliding all over the place, both on the sidewalk and the roads. When he finally got back to the dorms, he found Nicky chiding Neil, who was wrapped in a blanket and having a mix of Spanish, English and German babbled at him.

“Do I want to know?” Andrew asked his brother.

“Idiot ran back to the dorms instead of getting a ride,” Aaron said, in-between sips of coffee.

Andrew figured his idiot deserved his fate and left him to Nicky in maternal overdrive, ignoring the obvious plea for help on Neil’s face as he went to put on some dry clothes.

When he came back out, dressed in a black long-sleeved t-shirt and a black pair of jeans, he found Neil, still wrapped in the blanket, his hair sticking up all over the place as if it had been rubbed with a towel, sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee in his hands and expression very sullen. Andrew accepted a mug from a rather pleased Nicky and joined his boyfriend. “It’s so amusing when others do my job for me, sometimes.”

“It just didn’t seem worth the effort,” Neil said, his tone just as churlish as his expression. Then he sighed and held up a corner of the blanket so Andrew could join him beneath it; Andrew debated for a moment, then did it since he was still a bit cold from the weather himself. “Do you think it’ll mess up our flight?”

He almost said ‘one could only hope’ since he hated flying, but knew it would freak out the idiot. “Sure we’d be notified by now if it did.”

“Huh.” Neil finished his coffee and closed his eyes, exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. Andrew sipped his coffee and let Neil drift off for a little bit while Aaron and Nicky went about getting things ready for the flight, then nudged Neil awake when the door opened to admit a wet and glowering Kevin.

“Come on,” he told a blinking Neil. “It’s almost noon. Time to see if all this bad weather will make the plane malfunction and plummet us to our deaths.”

“Hmm, that would be nice,” Neil murmured, and Andrew couldn’t tell if he was still half-asleep and didn’t know what he’d said or just being sarcastic.

They just got soaked again heading to the stadium, which didn’t improve Kevin’s mood any, at least until they got their gear ready to load onto the team bus and then everyone (except Andrew) began to grow excited for the game. Wymack did the usual ‘get your shit together or I’ll leave you behind’, and then they were off to the airport.

Neil grew quiet as they approached the large building, and Wymack gave him an odd look as if to make sure he was all right. Andrew nudged Neil in the side when he began to tense up, and after taking a deep breath, Neil nodded to both of them and brushed his wet bangs aside. It occurred to Andrew that his boyfriend had been there just a couple of weeks ago, after leaving Edgar Allen, and now he was back again to head off to play Exy, to prove he was good enough to stay *away* from Edgar Allen. From the Nest.

“What did I say about the mind games and shit,” Andrew murmured in German. “Don’t be your own worst enemy,” he warned.

“I won’t,” Neil said. “I just… I just want to get tonight’s game over with.” He rubbed at his right forearm, his fingers lingering for a moment at the edge of the arm band; they both had to remove their knives because of security.

“It’ll be here soon enough.”

Wymack dropped them off at the front of the airport then went to park the bus, and soon enough they checked their gear, got through security and found their gate, where the Vixens were already waiting. Andrew noticed that Aaron appeared rather pleased to see the cheerleaders – to see one in particular. Hmm, that was still going on? How bothersome. Then he got distracted by the windows overlooking the outside of the airport, even if all they really showed were stationary airplanes and grey skies, and found himself standing still while the rest of the Foxes - bar Neil – went to drop off their carry-on bags.

“It’s just a plane,” Neil told him in a soothing voice. “We’ll be fine. Just a short flight, relatively speaking.”

Andrew glared at him, and noticed the slight smile on his boyfriend’s face. “I hate you.”

“Yes, I know. Do you want me to see if the captain can come up and speak to you? Maybe even take you into the cockpit”

“I really, really hate you.”

“Ooh, maybe they even have those little plastic pins with the wings on them.” Neil motioned with his hands about pinning something to his chest. “Maybe the attendants can give you one if you’re a good boy.”

“I will stab you in the eye with it,” Andrew promised, hating how Neil knew him so well, how his fear was ebbing somewhat, replaced by annoyance and amusement and that damn warm feeling Neil brought out in him. “I will.”

“There goes your chance for an extra biscuit packet,” Neil complained. “Bad Andrew. Do you want me to recite the statistics on how flying a plane is so much safer than being in a car? Well, unless the pilot is drunk or mentally unstable, that is.”

Andrew considered that slight smile on Neil’s face just then and looked over for his cousin. “Nicky, I think I just heard Neil cough a little. I think he’s coming down with something.”

Nicky came running right away, followed by Kevin, while Neil took to glaring. “Really? I *told* you to let me know if you felt sick, baby bro! Let’s get something hot in you, and no, not Andrew.” Neil’s glare increased while Kevin’s expression was quite scandalized. “They should have some hot chocolate or cappuccinos or-“

“No, none of that sugary crap, not before a game,” Kevin insisted as the two of them hauled a rather displeased Neil away; Andrew gave his boyfriend a slight smirk and went to get some snacks for the trip, now that Kevin was out of the way and couldn’t police his purchases. Hmm, all of a sudden, he felt better about things, yes he did.

He went through the shops and grabbed a few candy bars as well as an energy drink before they announced that the plane was boarding, while it looked as if most of the Foxes, his boyfriend included, were stuck in the line for the café. They all met up while boarding the plane, and Andrew wasn’t surprised to find himself seated with Neil and Kevin.

Neil was stuck between him and Kevin, and edged over a little more to be closer to Andrew, who was next to the window. He smiled when he saw the bag of candy bars, his displeasure over the prank with Nicky seemingly forgotten, and when Andrew’s nerves kicked back in on being stuck in the plane – on the fact that the plane would soon take off, would take off into the *air*, Neil reached over to tug on the cuff of his shirt.

“Stop it,” Andrew said without any heat.

“Hmm, no,” Neil said back, his tone quiet. Since it was his left arm, Andrew caught at his boyfriend’s wrist and twisted it about enough so he held it caught in his hand, mindful of the still healing scrapes beneath the long sleeve, and the two of them engaged in a bit of ‘wrestling’ for most of the flight where Neil would attempt to squirm his way out of Andrew’s grip. Neil was quick and didn’t mind if his already ragged cuff took on a few more tears, but Andrew was determined and found it a suitable distraction, while Kevin was muttering about ‘idiots’ in French an awful lot.

They had some time to kill in Atlanta, so the five of them wandered around the various shops, and Nicky faced the Day wrath of no empty calories before a game. While the two of them squabbled over him buying a bunch of junk food, Andrew checked out some crystal figurines for one that Bee didn’t have yet, and noticed a giraffe among them. Neil gave him an odd look when he picked it up, still not sold on Bee as being much of any help, but he didn’t stop Andrew or question the purchase. He did, however, wince at the way the cashier was staring in horror at Nicky and Kevin.

“Can they be causing any more of a scene?” Neil sighed when Kevin stomped off because of a crude comment Nicky had made.

“Think about who you’re talking about,” Andrew reminded him as he paid for the figurine, which the cashier wrapped up before bagging for him.

“I suppose.” Neil shook his head and bought some bottled water for himself, then they went to the gate where Nicky handed out some of his hard-won goods. Neil turned down the junk food, but Andrew gladly ate a candy bar in front of Kevin, just to piss off the striker.

Then it was back on the plane, oh joy, and that time Neil distracted him by teaching him Japanese swear words, which also annoyed Kevin. Andrew got to put a couple of them to good use before they landed, and then it was off to baggage claim to pick up their gear, where Neil stared around as if bemused by the whole ordeal.

“What’s with you?” Andrew asked as Neil watched the various bags come down the large carousel with evident fascination.

“This is my first time doing this,” he answered in French. “We… my mom and I, we never checked anything. It was always take what we could carry when we traveled. Uhm, is it supposed to take this long?”

Ah yes, Neil and his precious duffel bag. Well, the idiot had more things than seven or eight outfits, a binder and two pairs of shoes to his name now, but he still freaked over buying a lot of stuff. “To make it seem that much more real to you, how about I let you carry your shit and mine, hmm?” Aw, for some reason, Neil didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture.

They found the shuttle bus that Wymack had rented for them and got everyone and all their shit piled onto it, and stopped for dinner at some Italian place where Andrew and Kevin had to make sure that Neil ate everything since a clear case of nerves were setting in. They got to the UT campus in downtown Austin with plenty of time to spare, unloaded the shit they needed for the game and were directed by the campus police to the Away team locker room.

Abby double-checked Neil’s arm once more before she gave her approval for him to play, and since there weren’t any private stalls in the changing room, Matt, Kevin, Aaron and Nicky cleared out of the bathroom long enough so Neil could change in there with some privacy, Andrew sticking around to help him with his gear and to change as well. “It’s just a fucking game. Don’t focus too much on why you have to win or you’ll mess things up,” Andrew told him, eyes intent on Neil’s face to gage his emotions. Most of the bruises had healed, enough so that Reynolds hadn’t bothered with the makeup, and Neil had covered up the altered tattoo for the game.

“I know,” Neil told him, expression resolved and blue eyes clear. “It’s just one of many, and we’ll get through it. Like you said, they’re good, but they’re not the worst or the best we’ll be facing.”

“Just do your damn job,” Andrew said. “Try to keep that mouth of yours shut for once and do your job.”

“No promises,” Neil told him with a wry smile.

“Asshole,” Andrew shot back as he wrapped his hands around Neil’s neck and pulled him in for a quick kiss.

They went out to join the others, all geared up except for their gloves and helmets, and Wymack gave the team a once over before allowing them out on the court to do some laps and to check it out. The UT Longhorns’ court was about the same size as the Foxhole Court and UT’s colors were similar, so Andrew felt an odd sense of déjà vu once he got out there. They did a few laps and returned inside for their racquets, then went back out to set up at the Away team benches, where Abby was waiting for them with refreshments and the Vixens were ready to rally the fans. And oh, what a surprise, Aaron was once again all happy. Something would have to be done about that soon.

The Longhorns came out, their team so much bigger than the Foxes, and Andrew knew he was going to be sick of seeing so much orange and white by the end of the game – the Foxes in orange and white for their away game uniforms, the Longhorns in white and orange, which the Foxes would be wearing if they were back home.

With the University of Texas’ Exy team out on the court, it wouldn’t be long now before the Foxes could begin their drills, so they grabbed their racquets in expectation of that fact. Wymack waved at them to get ready and then clapped his hands to get their attention before motioning them together. "All right, listen up. It's time to get serious. These guys might look familiar, but don’t get confused and don’t let your guard down because they're here for one reason only, and that’s to eliminate you right out of the gate. They’ve been trying to make a name for themselves for years and they know what it takes to get to the next level.” He paused to give them all a level look. “Your job tonight is to keep that from happening, to smack them down in front of their own fans." Abby scowled at him, but Wymack didn't acknowledge her disapproval. "Now, we've been over their line-up a hundred times. You've got everything Neil and I put together for you the last two weeks.” Neil shifted at that but didn’t say anything. “These guys are quick and dangerous but they are not impenetrable. The trick is holding center court. For the love of all things unholy, watch those dealers." He directed that to the offense side of the team.

"I'll watch them limp off the court tonight," Dan said with a good bit of heat.

"Do what you have to do," Wymack said, which earned him another displeased look from Abby, "but don't you dare get red-carded. That goes for all of you." He shot Matt a pointed look, and narrowed his eyes when all Matt did was grin in response. Andrew would have punched the idiot for that, but he was too far away at the time.

So Wymack continued on. "If you ladies start losing ground, call on defense to lend a hand. I don't care if it means putting one backliner on two strikers long enough to get some breathing room. The goalies are going to lock our goal down. Right?" He looked at both Andrew and Renee, but of course Renee was the one to answer.

"We'll do our best," she told him said with a bright smile.

For some reason, the crowd started to really scream just then, a lot louder than before, which made Neil crane his neck to see what was going on. Wymack’s expression turned annoyed, since it was interrupting his pathetic pep-talk, but other Foxes had become curious as well. The crowd seemed to be focused on one area in particular, and Andrew had just locked on to it when Neil’s expression turned blank and the blood drained from his face.

Andrew caught something about a reserved section, then noticed the spots of black and red, the familiar dark heads, then hands latched on to him before he could take more than a step forward. “Let me go or lose those limbs,” he gritted out, both for the audacity of someone touching him and for trying to keep him from killing Riko.

“Calm the fuck down, Minyard,” Wymack snapped. “You do anything, you’ll be red-carded from the game at best. You just got released, dammit! Do you want committed again?”

“What the fuck are they doing here?” Dan asked, her voice an angry hiss.

“Let me go and I’ll beat it out of him!” Andrew insisted as he fought against Matt and his brother, who were holding onto him, as well as Wymack, who was standing in front of him and shoving him back.

Meanwhile, Nicky was in front of Neil. “Hey, you all right?” He was waving his hand in front of Neil’s face but was careful not to touch. “You don’t look so good.”

Renee came over to stand with Wymack. “Andrew, think of Neil right now. Neil and Kevin, all right?” Her voice was calm, but that darkness was back in her eyes.

“No killing at the first game of the season, dammit!” Wymack yelled as he gave Andrew one more shove.

Andrew ignored the man as he stared at Renee, then let out a frustrated huff while he looked over at Neil and Kevin; Kevin’s hands were locked on his arms as he stared at the VIP box as if it contained his worst nightmare and Neil’s right hand was buried in those damn curls of his, his face too blank as he was obviously lost in the memories from winter break.

“Fine,” Andrew snarled. “One day you will let me kill the bastard.” He stopped trying to reach Riko, which made Aaron let him go, though it took Matt a moment longer to relax; Andrew lashed back with his right foot and Boyd yelped in pain, his hands loosening up at the same time. That was enough for Andrew to slip free, and he gave Kevin a mostly light ‘thwap’ on the side of the head as he stomped past.

“Stop mooning over the prick or I’ll rip your eyes out.”

“I- I wasn’t,” Kevin stuttered as he finally looked away from Riko. Meanwhile Andrew shooed Nicky away so he could deal with Neil.

“And you. What did I say about the mind games?” He grabbed Neil by the chin, and noticed how Neil flinched at first, at least until Neil ‘came back’ enough to realize that it was Andrew who touched him.

“Well?” he asked.

Neil’s lips moved for a moment without him speaking before he drew in a sharp breath. “I… I don’t….”

“No power,” Andrew insisted as his thumb tapped over the hidden tattoo on Neil’s cheek.

“… yeah.” Neil stared at him and raised his hand to catch at Andrew’s wrist before sliding up to cover Andrew’s thumb over the tattoo. “Yes.”

It wasn’t much, but it was Neil confirming to Andrew that he stood by the choice he’d made earlier, in putting his faith in Andrew and he wouldn’t let Riko bully him or try to make Neil live in fear. More than anything, Andrew wanted to cross the damn court and use his racquet to bash the prick’s head in, because he was willing to bet that Riko was here to shake Neil’s confidence, to tear him down when he was doing everything he could to move forward and beat the Ravens. And oh, how nice it would be if the prick could provoke Andrew into doing something that would get him suspended from playing Exy if not outright thrown back into Easthaven or arrested.

Andrew had just stroked his thumb over the bandaged tattoo when Aaron made a choking sound. “Are you two going to be at it all night? We do have a game to play, and I’m starting to feel sick at all this ogling and touching shit.”

Nicky clicked his tongue before Andrew could snap at his brother. “Oh please, as if you don’t ogle Katelyn more than enough. You’re just mad because this time, it’s the beauty of two hot guys doing the ogling.”

“I don’t ogle Katelyn,” Aaron with a bit too much vehemence, while Andrew sighed and let go of Neil’s chin and positioned himself so that he was blocking Neil’s view of the prick – and vice versa. He noticed that Renee and Dan were doing much the same with Kevin.

Before Nicky could say anything else, Wymack clapped his hands together. “Enough of this bullshit. Now, where was I?”

Neil flapped his right hand about a couple of times. “Ah, the offensive line, I think?” His voice was a little rough at first, but soon smoothed out. “Just a head’s up, if they put Beckstein on me, I'm going to have to do side passes for the game.” He frowned as he rubbed his right hand along his left side, where Andrew knew he still had some impressive stitches left. “He's got a foot on me, so if he catches my stick on an upward swing it'll pull me too far and, uh,” he gave Abby a nervous glance, “yeah, not good."

The discussion appeared to help shift Kevin’s focus off of Riko, but before he could say anything, Andrew huffed and knocked his elbow into Neil’s right side. "Idiot, you can’t count worth shit. It’s only eight inches, since he's five-eleven."

Considering the fact that the rest of the team weren’t strikers and didn’t know how important it was to memorize every player’s height, and so be able to tell their racquet lengths and know their strengths and weaknesses of their reach, they just shrugged over that and went on talking defense. But it mattered a lot to Kevin and Neil, and Andrew knowing something like that? It meant that he’d actually paid attention to things for once, which meant that he had some sort of vested interest in the game. For once.

Neil’s smile just then was a beautiful thing; Andrew knew that Neil had long ago realized that he had the type of memory that retained everything, but Neil also knew that if Andrew didn’t want to be bothered, he really wouldn’t be bothered. So yes, he’d paid attention when Wymack had talked about the Longhorns’ stats, as well as when Kevin and Neil did. Because there was no way in hell he was allowing the Foxes to lose tonight, for Riko to get his hands on Neil.

Wymack babbled on for a little longer and then finally allowed them onto the court to do drills. “Andrew, keep the damn balls on our side of the court. I mean it this time – no damn excuses to go ‘visit’, all right? You get yourself arrested at any point tonight, I’m not bailing you out or letting Neil leave to do it.”

Andrew gave him the finger before they went out, and made sure to have Neil at his side while they reached the court. His fingers lingers on the small of Neil’s back, a rather open display all in all, to which Neil just gave him a slight frown more in confusion than anything else and Kevin cursed over, but it should make Riko think about a few things. And dammit, Andrew did keep the balls on their side of the court, because if he got too close to Riko, he was going to kill the bastard. The rest of the Foxes made sure to keep between him, Neil and Riko, just in case. Meddlesome busybodies.

Dan won them the serve in the coin toss, and of course Wymack had to give one more bothersome pep-talk before the game could start. "Remember," he said as everyone once more gathered around. "It's two out of three to advance and you can't afford to lose the first game of the season. Strikers, you better get three goals apiece or I'll register you for a marathon,” he told them, once more falling back on the old threat. “Backliners, if you look like idiots then you'll keep them company. Dealers,” he said to Reynolds and Dan, “you've got this.” Huh, a bit of favoritism there or what? “Renee, play it like you know how.” Oh yeah, definite favoritism. “Andrew, keep the score at three or under for your half and I'll buy you as much alcohol as will fit in your cabinet."

Well, that certainly gave Andrew some added incentive, as if keeping Neil from becoming a damn Raven and pissing off Riko hadn’t been enough. Still, Andrew gave the man a blank look in return, right before the starting line-ups were called out onto court. As the Foxes ran in front of the VIP box, Andrew made sure to flash Riko a huge smirk, while Kevin and Neil didn’t even look at the asshole.

The first half of the game was amusing to watch, especially since Kevin ended up dealing with Beckstein instead of Neil, which was of some relief to Andrew, and Dan actually got a bit rough with a fellow female dealer. The two ended up fighting at one point and earned yellow cards, and the rest of the game wasn’t that much cleaner. Neil was battered a bit on the court, but Andrew noticed that he was putting to good use a few of those ‘tricks’ he’d picked up at Evermore, which allowed him to take down the Longhorns’ strikers and backliners without getting him carded in return. Oh yes, the idiot was a sneaky bastard when he put his mind to it. For his part, Andrew shut the goal down enough to only allow one point through, which should please Wymack and tick off Riko since the score was one to four by half-time, in the Foxes’ favor.

By the time he made it to the locker room, Abby had already snagged Neil to check his stitches in the small room set aside for Medical. Andrew didn’t bother to knock, he just entered, which earned him a loaded stare from Abby and a tired frown from Neil. “So just break the news to me, Doc,” Andrew drawled. “How long does he have left?”

“Sorry, looks like you’re stuck with him for a while to come,” Abby said as she finished checking the stitches on Neil’s left side.

“Damn,” Andrew cursed in a mournful manner. “On to plan b. Got any cyanide lying around?”

“Very funny,” Neil complained while Abby just shook her head.

As soon as she finished, she patted Neil on the shoulder and told the both of them to hydrate properly, and they got stuck listening to Wymack go over the game review which basically broke down to ‘you guys didn’t suck out there, now don’t fuck up and blow your lead or I’ll make your lives miserable, you worms’. Ah yes, David Wymack, poet of the ages.

Andrew paid attention to the VIP box when the Foxes went back out to the court for the second half without seeming like he was doing just that, and was pleased to note that dear Riko didn’t seem too happy with life at the moment.

The Longhorns must have had their own lovely inspirational speech, because they came out raring to go and full of spit and vinegar, as the saying went. Gee, for some reason they didn’t want to lose. They were more willing to play the dirty tricks this half of the game, and could get away with it since there were a lot more of them, sacrificing two players even to red cards. Andrew felt some of his amusement fade when Riko’s demeanor seemed to improve when Neil managed to goad on those red cards with those ‘tricks’ of his, and Wymack took to growling beside him. “What the fuck is that boyfriend of yours doing? He can’t risk another yellow card in this game.”

“I think he picked up a few bad habits from some dirty birds,” Andrew remarked as he watched Neil ‘accidentally’ whap a Longhorn backliner with his racquet during a tumble, which a referee didn’t seem to notice. “Though it’s rather ironic, if they help us win games, don’t you think?”

Wymack didn’t seem to agree. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to win a game, dammit.”

Said the man whose freedom wasn’t on the line. Who wasn’t looking at being handed over to a sadist who would enjoy utterly destroying Neil with joy. Yeah, Andrew wasn’t surprised that Neil was doing whatever he could to keep the Longhorns in check, to be honest. “Maybe if the rest of your team of rejects stepped up, he won’t need to do it this way,” Andrew remarked as he went back to staring at Riko and wondered if he could will a brain tumor on the bastard.

It was quiet for about a minute before Wymack responded. “It’s your team too, you midget asshole.”

Andrew chose to ignore him.

Neil didn’t get a red card, and didn’t get his ass handed to him for any of the tricks. In fact, none of the Foxes got red-carded during the game, and won it seven to five. Andrew watched on in interest when Renee didn’t immediately file off the court but went over to the VIP box and wondered if she was going to curry favor with him by killing Riko, but instead she held out her hand like the good Christian girl she was, which of course the prick ignored. Hmm, but Moreau accepted it, and it looked as if they exchanged words.

By that point, Neil had come over to Andrew, and realized where he was staring. “Jean’s interested in her,” he explained. “They’ve been exchanging texts for the last couple of months.”

Kevin had joined them as well and looked ready to have a heart attack. “What? How did *that* happen?”

Neil shrugged, his attention focused on Andrew. “Sometime after the fall social. I’ve known about it since November, and I don’t have a problem with it.” He was quiet a moment as if figuring out what was on Andrew’s mind. “He didn’t tell her I was there, he couldn’t. He’s still Moriyama property.”

“He’s taking a great risk just talking to her,” Kevin agreed. “It’s… it’s dangerous. The Mas- Tetsuji doesn’t allow relationships like that.”

Neil continued to look at Andrew, who thought about Renee doing her Christian Girl thing on Riko’s ‘number three’ and then shrugged. It had some possibilities. That acceptance made Neil smile, and he fell in step as they headed to the locker room while Kevin went to join Dan to handle the reporters.

They almost made it there, but then a loud question rang out from one of the reporters.

“Neil Josten, is it true that this is your last season with the Foxes? That you’re headed to Edgar Allen as soon as the semester is over?”

Well, Andrew would say that he had a good idea why the prick was there that night, huh? Not only to try to fuck with Neil’s mind and game, but to spread the rumor that Neil’s days as a Fox was numbered. He glanced at Neil, whose expression was furious, and gave a slight shrug; if Neil walked away, the rumor would just grow worse. If Neil wanted to confront it… well, let him shoot it down, though it would never be that simple, once Neil unleashed his temper and mouth.

Neil removed his helmet, his hands shaking a little, he was that angry, and handed it over to Andrew along with his gloves. Then they went over to the reporters, and once there, Andrew handed the helmet to Renee as he took up a position next to Neil and Kevin.

Neil stepped over near Kevin, and by that point he had managed a mostly bland expression. “Excuse me, what was the question?”

The reporter nodded as he adjusted the microphone for Neil’s shorter height. “There’s a rumor going around that there’s a new contract between you and Edgar Allen, to finish out the rest of your university career as a Raven, starting as of next season.” The reporter stared at the bandage on Neil’s cheek. “Care to comment on that?”

Neil gave him a patronizing smile. “I’m a Fox, and I’ll always be a Fox.”

The reporter didn’t let it end there. “But you’ve also been marked as part of the Ravens’ Perfect Court and it’s been commented before that you’re on loan to the Foxes. There’s even talk that you practiced with the Ravens during the winter in anticipation of the upcoming switch.”

Neil’s smile took on a sharp edge as he reached for the bandage on his cheek, and Andrew felt a razor grin of his own spread across his lips in anticipation of what was about to happen. “Ah yes, the Ravens’ Perfect Court.” He removed the bandage while next to him, Kevin cringed. “As you can see, I don’t consider myself a part of that anymore,” he said as he revealed the altered tattoo. One of the reporters rushed forward to snap pictures of the ‘A’ on Neil’s cheek, and he tilted his head to oblige her while all around, there were murmured comments of confusion and surprise.

“But… but you….” It was clear that the original reporter was stunned by Neil’s action.

“I don’t really believe in a ‘Perfect Court’,” Neil said. “At least, not how Riko Moriyama is envisioning it. Not what he’s putting together with the Ravens. Riko as an Exy player is good, and he’s gotten there because of his uncle, because Tetsuji Moriyama helped to build the sport. But there is more to Exy than paying homage to its beginnings. It’s the spirit behind it, it’s the people who give their all to it and want to push it further than it currently is and not just to say that they’ve got the most championships. It’s not in the people who have to say that they’re the best because they’re too afraid to face any real competition. Anyone who has to tattoo numbers on themselves is too afraid to face the fact that someone better may come along and that they might be able to learn from them, to improve themselves, and that’s far from a Perfect Court in my opinion.”

The reporter looked as if he was ready to cry just then, though Andrew couldn’t tell if it was in shock or joy in how many views the interview would bring in. “So you’re not joining the Ravens?”

Here Neil had to be a bit more careful, considering that he still answered to the main branch. “This Christmas was a trial of sorts, and I don’t think it worked out very well. I don’t think I’ll ever be as good a player as I can be if I join the Ravens, our styles are just too different. And I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like playing with them for four years. I can’t say that it would be pleasant, as they’re not the best team out there to be on as a player, or the best people over all.”

Then he took a deep breath and shook his head. “But that might be my personal opinion talking, since I’m happy with the Foxes and I want to stay with them. You know what, we said that we’ll have a rematch with the Ravens this spring, so I’ll cheer the Ravens on to the finals, and I hope they’ll do the same with us. I’d like to think that’s why Riko was here tonight, to watch us start our season with a win, something that we’ll carry forward. We’ll meet up on the court again this season, and this time the Foxes won’t go down so easily. This time we’ll win. Everyone will see.” He flashed the reporters a confident smile, the ‘A’ on his cheek crinkling. “It’s going to be an exciting year, just watch.”

Before anyone else could get in any other questions, he was gone, off toward the locker room while cameras flashed and reporters called out to him. Andrew tailed after him, followed by a laughing Dan, and a furious Kevin was quick to come as well. As soon as Neil was in the locker room, Kevin was stupid enough to voice his complaints.

“What the hell were you thinking? Riko is-“

Neil whirled on Kevin and slammed him into the wall by the door, that cruel, awful smile on his face; Andrew stood nearby to keep Neil in line but didn’t interfere just yet. “No,” Neil snapped in French. “Don’t even try to argue, to hold me back,” he told the coward. “I’m not letting him dictate *anything* when it comes to me, do you understand? Never again.”

“You’re going to bring him down on all of us,” Kevin warned in the same language, his face drained of blood. “You never think.”

“And you have to stop being afraid of him,” Neil countered. “All you think of is ‘Riko, Riko, Tetsjuji, Riko’, and nothing gets through, dammit!” "

 "You don’t understand,” Kevin said, frustration plain in his voice. “It’s not something I can just forget! You of all people know this." He motioned to the tattoo on Neil’s neck before he pushed Neil away, but didn’t try to move from the wall or past Neil. “You don’t get to judge me."

"I'm not judging you.” Right then, Neil sounded so tired of everything and threw his bandana aside so he could run his fingers through his damp hair. “I'm telling you it's past time to stand your ground. What's the point of any of this if you're still his pet at the end of the day? If you really believed in us— if you really believed in yourself— you'd push back."

"You don't understand." There was an annoying hint of a whine in Kevin’s voice just then. Andrew was tempted to smack the coward.

"No, I don't," Neil said, some of his temper coming back as he stared up at Kevin with his hands clenched into fists. "You have a way out. You have a future. So why won't you take it? Why are you so afraid to take it? There is nothing there for you but being second best. Being *their* second best. You’re holding on to what they want for you, instead of what you can be. You left Edgar Allen how long ago, and you’re still living in their shadows.”

That made Kevin glance aside at Andrew, who was looking at him with blatant scorn. “The two of you… you’re both been so strong. You both do what you want.” He looked back at Neil. “I’ve always been Riko’s. I know better than any of you what happens when you defy a Moriyama.”

“No,” Neil corrected him after a moment’s pause. “You’ve seen what happens if you defy a Moriyama.” He was quiet again as if he was thinking of something – remembering something. “You’ve been protected from it because you’re a pet, not a belonging. And you’ve been defying them for over a year. They’ve already taken everything from you, so what are you afraid of losing now?”

Kevin just stared at him for that, and after about a minute of silence, Neil stepped away, stepped toward Andrew. Andrew let Neil lean toward him, the fight apparently gone from him for the time being, and they headed further into the locker room where Wymack was standing, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips and a curious expression on his face.

“Funny, but I remember us winning,” he said. “So what was with that bad mood back there?”

Neil gave a slight shrug. “Just a philosophical debate on life choices.” Andrew gave him a slight tap in the side with his elbow for that. “Ah, and yeah, sorry for the, uhm, press thing back there.”

Wymack winced at the last part. “What the hell, do I want to know what you did this time?”

Dan held up her hand and volunteered to fill Wymack in on things. “Let’s just say he tore into Riko again and made it clear that he thinks he’s a major asshole.”

“The fuck,” Wymack said while rubbing at his temples as if he was coming down with a headache – Andrew had a feeling he knew the cause of it, and it was standing beside him. “You kids are killing me, is it some sort of contest between you to see which one puts me in a grave first?”

“Oh, which one of us is winning?” Andrew asked. Now *that* was a bet he could get in on.

Wymack dropped his hands to glare at him. “Get your asses in the showers, *now*.  I’m leaving in twenty minutes, so wash the stink off of you and be on the bus with your gear by then because I’m leaving your asses behind if you’re not.”

Andrew rolled his eyes at that and went off to the showers, where Neil had to wait until the others were done so he could wash off in private. Then it was packing up so they could catch the return flight home, and Andrew was mindful at the airport in hopes of spotting Riko flying out, of running into the prick and getting his chance of ensuring that Riko would never touch Neil again. Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky.

It was while they were waiting for their connecting flight that they caught the rerun of the interview of Tetsuji responding to Neil’s comments on Riko and the Ravens. The man was as personable as always, dressed in black and expression unresponsive while he talked about Neil.

“Josten is maturing well as a player at Palmetto State, as we had expected. He is growing as a striker under Kevin Day’s tutelage and even encouraging Kevin to regain more of his former skill than expected. It was always our hope that Josten would benefit from the arrangement, and it has worked out well, from a talent perspective,” Tetsuji said. “However, it’s clear that there is an… undesirable element on the team, due to Coach Wymack’s poor recruiting standards, who is having a negative effect on Josten. Who is encouraging him and even Day to be unreasonably antagonistic to their fellow Exy players.” Tetsuji paused to shake his head and raised his left hand to brush it against the left side of his face – against the spot where Neil was now sporting an ‘A’ tattoo. “I’m sure next season you’ll see a much changed attitude in Josten. Until then, the better team will win out in this championship season.”

Aaron appeared a bit impressed by the interview, Kevin grim-faced while Matt took to swearing and Nicky stared at the television screen. “Did the asshole just basically say that Andrew is at fault for everything?”

Neil hunched forward in his coat, his expression one of pure misery. “Yeah, that’s what it sounded like to me.”

Andrew noticed the way that everyone had taken to eyeing him, as if waiting for an explosion of sorts. “Oh how wonderful,” he remarked as he reached out to grab Neil by the back of the neck. “To find out that I’m this powerful puppet master, controlling you and Kevin. Will you dance for me?” he asked Neil as he gave his boyfriend’s nape a gentle squeeze. “Better yet, go tell Boyd that his hair looks ridiculous.”

That provoked a few laughs, and Neil gave him a tired smile even as he tugged Andrew a little further away from the others; they couldn’t go too far because the plane was boarding soon, but they stepped far enough aside so they could have some privacy.

“I’m sorry,” Neil said right away in German. “I didn’t think he’d take it out on you.” He reached up to brush his fingers over the tattoo, which there was no more sense in hiding after the interview.

“They can’t slam you too much if they intend to make you a Raven,” Andrew argued. “So they have to go after someone.” He shrugged to show that he wasn’t bothered by things. “I’m convenient because I keep fucking up their plans for you and Kevin, so don’t, all right?” He yanked on the idiot’s bangs for him. “Don’t say such useless things like ‘I’m sorry’, don’t stress over this, just… don’t. I don’t give a shit what they say about me.” He much preferred them coming after him than Neil any day. Hell, it was better than targeting Kevin, even, considering how easy the coward could fold.

Neil shook his head. “I don’t like them lying about you. Them making you seem like some sort of….” He let out a sharp breath. “I don’t know, but that’s not you, what they’re saying.”

Andrew huffed a little. “People have been saying shit about me for most of my life. It’s a bit late to get worked up about it now.” Except Neil, the idiot, did. Neil did care about shit like that, and even as Andrew thought him stupid for it, he still felt those damn annoying emotions inside over the whole mess.

He was spared having to put up with more senseless arguments from his boyfriend since it was time to board, and was too damn tired to be worked up on the last leg of the flight by the fact that he was in the air. Everyone was ready to crash by the time they returned to campus, so they returned to the dorms and just crawled into their beds, that night with Neil tucked against him. Maybe there would have been a nightmare thanks to Riko’s reappearance in their lives, but they didn’t get a chance for a full night’s sleep.

The sound of someone’s phone going off startled the two of them awake, Neil rolling to the other side of the bed while Andrew lashed out and just missed his boyfriend. Nicky called out something in Spanish before repeating it in English, something that sounded a lot like ‘one more hour, Ma,’ while Aaron threw his pillow across the room.

“Your fucking phone, Josten,” Aaron complained, and then a second or two later, more phones went off. That got Andrew off of the bed in a hurry, while Neil followed him to the dresser to see what was going on.

“What the fuck?” Andrew asked, tone almost civil, when he saw that it was Renee calling.

“Something happened in the parking lot,” she said. “Come out with us.” Then she hung up.

He looked over to see that it was Matt calling Neil, and from the sounds of it, a similar message. “Wake Kevin up,” Andrew told Nicky as he started to pull on some clothes.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Nicky asked, even as he started tugging Kevin out of his bed; the striker groaned and then yelped as he headed toward the floor.

“Something happened in the parking lot,” Andrew explained as he grabbed his car keys then left the room, with Neil and Aaron right behind him. Once they were out in the hallway, he spotted Matt and Dan, and could hear the voices of other students; they went for the stairwell, unwilling to wait for the elevators.

More students were gathered outside, voices raised in anger and surprise as they stood by their cars. There was the stench of raw eggs, meat and something worse in the air, and Andrew surveyed the scene in front of him dispassionately as he walked past them toward the back of the lot; not only were some of the cars covered in the foul smelling stuff, but others were dinged as if hit with something, and even more had smashed windshields and windows. There were campus police and real police on the scene to deal with the pissed off students who were screaming about the state of their cars, some of them on their phones, probably calling their insurance agents.

Neil looked guilty and guiltier with each passing row, especially when they got to Matt’s monster blue truck; every window had been broken, the tires were all slashed, and someone had even taken the effort to smash into the metal body of the thing. They’d done much the same to Reynolds’ annoying pink Porsche, which she was standing beside, an angry expression on her face as she tapped her heeled foot against the concrete.

Matt had caught up to them by then, with Dan by his side, and he combed his fingers through his deflated hair as he stared at his truck. “What the fuck? Who would do this? And why didn’t anyone hear them?”

“Saved the windows for last,” Reynolds explained, then she motioned to a football player up a row, who was talking to the police. “Paris called the police when he heard the glass break, but by the time he got down here, they were already leaving and only caught the sight of their cars. Said there were four or five of them.”

“What the fuck,” Matt repeated, and made an aborted motion for his truck; Dan wrapped her arms around him and pulled him away, while Neil made a pained noise. Andrew tugged him closer to make sure the idiot didn’t do anything stupid. “Do we have to go through this shit again?”

“I’m sorry,” Neil said as he took to tugging at his bangs. “It’s… it’s more Ravens shit again, isn’t it? It’s because of me.”

Reynolds got in front of him before Andrew could say anything. “Oh no, you shut up,” she snapped. “I just spent how many days hiding the shit that asshole did to you? You’re not sorry, not in the least,” she said before Neil could argue, and Andrew felt a bit of respect for her just then. “If you backtrack on us now, if you let him think he’s beaten you, then I lose all respect for you.”

Dan joined in as she turned from Matt. “You just told the truth. Don’t let him beat you down for it.”

Neil shuddered as he looked around the parking lot, as he edged closer to Andrew. “But this isn’t just about me. Kevin’s right, he came after all of you this time.”

“So what if he is.” Reynolds’ voice was uncaring as she flicked her bright red nails through the air. “That asshole thinks he can hurt me with this shit? Just watch me, I can buy as many pretty toys as I want. Maybe I’ll buy two this time, to have a spare if he wants to try it again.” She grinned just then, as if in anticipation of pissing Riko off.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Nicky said as he looked off at something in the distance.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he realized what his cousin was looking at, and Neil gave another low moan. They left the others and continued onward, except the damn upperclassmen followed as they made their way back a few rows to where the GS and the Nissan were parked.

Whoever had done this shit had obviously spent some time beating on the GS – they’d gone way beyond the windows and the tires, or a few dents on the frame. They must have brought a sledgehammer so they could pound on the entire frame, could leave deep craters behind everywhere and even spray-painted ‘traitor’ and ‘manipulator’ all over the car. Gee, wonder who had told them who had owned the car….

The worst came when they looked into the car and found the leather seats all torn up, as if someone had slashed them with a knife, and then dumped garbage on top of them as well. It looked like compost bags had been emptied on the seats, and there was even a poor dead fox in the backseat.

Andrew just stared at it while Nicky took to wailing and Aaron stared at it in obvious anger as if it was his own damn car. Meanwhile, Neil was looking at the Nissan parked next to it with a too-blank expression, at the almost pristine state of the car – it nearly shone in the early morning light, all windows intact, body without any new dents… but there were several ‘Ravens’ decals on the car now, along with new license plates. Oh, nothing official since they didn’t have the state logos or any decals, but instead of the South Carolina plates it had sported the day before, now it had some weird new letter and numbering system, starting with EA, four numbers which Andrew realized were when Neil would graduate and a ‘4’.

Kevin sucked in his breath when he spotted it as well. “Those are Ravens plates,” he said when he turned to Neil. “Your plates.”

“I know,” Neil snapped as he rubbed at his eyes.

“I warned you,” Kevin said, his voice more worried than spiteful. “He wouldn’t let what you said go by without doing anything.” In the background, Nicky was carrying on about what had been done to the damn GS as if it was his baby or something.

“I know,” Neil said as he dropped his hands, his expression now bleak.

Meanwhile, Aaron came over to Neil, his expression furious. “You just had to go and open your damn mouth in front of all those reporters, didn’t you?”

Andrew was confused as to why his brother cared so much, even as he gave a warning look. Meanwhile, Neil just shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t think he’d come at everyone else. I thought he’d just come at me.” Because Riko sure did love to torment Neil, didn’t he?

“Yeah, because Seth was a mistake, wasn’t he?” Aaron shot back.

Andrew didn’t get a chance to shut down his twin for that, because the upperclassmen were right there and they’d caught what Aaron had said, had caught the way that Neil flinched back from the jab; if he had mistaken anything, it was the way that they had rallied around Neil during his absence, the way that they’d drawn him in. Maybe he should have paid better attention to what Renee had been telling him lately.

Reynolds seemed to notice Neil’s flinch and was moving past him toward Aaron in an instance, and backhanded Aaron before Andrew could stop her. She hit Aaron so hard he stumbled from the blow, and while Andrew couldn’t prevent it, he was able to swoop in and catch her before she could land another, could catch her arm and twist it hard enough to knock her to her knees. As she fell to the ground, he caught her by the back of her neck and made her bow her head forward, kept her on her knees unless she really wanted to hurt. Well, hurt more.

Renee was in motion immediately, recognizing that Andrew was after ‘one of her own’, but didn’t try to take down Andrew – she must have realized that it was a lost cause. No, instead she threw herself on top of Reynolds as if that would spare the girl and began to bargain. “Andrew? Andrew, it’s just Allison, okay? It’s just Allison so you can let go.”

Meanwhile Neil edged forward, always in Andrew’s sight. Andrew gave him a cool look before he turned his attention to Renee. “I don’t give a damn – she laid a hand on something that’s mine even after all of my warnings. Let go.”

Renee shook her head. “You know I can’t. You told me to protect them.”

“You failed,” Andrew sneered at her. “Should have been faster, Christian Girl.”

Behind them, he heard Boyd mutter about something, but Neil edged a bit more into his view. “Leave her to Renee,” Neil said, his voice carefully blank. “You took her down for touching Aaron, now leave her to Renee.” There was no judgement there, no anger, just plain rationale.

“She shouldn’t have touched him,” Andrew explained as he stared at his boyfriend.

“No, she shouldn’t have,” Neil agreed. “She either learns from this or she doesn’t.” He shrugged a little. “If she doesn’t, then it’s on her,” he said with a cold blasé that made Dan curse. “But give her over to Renee, isn’t that part of your deal?” he asked as he cocked his head to the side. “We’ve more important things to deal with right now.”

Andrew considered that, considered dealing with the GS and insurance agents and everything else, then clicked his tongue before he looked at Renee. “Handle this better in the future,” he told her as he let Reynolds go. “And make sure they all know their limits. I won’t have them touching what’s mine ever again. I *won’t*.” He gave Renee a cold look to let her know he was serious about that, while Neil held up his hands to keep Dan or Matt from charging forward.

Renee gathered Reynolds in her arms, Reynolds burying her face in Renee’s hair as if she was unwilling to face anything other than Renee, and murmured something soothing as she helped her friend to her feet away from Andrew. Dan and Matt rushed to help the two of them, and things were quiet for a moment. During that time, Neil came over to Andrew as if a barrier between him and the upperclassmen, while Aaron just stared at Andrew in confusion and Nicky looked as if couldn’t believe what had just happened.

After a minute, Dan stomped over to Andrew, except that Neil moved to block her. “You asshole,” she shouted while trying to dodge Neil. “You could have really hurt her!”

Andrew waved her aside. “Oh don’t act surprised. That’s the second time in how many weeks one of you has laid hands on one of mine. You should have learned your lesson with Boyd,” he told her. “Don’t act all high and mighty when you forget a very simple rule.”

Dan glared at him. “Oh no, don’t pretend-“

Wymack’s annoyed voice cut her off. “What the fuck is going on here?”

Neil started at that, while Dan glared at Andrew before turning around to answer her beloved coach; Andrew used the opportunity to pull his idiot boyfriend close. Wymack took in the upperclassmen clustered around a still shaken Reynolds, Andrew and Neil huddled together, then Nicky, Aaron and Kevin gathered by the car and flapped his right hand about. “What’s this shit?”

Dan spoke up first. “Nothing. Just reconsidering our decision to recruit the monsters,” she grumbled.

That made Neil’s attention to flare up. “It’s not his fault,” Neil spat as he pulled away from Andrew. “Don’t go blaming him, dammit!”

Matt stared at him as if he was crazy. “Did you not see the part where your boyfriend attempted to snap Allison’s neck? Just for punching Aaron? That’s just not right.”

“Maybe not where you come from,” Andrew argued. “But we’re not all spoiled rich kids.” He gave him a cool look while he pulled Neil back to his side.

“Yeah, ever hear from the real world?” Matt said, voice heavy with sarcasm.

 Neil shoved his bangs away from his forehead as he stared back at Matt. “What real world is that?” Andrew smiled when Matt flinched from the question. “Seems that mine was pretty real.”

Wymack must have had enough of them sniping at each other, because he snapped his fingers just then, an irate expression on his face. “Enough of this shit. Now where are your cars?” he asked of the upperclassmen. When Dan motioned behind her to the Porsche and the truck, he grunted. “Go wait by them, I’ll be there in a minute.” When no one moved, he grunted again. “I said go, dammit.” After they left, he glared at Andrew and Neil. “So, I noticed that no one told me what’s going on.”

Neil glanced at Andrew, and when Andrew didn’t say anything, he sighed. “Allison hit Aaron, so Andrew hit Allison in return.”

Yeah, that summed up things rather neatly, didn’t it?

Wymack looked as if he was suffering from migraines or something – maybe he should be checked out for that. After he pinched the bridge of his noise for a few seconds, he let out a long, weary sigh. “Andrew, we’re going to talk about this.” Neil stiffened beside Andrew in evident outrage for the both of them. “No, wait, I’m going to talk to you about this, and you better listen to me, you little shit. Later.” He paused, as if waiting for a response. “You’re supposed to say ‘yes, Coach’, right now.”

“You’re going to talk,” Andrew agreed. He was sure he had a shopping list to compose in his head at the time. Or maybe some future plans on how to torment Neil.

Wymack gave him a pained look before he gazed off into the distance. “I’m going to go check on them, and when I come back, we’re going to focus on the real problem, understand? And that problem is not within this team.”

“Yeah, sure,” Nicky said, always one to come up with a response.

Wymack didn’t seem as if he believed it, but he was ever the optimist. Just look at the fuck-ups he’d pulled together for the team, after all. While he was gone, Aaron and Nicky took to brooding over the car, Kevin to pretending that he wasn’t part of any of the mess, and Neil to staring at Andrew while he smoked.

“You’re annoying,” Andrew told him.

“Hmm.” Neil just leaned in closer to inhale the smoke, his eyes closed the entire time.

“What would you do if I snapped her neck?”

“You can’t do that, we need nine players,” Neil argued with a steely determination.

That was damn annoying logic, Andrew thought as he leaned against the Nissan with Neil trapped between his legs and resting against him. “So I can do it if we have more than nine players?”

All Neil did was give a bland humming noise, which earned him a flick against the forehead. Damn Exy junkies. Damn Exy junkies raised by psychopaths. Andrew wasn’t used to people with as fucked up morals as his own, and had the sneaking suspicion that Neil enjoyed leaving him feeling confused on when he was kidding and when he wasn’t when it came to things like this.

“What if I take you up on things next season and we have more players, eh?” he asked in French.

Neil tilted his head to the side. “Will they be better than her?”

“You are such an annoying bastard,” Andrew grounded out as he slid his fingers through Neil’s hair – and of course it was around then that Wymack returned. Andrew gritted his teeth at the interruption when the conversation was taking on such an interesting turn, so Neil shook out two cigarettes from a pack he’d been keeping in his coat and handed one over. Wymack’s eyes lit up at that and he used that as an excuse to have his own cigarette.

“Well, the good news is that you lot upgraded your insurance policies after all the shit that went down last year.”

Nicky made a rude noise at that. “Yeah, I doubt that’ll do us any good. You see what they did to our poor baby? Even if the insurance pays for it, I don’t think I can get back in there. They put a dead animal in the car! It’s going to be too creepy to ride in there.”

“Disgusting,” Aaron commented.

Next to Andrew, Neil grew stiff, and Andrew noticed that the police were making their way down to them for statements.  “They catch anything on cameras?” he asked, and didn’t seem surprised when Wymack just shrugged.

They didn’t have much to say to the pigs when it was their turn; they’d been asleep and hadn’t heard anything, they had insurance and turned over their information – Nicky handled most of that since he was the most civil out of all of them. Reporters showed up at some point, and Neil took to hiding behind Andrew and Kevin rather than risk going in front of a camera again. They only stuck around for the insurance agents, who showed up soon after that, and the woman dealing with the GS claim seemed to have some information about the car before she questioned them and then started the process for the vehicle to be towed.

They would have a rental while the GS was evaluated to see if it was worth being repaired (somehow Andrew doubted that), but they still had the Nissan ‘thanks’ to the Ravens sparing it (most likely in hopes of the other athletes targeting Neil for that bit of favoritism). Wymack informed everyone that the university would help cover the costs of the rental vehicles, but he wasn’t worried about that.

What annoyed him was Wymack insisting on Andrew accompanying him when they went to pick up a bunch of sandwiches for everyone when it came to lunch. Neil’s eyes went wide for that, but Nicky and Kevin closed in, letting him know that they’d watch over the idiot while he was gone. Figuring that it would be best to get it over with, Andrew sighed and went off with the man.

They were quiet at first, busy smoking their respective cigarettes, and then Wymack sighed. “You really thought it was a good idea to take down Allison?”

“I’m sorry, whatever gave her the idea that attacking Aaron was a good idea?” Andrew countered as he gave his coach a level look. “Have I not made it perfectly clear to leave me and mine alone?”

Wymack sighed. “There’s this thing called ‘flexibility’-“

“No,” Andrew insisted. “No, it’s really very simple. You do not touch Neil. You do not touch Kevin. You do not touch Aaron. You do not even touch Nicky, aggravating though he may be. End of story. Keep your hands to yourself, and I can ignore you. Do you see me otherwise touching them, hmm? No. I respect boundaries, as long as the favor is returned.”

There was silence as Wymack seemed to consider that. “From what I’ve heard, Allison thought she was-“

*N0*,” Andrew said, already tired of this senseless conversation. “I’m reminded of that argument of bringing a knife to a gun fight. So what if she heard something and decided to step in? She decided to get physical all of a sudden, so she shouldn’t complain if I did as well,” Andrew shot back. “I don’t care if she was standing up for Neil’s virtue or some other such shit. Neil would probably be the first to argue that he doesn’t need it, anyway.” The idiot was good for things like that.

Wymack looked as if he was ready to drive into the nearest wall or something, and nothing was said until they picked up the food. “You do realize that there’s more people on this team than you and your merry little crew?” Wymack asked as they were driving back to the campus.

“Ask me if I care,” Andrew shot back.

“Yeah, more of that amazing team spirit,” Wymack said before he dropped him off at the Fox Towers, where Andrew called Nicky to help him carry all of the food upstairs.

Somehow he wasn’t surprised to find out that Neil had gone running, not with everything that had happened in the last day, and had to wait another half an hour before his idiot boyfriend returned. Neil’s expression was guarded as he entered the room.

“Have a nice run?” Andrew asked as he sat down on the couch.

Neil ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “I spoke to Allison a little before I came in. She… we talked about Seth.”

Oh, that was interesting – maybe it hadn’t been all about defending Neil then, back in the parking lot. “And? She blame you or what?”

“No.” Neil shook his head. “Not really.”

“Then all is good. There’s a turkey sandwich for you in the fridge,” Andrew said as he got up and headed into the kitchen area.

Neil caught up to him and made to grab Andrew’s arm before he stopped just short. “Uhm, everything good between you and Coach?”

“Well, I think he’s an idiot and all that, and he has unrealistic expectations for me, but yeah, all good.” Andrew gave him a level look. “Anything else?”

“Do you think that the insurance will cover everything?” Neil asked. “With the GS?”

Andrew shrugged. “We’ll have to see.” He wasn’t certain, considering the damage, but he also didn’t really give a shit. The car was bought with money from Tilda’s insurance settlement, so it wasn’t as if it mattered that much other than as a statement of ‘fuck you’ to the woman.

“I see.” Neil hesitated for a moment before stepping closer. “If it doesn’t, then there’s always the account.” He looked up at Andrew. “Our account. To cover the difference for a new car.” He didn’t say much else before he went to fetch the sandwiches that Andrew had put away upon returning to the dorms.

Neil had always insisted that the money he’d invested from his mother was ‘theirs’, and for the most part, Andrew had treated it like that. But there was a difference between daily things and big purchases. There’d been the house, but that had been mostly it in the couple of years that they’d been together. Now Neil was offering for Andrew to use the money for a car that would cost a lot of money and not freaking out.

He followed Neil into the kitchen and waited until Neil fetched his sandwich and handed Andrew his. “There a reason for you to do this? Normally you have a panic attack over so much money.”

Neil shrugged as he looked Andrew in the eye. “Maybe because you wouldn’t have lost the car if I hadn’t opened my mouth?”

“Guilt is a useless emotion to me,” Andrew insisted.

That earned him a weary sigh. “Okay, maybe I just think you can buy a better car?” Neil tried.

That earned him a dirty look as Andrew snatched away the idiot’s turkey sandwich as well as his own. “I think the person who rates air bag safety over horse power doesn’t have a voice in this discussion,” he said as he turned around. “Go away.”

“Uhm, so I don’t get to eat or what?”

“No, idiots don’t deserve to eat,” Andrew lied as he stalked out to the couch and sat down. It took a few more seconds before Neil followed, and that was with bottles of water for them, which he set down on the coffee table before sitting next to Andrew.

“Part of me feels guilty about the car,” Neil continued as he tugged on the cuffs of his sweatshirt. “And part of me refuses to let Riko win on this. So use the damn money that he claims is part of the reason he owns me to buy a new car to replace the one he helped destroy, all right?”

Andrew thought about that for a minute or two before he handed over Neil’s sandwich. “When you put it like that, it’s a decent argument.” He’d wait and see what the insurance company said, but yeah, why let Riko win that round? Or any of them, really.

That seemed to placate Neil for the time being, so the two of them ate their lunch in peace – at least until Nicky and Kevin returned from the liquor store and Neil went off to shower from his run. Andrew noticed that his brother was off ‘studying’ again, and resolved to do something about that soon.

First he’d deal with Neil’s unwelcome suitor, the boring Carlton, and then Aaron’s little cheerleader. No rest for the wicked, it seemed.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes. Next chapter is the Carlton date!!! Finally! One or two other things, but yes, Carlton makes an appearance. 
> 
> And hmm, yeah, some dark!Neil/Nathaniel peeking out here.
> 
> Hopefully not too many mistakes in this chapter. I was falling asleep while editing it (seriously, one day outside and I'm useless for several days afterwards. I HATE SUMMER).
> 
> As always, the kudos and comments are so very appreciated (I'm going to catch up this week, I promise!).  
> ******


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so new chapter! I apologize, this is all Neil pov (I sorta skipped around a bit in writing it and when I went to connect it all together, it just made sense to keep it all in that pov). Sure the next chapter will be a lot of Andrew pov to catch up and balance things out.
> 
> BUT it's the McCormick date!!!  
> ******

*******

Sunday wasn’t much better than the Saturday after the UT game, since there was another wave of vandalism from Ravens’ fans on the campus, splashes of black paint all over the buildings and sidewalks, vulgar graffiti on the Foxhole Court, and even red dye in the pond at the center of the campus. All of it sent the campus groundkeepers scrambling to clean it up and reporters back on the scene, and some of them managed to get Wymack to talk about the damage. He was careful not to target the Ravens themselves, but made it clear that he held their fans responsible for everything that had happened the last two days – the last two seasons, really.

It escalated up to Edgar Allan's president, Louis Andritch, who attempted to reel in the Ravens’ fans, so at some point Tetsuji Moriyama had to respond. Neil watched the interview when it was broadcasted, along with Kevin and the others, and at first it looked as if Tetsuji was supporting the Foxes and condemning his teams’ fans. At least until the end, when there was the comment about ‘not berating dogs a day late’ and the allusion on how the Ravens would defeat the Foxes on the court. Yeah, classic Moriyama response right there.

“Such a cheerful fellow,” Andrew remarked as he stirred his pint of ice cream; Neil and Kevin shivered a little at the comment, well aware of just how ‘cheerful’ Tetsuji could be.

However, Monday came around with no more vandalism, so that was well and good. The Foxes were eager to face off with Belmonte on Friday, pleased about their first win and determined to create a winning streak. Still, Neil noticed a chill between the upperclassmen and Andrew, with Dan and Matt avoiding his boyfriend even though Allison didn’t seem to hold much of a grudge over what had happened on Saturday.

Neil talked about it with Renee, when they were walking to class. “If Allison isn’t upset, why are they?”

She gave a slight shrug. “They have a problem with Andrew’s whole mindset, I’m afraid. They don’t agree with why he has to be… well, they see it as extreme. Why he would risk hurting her so much for just a punch.”

“But it wasn’t just a punch in his mind. She hurt his brother, after all of the warnings he’d told everyone. After Kevin and Matt,” Neil said.

Renee nodded. “I know, but… it’s like you said, it’s not their real world.” She gave a sad smile when Neil blinked. “Yes, I heard about that. And they just don’t get it, even with Dan’s background. Don’t understand a world where you have to meet a slap with a kick or a punch with a knife if you want to survive.”

“Must be nice,” Neil murmured as he wrapped his right hand around his belly, around the scars that covered it.

“Just give them some time,” Renee said. “They’ll get over it, everything with the cars and the campus didn’t help.” She was quiet for a moment. “And thank you, for stepping in. I appreciated it.”

He blinked again at her thanks. “That’s all right. I didn’t want to see Allison hurt for making a mistake.”

“Neither did I. It’s my job to watch over them, but I still appreciate having the help.”

“It’s only fair, since you helped Andrew out with me.” Neil gave her a slight smile, then shook his head before she could argue about how much she’d helped Andrew out in the past. He wanted to move beyond that.

During the afternoon practice, Aaron was upset about something, was giving everyone heated looks but didn’t seem to want to say anything. Neil was puzzled by that, but put it down to a bad day at class and spent his time running with Andrew and Renee, with the three of them debating what would start the next world war. Renee was, for the most part, the eternal optimist, and Andrew the eternal pessimist, while Neil brought a more universal perspective to the argument that often earned him an aggrieved look from his boyfriend.

It wasn’t until Neil was back at the dorms that he found out what was bothering Aaron; Andrew’s twin waited until Andrew had gone up to the roof to smoke to corner Neil. “What the hell are you doing?” he yelled when Neil was going through the take-out menus to figure out what they’d have for dinner when Andrew came back down.

“Uhm, trying to decide between sushi and Thai for dinner?” He held up the menus to Aaron. “What do you think?” Kevin would probably be happier with the sushi.

Aaron batted them aside, his expression furious. “I’m talking about Katelyn, dammit!”

“What would I be doing with Katelyn?” Neil asked, even as he looked about for Andrew just in case his boyfriend had snuck back in the suite.

“You – dammit, you didn’t say anything to her?” Aaron now seemed equal parts confused and angry, and Neil suddenly remembered Dan saying that she was going to talk to the Vixen; he was grateful for having some sort of poker face just then as he squashed any emotions associated with the memory.

“No, I haven’t talked to her at all,” he said, which was the truth – he personally had barely said three words to the girl in all the time he’d known her.

“Dammit,” Aaron repeated as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “She’s become weird lately, been getting on me about how I need to tell Andrew about us, how I should talk to Betsy about things. She’s never been this… this pushy before.”

Huh, what had Dan said to the girl? “Uhm, maybe she’s not happy about you sneaking around with her?” Neil offered, then took a step back when Aaron glared at him. “Never mind.”

“I don’t want to hear relationship advice from someone who needed how many years to admit he was *in* a relationship, and who seems to think saying ‘I hate you’ is a term of endearment,” Aaron snapped. “You two are fucked up-“

“Never said we weren’t,” Neil muttered, feeling a bit angry then himself.

“-so butt out,” Aaron finished.

“I *am* butting out,” Neil insisted, “but do you honestly think that Andrew hasn’t noticed what’s going on, now that he’s back? He notices shit like if someone gets the wrong brand of bottled *water*, for fuck’s sake.” When Aaron winced at that, Neil sighed. “It’ll go so much better for you if you bring it up to him first, trust me on that.”

Now Aaron appeared uncertain. “I’m still… I’m still thinking it through.”

Yeah, that didn’t sound convincing. “Figure it out fast,” Neil warned. “Best to catch him off-guard before he gets a battle-plan stuck in his head.” Not that Neil had any experience with that at all. 

Aaron just sort of nodded at that, so Neil gave up on offering advice and went to get ready so that whenever Andrew come back down, they could go out to eat; he thought it might be a good idea to get out of the suite for a little bit. They ended up picking sushi, and had to deal with Kevin trying to make them eat a bunch of vegetable rolls and Andrew trying to stab Kevin with his chopsticks.

Tuesday’s practice was much of the same, although Neil met at the library after lunch with Nicky, Dan and Allison; he was hoping some time spent with the upperclassmen would help improve their attitude toward Andrew.

“So, any word yet on the cars?” he asked as he flipped through his English book.

“No – I’ve a feeling this is going to take some time because of how many there were damaged,” Allison complained.

“They should probably just have a burial by fire for the poor GS,” Nicky moaned. “Savages. Only complete savages could have done that to our poor baby.”

Neil reached over to give him a tentative pat on the arm; Nicky was still taking it so hard, much harder than Andrew.

“Yeah, well, if it had been the Ravens who had their precious cars destroyed, they’d have arrested people by now, how much you want to bet?” Dan grumbled as she dug her pen into her notebook. “I can’t believe they don’t have any leads at all on who did it.”

“Just like they never found anyone last year for all the shit they did,” Allison said. “Best to let it go and focus on beating them when we face them on court.”

That made Dan smile, and she then seemed able to focus on her homework. It was quiet for a few minutes, until Neil’s phone rang. The noise startled him, since anyone who had his number knew his schedule and usually just texted him instead. Well, almost everyone who knew him.

Dreading to see a hidden number and that it was Riko bothering him – he seemed to be getting upset about Neil ignoring most of his texts – Neil picked up his phone and frowned when it was a number he didn’t recognize. Bracing himself, he answered the phone to stop the ringing sound. “Yeah?”

“Ah, hello? Is this Nathaniel?” The speaker had a British accent, and sounded young. Still, the mention of Neil’s birth name made him shudder.

“Who are you?” That came out a bit harsh, and made Dan, Nicky and Allison stare at him.

“I’m sorry, this is Carlton. Carlton McCormick.” There was a slight pause. “I believe that your uncle said I’d be calling, yes?”

“Oh.” Neil slumped down in his chair. “Oh. Sorry. It’s just… ah. Not used to….” It was difficult to talk with three people obviously listening in, but it would look odd if he got up and left, wouldn’t it?

“Excuse me?” There was a pause, and then Carlton gave a light laugh. “Oh! I’m sorry, it’s just that Stuart always refers to you as ‘Nathaniel’, I just got used to it. Yes, you’re registered as Neil, my apologies. I see that name and your face all the time on the Exy reviews.”

Neil cringed to hear that. “Thank you,” he murmured as he took to tugging on his bangs. Why did Carlton pay that much attention to him?

“You’re very good at the sport, from what I see. Anyway, back to why I’m calling, I don’t want to be a bother in case you’re busy with class or practice, but the next week or two isn’t that packed for me so I hoped we could get together this Saturday?” Carlton’s voice, which wasn’t as deep as Andrew’s, sounded hopeful just then.

Neil wanted to say ‘no’, that he was busy – it was right before the death matches, after all, but he’d promised Stuart and part of him just wanted to get the whole thing over with, to have one less concern checked off. “Yes, that should be fine.” He tried to sound remotely enthused about the prospect of a date out with a stranger.

“Brilliant. Now how does Italian sound? Supposedly one of the better restaurants in town is this place, Stagioni?” Carlton sounded a bit doubtful, but Neil didn’t blame him; it wasn’t as if there was that much fine dining around the campus.

“Italian’s fine,” he assured the young man. “I haven’t been there, so it’ll be… uhm, nice?”

“Ah, so it’ll be an adventure for the both of us. How about six then, on Saturday. I’ll pick you up on campus.”

Neil nodded, then remembered that Carlton couldn’t see him. “I live in the Fox Towers. It should be easy to find, I think. If not, I can text you directions.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage. All right, six pm on Saturday. I look forward to seeing you then, Neil.”

“Goodbye,” Neil told him, and was relieved when the call ended. Well, maybe not because he then had three pairs of expectant gazes on him. “Uhm?”

“Now maybe I’m a bit clueless since it’s been a while since someone asked me out, being all devoted to Erik and all, but that sounded like a date to me, didn’t it?” Nicky said to Allison.

“It did indeed sound like a date to me, and with someone *other* than Andrew. Isn’t that odd,” Allison remarked while giving Neil an assessing look. “Trouble in hell? The monster not performing well in the sack?”

“Not funny,” Neil said while glaring, while Nicky gasped and clutched at his chest.

“Oh no, don’t ever go there! The Hemmick/Minyard bloodline is incapable of underperforming, trust me! I’ve spent enough hours locked out of the bedroom and bathroom to back that up.”

“And you’re not helping,” Neil added while glaring at his friend, a hint of heat on his face.

Meanwhile, Dan was smirking. “Yet it sounds like you’ve a date on Saturday with someone *other* than Andrew. So spill, or this is just going to get worse.”

Neil began to gather up his books. “I think I forgot something back at the dorms, so I’ll-“

Dan grabbed onto the sleeve of his sweater and yanked him back into the chair. “No, you’re staying or I’ll only let you run laps at practice today.” When he glared at her, she just gave him a sweet smile in return. “Wanna try me?”

Neil almost pushed it, but she had that determined glint in her dark eyes. “Fine,” he gritted out. “So my uncle knows this guy-“

“Wait, he’s real, your uncle?” Dan blinked at that. “I thought maybe Nicky just made him up after, you know, the whole winter thing.”

“Yes, he’s real,” Neil said with a sigh. “And he knows this guy, some sort of family friend, and for some reason he thinks it would be a good idea for me to meet the guy’s son.” He set his books aside and ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know, he’s not entirely sold on Andrew.”

“Gee, what could it possibly be,” Allison said in a sarcastic as hell tone. “The homicidal urges? The violent attacks? The mental instability?”

“Shut up,” Neil told her, his voice rough with anger. “He’s never done anything but watched out for me so shut the fuck up and don’t talk about him that way.”

Allison’s smirk was wiped away by shock while Dan held out her hand as if to keep Neil from going after her friend. “Okay! Okay, we get it, she was just joking, all right? A poor joke, but can you blame her after this weekend?”

“Because you never *listen* to him,” Neil spat.

“Uhm, maybe this isn’t the place for this discussion,” Nicky said with a nervous laugh. “We get it,” he told Neil. “Or some of us do, yeah? Andrew’s good for you, and you’re good for him.” He looked at Allison and Dan as if daring them to disagree. “But your uncle doesn’t seem to get that, and he’s setting you up on this date? What I don’t get is why you’re going through with it.”

Neil stopped glaring at Allison to duck his head. “Uhm… yeah. That.” He tugged on his bangs. “I sorta… ah, yeah. He did a favor for me, so know I sorta owe him one.” He shot Nicky a look, and hoped his friend got the hint to not ask too many more questions.

Fortunately, Allison moved on from the whole ‘Andrew sucks’ thing. “All right, now I know he’s related to you – that sounds insane and ridiculous. Asking your nephew who’s in a committed relationship with a monster to go on a blind date with someone in return for a favor. So yeah, it’s the usual Josten crap.”

“Thank you,” Neil told her in a tone that made it clear he was anything but thankful.

“Are you happy about going?” Dan asked.

Neil shrugged. “Not really, but it’s just a one night thing, right? I go out, do dinner or whatever it is that you do on a date, and the favor’s paid up.”

“Wait, you’ve never even- oh, this is terrible.” Dan covered her eyes with her right hand. “Does Andrew even know about this?”

“Yeah, my uncle’s been bringing up the guy – Carlton – for a while now.” Neil groaned as he thought about telling Andrew that the date was indeed this weekend. “Shit.”

“That good, eh?” Nicky grimaced as he slowly reached out to touch Neil on the head. When Neil didn’t flinch, he smiled and tousled Neil’s hair.

“Might want to clear out for a while after I tell him.”

“Thanks for the head’s up, baby bro.”

“Great, practice is going to be so fun today,” Allison drawled. As if everyone agreed with her, the rest of the study session was rather quiet.

When they all got to the stadium, Neil found Andrew getting changed in the locker room and got into his gear as quickly as possible. When everyone headed out onto court, he tugged Andrew away from the others so they could have a bit of privacy. “So, uhm, I got a call today.”

Andrew frowned as soon as he heard that. “Riko?”

“No.” Neil sighed as he put on his helmet. “Carlton.”

Andrew’s frown deepened the slightest bit. “How unpleasant. What does boring Carlton want, besides the obvious?”

“We have a date this Saturday, at 6pm,” he admitted. “Dinner at that Italian place downtown. The nice one.”

“The pretentious one, you mean.” Andrew hefted his racquet as if he wanted to smash it down on someone.

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been in it.” Neil eyed his boyfriend with some trepidation. “So yeah, I get to deal with him this Saturday and then it’s over with.”

“Oh there he is, ever the optimist,” Andrew remarked before stalking off to join the others.

Practice went just about as well as Neil had thought, with Andrew firing off return shots with a bit too much force and too much accuracy, making people either dodge the hell out of their way or run all the way down to the opposite end of the court after them. Wymack put up with him in the goal for less than half an hour before benching him for the rest of the session.

Andrew’s mood wasn’t helped that when they got back to the dorm, there was a message from the insurance company stating that the GS was too badly damaged for the repairs to be fully covered by the insurance policy. The others took one look at the dead-like expression on his face and then at Neil, who gave them a slight nod, and quickly made an excuse to flee the suite for the better part of the evening.

Neil went over to take Andrew’s phone from his boyfriend’s hand before something happened to it. “Use the money. Our money,” he told Andrew; the allowances they received each month since signing with the Foxes covered most of their daily expenses, and the interest from the invested money more than covered the rest. There was plenty left over for Andrew to tap into, especially since Aaron had paid them back some for the house. “Take the insurance pay-out and buy a new car.”

Andrew stirred at that, at first trying to snatch the phone back and then grabbing Neil’s hand. “You don’t give a shit about the car.”

“No, I don’t,” Neil admitted. “But I won’t let Riko take something from you. I won’t let him win,” he admitted.

Andrew laughed at that, the sound bitter. “You won’t let him take something away from me, but you hand yourself over without a thought.” Neil flinched at that and made to pull away, but Andrew wouldn’t let him ago. “Right, too far?”

“How many times can I say I’m sorry for that?” Neil said as he faced down Andrew – faced down this odd mood. “When I’m not really sorry at all? I did what I had to do to keep you safe.”

“And now you’re throwing yourself on that damn sword again because of me, how lovely.” Andrew’s tone was light, but his expression just then was furious. “I don’t really give a fuck about a car right now.”

“Andrew….” Neil let out a slow breath as he bridged the space between them. “I can’t say ‘no’.”

“But I can break his neck when he shows up,” Andrew countered as he held up Neil’s wrist. “And not one fucking word about burying bodies.”

Neil smiled at that despite the seriousness of the topic. “No, I wasn’t going to say anything. But I think it might get us in trouble with at least one other crime syndicate, and we’re already in enough with one right now. Two, if you consider the remains of my father’s.”

“Go big or go home, Josten,” Andrew sneered as he grasped Neil’s other wrist.

“I’d just much rather put up with some passible Italian food for dinner, maybe see a movie or whatever else you do on a date, and then politely tell the guy to fuck off, if you don’t mind,” Neil confessed as he allowed Andrew to pull his wrists behind Andrew’s back, to allow himself to be pulled against Andrew. “I don’t want him, I’m not going to want him, and nothing is ever going to happen to change those facts.”

“I’m more worried about how much trouble you can get into if left unsupervised for a short amount of time, but by all means, assure me of this lack of want,” Andrew said as he nuzzled Neil’s neck.

“He’s not coming here to kidnap me or anything like that.” At Andrew’s doubtful look, Neil stomped on the asshole’s foot. “You’re paranoid.”

“You had a damn psychopath come after you at a school, people harass you at an apartment complex, assholes show up at our club… do I need to continue with this list?” Andrew stared at him until Neil sighed. “It’s a bitch when I’m right, isn’t it?”

“Shut up,” Neil grumbled as he leaned against his boyfriend.

“The smart-ass doesn’t like it when someone else is a smart-ass.”

“Andrew… now would be a good time to shut up, other than ‘yes or no’,” Neil warned.

The slight, smug grin on Andrew’s face just then didn’t do anything for Neil’s growing temper. “How about ‘I’ll buy the damn car’ and ‘yes’?”

The bastard always had to have the last word, didn’t he? Still, Neil merely grumbled beneath his breath as he leaned down, into the kiss. Andrew let go of his wrists so he could slide his hands into Neil’s hair. Neil shivered a little at the touch, not out of fear, but in anticipation. He still wasn’t certain how far he could go, but it felt good to have Andrew touch him like this. As the kiss deepened, Andrew began to lead him toward the bedroom, and soon enough, Neil found them standing by the bed. “’Yes or no’?” Andrew said, voice husky as his hands slid down Neil’s back. “How far do you want to go tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Neil admitted. “Just… let’s see how things go.” He sat down on the bed and pulled Andrew in close. “But this feels good.”

“Then say something, you idiot, if it stops.” Andrew appeared hesitant for a moment, before he climbed on Neil’s lap. Once again Neil lost himself in the feel of Andrew’s lips on his, the way that Andrew shivered and bit back on his moans when Neil’s mouth mapped its way down his boyfriend’s neck, the way Andrew’s strong hands stroked through his hair and along his back. He didn’t care when his sweatshirt was pulled over his head or he ended up stretched out on the bed with Andrew beside him.

He felt a slight spike of apprehension when Andrew’s hands skimmed along his sides, but he focused on Andrew’s face, on the sound of Andrew’s voice as it murmured his name, the feel of Andrew’s hair beneath his fingers – the fact that his hands were free.

At first Neil figured he would just concentrate on Andrew and let him… he would focus on Andrew and what he needed, but the longer Andrew’s hands and mouth were on him, the more the desire continued to build. It almost felt odd, after so long, to feel it like this, to have his body respond to someone else and without any shame or fear or pain, that he gasped and dug his fingers into Andrew’s shoulder.

“Is that-“

“It’s okay,” Neil gasped out as he rocked against Andrew and pulled him closer. “Don’t stop. *Yes*.” He had a feeling that if he opened his eyes, he’d find Andrew giving him that damn look, so he kept them closed and tugged Andrew’s head down lower, toward his neck.

Something was mumbled against his skin, probably some form of ‘idiot’, but Andrew continued, even when Neil trembled as his jeans were unbuttoned and pushed down his hips. He focused on ‘yes’, on fumbling with the button of Andrew’s jeans in return, on the muttered ‘fuck’ when his hand slipped inside his boyfriend’s underwear. On the feel of Andrew’s calloused fingers against his own hard cock.

He was still trembling when Andrew wrapped his hand around both of their cocks and began to stroke them together, Neil’s legs tangled with Andrew’s and his hand falling down to join in. It wasn’t fear that wracked his body just then, not really. It was just that it was getting to be too much – the sharp bites of pleasure from each slide of their hands, the peaking desire, the feel of Andrew wrapped all around him. Too much stimulation, really, so he didn’t last long, and his release left him feeling oddly stunned and drained, left him feeling remote while Andrew finished up.

They lay together, legs still intertwined and foreheads pressed together, for another minute or two before Andrew began to pull away. “We should go wash off.  Come on.”

The thought of going into the shower after what they’d done jolted Neil out of his half-daze. “No!” He pushed back and shook his head; what they’d just done had been fine since they were on a bed. Nothing bad… well, nothing like *that* had happened on a bed, oddly enough. Riko had preferred him on his knees or beaten down, but the others had come for him in the locker room or the showers.

Andrew swore as he fought with the pants still tangled around his legs then kicked them off before he reached for Neil. “All right, no shower.” He waited until Neil allowed Andrew to brush back the hair falling onto his face to speak again. “Let me go wash off and I’ll be back, okay?”

Neil lay on the bed while Andrew left the bedroom, and for the first minute or two didn’t do anything. Then he found the energy to kick off the rest of his clothes as well, and was debating on if he should get up and replace the duvet when Andrew came back with a wet, soapy washcloth for him and a towel, which he put down near Neil before going over to grab some clothes.

Neil cleaned himself off then forced himself to get off of the bed, then went over to grab some clothes, too. “Thank you,” he told Andrew as he leaned against him for a moment.

“What did I say about pushing yourself?” Andrew sounded pissed off, but he allowed Neil to rest against him for a couple of seconds before he gently shoved him away.

“But it was good, up until then.” Neil pulled on some boxer shorts then just grabbed the rest of his clothes to take into the bathroom, thus sparing himself his boyfriend’s sure to be scathing reply – and left it to Andrew to deal with the bed.

When he came out, it was to get his coat thrown at him and to be dragged off for dinner, during which Andrew talked about possible new car options since he wanted something other than a new GS. They didn’t talk about Carlton, which was fine with Neil, nor Riko, which was good since Neil had a few new texts to delete. When he had a nightmare later that night, he was more than willing to contribute it to those two things rather than to anything he’d done with Andrew, that and the upcoming game with Belmonte.

Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices went a bit better in that the upperclassmen stopped treating Andrew like a pariah - in fact Neil saw them talking off in the distance a time or two. That seemed a bit odd, but maybe they were working out things from the weekend or talking about insurance claims.

Thursday was also a bit odd in that there were no new texts from Riko, but Neil would take whatever break he could get, especially since the upperclassmen were teasing him about his upcoming date with Carlton – not when Andrew was around, though.

Come Friday, the only thing he really was thinking about was the game with Belmonte, about how they couldn’t afford to lose. It was in the back of his mind, his ‘original’ birthday, but since he never had celebrated the last decade or so it was more like an odd little fact that he partially acknowledged and then forgot. The only two other people who knew about the date were Uncle Stuart and Andrew, and the latter wouldn’t bring it up while the former was too busy to do anything about it.

So Neil went to class like usual, met up with Kevin, Nicky, Renee and Andrew for lunch and then back to the dorms to hang out before the game. When it was finally time to go to the stadium, he rode over in the Nissan with Andrew, and so was one of the first ones to enter the stadium, though the others weren’t far behind.

Wymack was waiting for them, and gave a nod as they gathered in the lounge as if to say ‘about damn time’. “Get geared up and then get your asses out here so we can go over the game’s line-up,” he told everyone.

Neil could see Andrew rolling his eyes and smiled as he followed his boyfriend into the men’s changing room. Along with the usual smell of disinfectant and bleach, there was something else as well, something sweet and waxy. Neil frowned at that, and went past his locker to investigate. Set up on one of the benches was a large sheet-cake with burning candles on the bench around it.

“What the hell?” said Nicky, who had come along with him. The question got the others to gather around the two of them, and the cake.

Neil stepped closer to the whole arrangement, and noticed the decoration on the cake; it was one of those with the realistic photo rendered on the icing, of a pretty woman standing by a young boy with auburn hair dressed in some sort of sport uniform. Neil realized with dread that the boy was him and the woman his mother, taken about ten years ago when he had played Exy in the little leagues, and on the cake were the words ‘Happy 19th Birthday, Abram’.

“Who the hell is ‘Abram’ and why is there a cake here for him?” Matt asked, while Andrew went still and Kevin took to swearing beneath his breath.

Meanwhile Neil couldn’t stop staring at the image on the cake, of the first time he’d seen his mother in years, the smile on her face…. When was the last time he’d seen her smile like that, even if it was slightly strained? When she hadn’t been worn bone-thin and haggard by the years of running, from being chased, from worry over him. He could hear her voice in his head, could hear her hissing at him to keep going on, to not stop, to never stop, to not trust anyone and just keep running because to do anything else would-

“*Neil*!”

Andrew had grabbed onto Neil’s right wrist and yanked him away from the bench, was letting go of his wrist so he could grasp the back of Neil’s neck instead. Neil gasped for air as he struggled to push away those memories, to bury his mother’s voice in his head, and reached to tangle his trembling fingers in Andrew’s shirt. “I….”

“Throw the damn thing out,” Andrew yelled as he turned his head toward Nicky and Kevin. “Throw it out now.” Neil moaned at the thought of losing that image of his mother, but he didn’t say anything.

“But – wait, isn’t that like, evidence or something?” Matt argued.

“*Do* it,” Andrew snapped, his voice low and dangerous, and that time Nicky and Kevin rushed toward the cake, with even Aaron joining in to help them with the candles.

“Shouldn’t we take a damn picture or something? What’s going on?” Matt didn’t shut up, even when Andrew gave him a searing look that usually made anyone with half a brain back off.

“Just someone thinking that they’re being amusing,” Andrew finally said when Neil took a deep breath and stepped back. “You got this?” he asked in a quieter voice.

“Yeah.” He wouldn’t let Riko rattle him, not over this date, not when there was an important game at stake. They would win tonight, would advance to the death match round, would be that much safer. Neil would be that much less likely to end up back at the Nest and- no, not thinking about that. He rubbed at his face as he forced himself to go to his locker so he could get ready, while Nicky, Kevin and Aaron came back from where they’d dumped the cake and candles in one of the large garbage cans.

Neil reached for the handle on his locker and pulled it open, and then there was a loud *popping* sound, almost like a small gun, a flash of light and then things falling out; his first reaction was to think that a bomb or a gun had gone off and ducked, which caused a cascade of something to fall on him, something that scratched at his hands and face, that caught on his hair and clothes. Around him, there were curses and loud cries, probably at the noise, and he was once again pulled at by Andrew.

“What the hell?” Andrew’s hand bit into his shoulder as they stared down at the pile of red and black roses, white chrysanthemums and red peonies that had fallen out of Neil’s now empty locker, at the streamers and confetti from the crackers that had been rigged to explode when he opened it. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Okay, something is definitely going on!” Matt shouted, right before Wymack came stomping into the changing room.

“What the fuck is going on? What’s with the-“ He came to a halt as he stared at the flowers and mess, at Andrew’s furious expression and Neil could only imagine the one on his own face. “What is this shit?”

“It’s nothing,” Neil said, and winced at how weak that had come out. “Just a prank.” Shit, where had his gear gone?

“A prank?” Wymack’s eyebrows rose as he glanced between Neil, Andrew, the flowers and the locker. “You’re telling me someone broke in here to do this and it’s nothing? Just a prank?”

“Someone left a cake, too,” Matt just had to say, while Nicky hissed at him to shut up.

“Dammit,” Neil scowled at Matt, who just gave him an unimpressed look back.

“You’re ‘Abram’, aren’t you? This is all for you.”

“I told you guys, it’s a family name.” Neil brushed his fingers along the tattoo on his cheek, while Wymack took to studying him; he knew Neil’s ‘full’ name from all the paperwork the man had on him and had to hope that Matt didn’t pass on the cake’s message. Riko was poking at things Neil didn’t want brought up, was flashing a light at his past. “It’s just a prank,” he repeated.

“It’s someone breaking in here, which is a serious threat,” Wymack insisted. “Give me one good reason not to cancel the game and pull security in here to make sure that there’s not a real threat to you or anyone else.”

“No!” Neil pushed down the panic at the thought of them forfeiting the game, of that strike against them; Andrew had to latch on to him again to keep him from having a panic attack. “It’s just… someone just wants to rattle me, okay?”

“And they’re doing a damn fine job of it,” Andrew muttered as his fingers rubbed along Neil’s nape.

“But that’s it. Nothing that’ll affect the game,” Neil said. No, Riko couldn’t risk going that far.

Wymack studied him for about a minute longer, his eyes narrowed and lips pressed together in evident displeasure. “One of these days you’re going to give me a straight answer, kid.”

“In May,” Neil promised, remembering their discussion from New Year’s Eve. If he was still here come May, that was.

“I’ve a feeling I better stock up on the booze for it,” Wymack sighed. “Fine, get this shit cleared up and get into your gear, we’ve got about forty minutes until serve. And if I think you’re not up for the game at any point tonight, I’m yanking you so fast you’ll get whiplash and Dan’ll take your place, do you understand?”

“Yes, Coach,” Neil said, grateful for everything but the threat of being pulled from the game, and then skirted around the flowers, worried about finding his gear – he didn’t think that Riko would just trash it or throw it away. At least, he hoped not. So he started looking through all of the empty lockers and forced himself not to scream when he found it in the one numbered ‘1’. Meanwhile, Andrew and Nicky put on their gloves so they could gather up the flowers since the roses still had their thorns while Aaron dragged another garbage can over, and they dumped them into the trash.

“Shame about just throwing them away, they’re pretty.” Nicky cringed from the look Andrew gave him for saying that.

Kevin came over to Neil as he was grabbing his gear out of the locker. “Are you going to be able to play?”

“Considering how pissed off I am right now? Trust me, it won’t be a problem,” Neil informed him. “I’m not going to let his tricks keep us from winning tonight.”

Kevin regarded him for a moment before nodding. “Good.” Then he left to finish getting ready.

Matt was the next one to stop Neil while he was on his way to go change out. “I don’t believe you, you’re really just going to let whoever did this,” he sighed when Neil gave him a pitying look, “fine, whoever Riko hired to do this, get away with it? Why won’t you call security down here? Why just pretend it never happened?”

“Because it won’t do me any good to involve security in this,” Neil told him. “And it’s just a waste of time. He wants a reaction from me so I’m not giving him one.”

Matt shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the smart thing to do.”

“I don’t think you’re the one who’s spent time any with this individual, are you?” Neil told the backliner with a bit of force. “So if Kevin and I are fine with this plan, I suggest that you pretend nothing happened here today and just go out there and work hard to beat the Terrapins. That’ll be the best way to get back at Riko.”

Matt didn’t look too happy with him right then, but at least he shut up and got out of Neil’s way. By the time Neil returned, everyone was in their gear and the flowers were all gone.

He joined the others out in the lounge while Wymack went through the usual pre-game talk about the Terrapins’ weaknesses and strengths, standing next to Andrew as he did his best to not allow his mother’s voice to rise up in his head, as he fought to keep out the memories of the Nest and Riko’s hands on him, of standing in Ravens’ gear and waiting to go out onto Evermore’s court for more pain and fighting and that exhilarating feel of knowing he’d bested them again despite it all. He shuddered a little and closed his eyes as he struggled to push all of that back down, and his breath hitched when he felt fingers in his hair. Except instead of grabbing hold of the strands and tugging harshly, instead of dragging him along or forcing him to his knees, the fingers rubbed gently at the back of his head. “Focus, you idiot,” Andrew whispered in German.

Neil opened his eyes and snapped back to the *now*. He let out a slow breath and forced himself to pay attention, even as his left hand snagged onto Andrew’s jersey and twisted into it. Andrew sighed as if annoyed, but he didn’t put a stop to it.

Soon enough Wymack let them out on the court, and Dan came up to Neil after the warm-up laps. “Are you sure you’re all right? I can sub out for you for the first half if you need it.”

Matt must have told her, and probably the other upperclassmen, about the changing room. “I’m fine,” he gritted out. “We have a game to win, so worry about that and not me.” He sighed when Dan’s face grew clouded at his sharp tone. “Really, it’s okay,” he said in a softer tone. “Just… just Riko being an asshole. I’m used to it by now.”

Now her expression turned angry. “But you shouldn’t be used to it.” She gave him a tentative pat on his padded shoulders. “Let us know if it gets to you.”

After they did their stretches and brought out the equipment and stuff, it wasn’t long before the referees allowed them on-court to do their drills. Neil did his best to focus all of his attention on them, to shut out everything else and not let the past or the future interfere with what he needed to do that night.

Wymack and Kevin had been getting on Neil about the ‘bad habits’ that he’d picked up while training with the Ravens, but Neil didn’t care that night, not when he had so much frustration to vent, not when they needed the win and there was so much riding on the future. So he and Kevin tore into their backliner marks once the game had started, Neil refusing to allow the guy’s weight and height advantage to slow him down. Even with the Ravens’ tricks and all of their aggressive determination, it was difficult for Neil and Kevin to score points because the Terrapins were obviously still smarting from their earlier defeat in the season and refusing to let the Foxes advance at the cost of another loss from them.

Wymack just shook his head at Neil and warned him not to get red-carded during the half-time break, while Andrew gave him a light smack to the back of the head and muttered about idiots and mind games. Neil sipped some water and sports drink in between stretching out, already feeling the wear of pushing too hard during the first half, and hoped that they could keep it up for the second half. He also refused to check his phone because he knew that there would be something on it from Riko.

The second half started just as frantic as the first, and the Terrapins backliners were beginning to push back against Neil and Kevin, to try to close the point gap for their team. For once Neil didn’t have the energy to mouth off to them, though he found that to be in his favor – he and Kevin had taken to shouting at each other in French during the game, both to confuse the other team and to shut them out, and between the offhand tricks he was playing on them and his refusal to speak to them in a language they understood it was all wearing on them. Unfortunately, it was also wearing on Kevin, to the point that this game was the dirtiest that Neil had seen him play so far.

At least the others were picking up their slack, with Matt doing his best to block access to the goal and almost succeeding, except for when Nicky let things through. Even then, Andrew was there to make up for his cousin with a rarely seen ferocity on court. Things got easier when Aaron was subbed in for Nicky, for once showing none of his usual apathy. They managed to keep the Terrapins in check while Neil and Kevin struggled to add on another goal or two.

Toward the end of the game, they received that chance when a Terrapin got around Matt, not quite scott-free since Matt tagged him and sent him tumbling toward the goal. Andrew lunged out of the goal and body-checked him so hard that the poor guy was left dazed on the floor for several seconds, which gave Matt the chance to grab the ball and fling it toward Allison, who was only too happy to keep it away from their own goal and pass it onto Neil. Using a trick to trip his shadowing backliner, he had a clear shot at the Terrapins’ goal and got the ball in, which seemed to give the Foxes a much needed second wind.

The final score ended up being nine to five, and the Foxes had their two necessary wins to advance to the death matches in the championships. Neil felt his knees weaken when the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, and he allowed Kevin to give him an awkward one-arm hugged for a couple of seconds before he had to shrug his friend off, unable to be held any longer. “We won,” he said in French.

“Yes, we did,” Kevin said in the same language while the fans in the stadium went wild, as the cheers ricocheted around them and the Foxes were running around the court yelling as well. “We did it,” he said in English, a look of determination on his face. “But we still have farther to go.”

Neil smiled at that, at Kevin’s familiar attitude, and turned around to see the Foxes headed toward their own goal, where Andrew was standing with his racquet slung over his shoulders. Renee was turned around and smiling at the two of them, as if waiting to see what was keeping them.

Nicky ran up to Andrew as if to jump on him, and got the massive racquet swung in his face in a clear warning. “Neil, get over here and hug this grumpy bastard, why don’t you?” Nicky called out as he clung onto Aaron instead.

“Yeah, yeah.” Neil edged around the cheering Foxes, leery of being hugged again, and sidled over to his boyfriend. “So, uhm, we won.”

“I think I can figure that out,” Andrew said in that ‘you’re an idiot’ tone of his.

Neil smiled and knocked their shoulders together. “Good job tonight.”

“Not really, Belmonte’s not good enough of a team to have given him-“

“Shut up, Kevin,” Andrew said as he swung his racquet out again, before propping its handle against the ground. Neil continued to smile as he leaned against Andrew, just a little, while Nicky decided to hug a thoroughly disgruntled Kevin.

They shook hands with the Terrapins and then filed off of the court, but apparently seeing Wymack all smiles for once set off Dan, who was overjoyed at the fact that the Foxes had advanced onto the next part of the championship season, because she went running off to fan the crowd with Matt and Nicky in tow. Neil was more than happy to let them at it, and deal with the reporters as well, because he just wanted to take off his gear and shower.

He had just removed his helmet when Renee made a comment to Allison about how good it felt to win. Allison shot a loaded look Neil’s way while she shoved her helmet beneath her left arm. “Yes, it makes a great birthday present for someone, doesn’t it?” she said, an angry edge to her voice as her nails tapped against the hard shell of her helmet.

“Allison,” Renee chided her while Neil had to throw an arm out to stop Andrew from going after the dealer.

“No,” Allison snapped as she jabbed a finger toward Neil. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit already. Just this past week alone has been ridiculous because of Riko trying to get Neil’s attention or whatever, and I want to know how much worse it’s going to get. What did you do over Christmas break, turn him down or something?”

Neil didn’t say anything, just spun around and walked away before he hit Allison himself for that remark, and left Aaron and Renee to deal with Andrew just then since he’d reached his limit. He heard Allison ask what the hell it was that she’d said to set off the monster while Renee told her to shut up, the harshest Neil had ever heard Renee speak to her friend.

He left his gear wherever it fell before stepping into the shower, the hot water raining down on his face as he just stood beneath the showerhead while he did his best to blank out his mind. He heard the others come in after a while, their voices subdued, and after things grew quieted and the sounds of the other showers cut off, there was a knock on the door to his stall.

“Come on, you’re going to shrivel up if you’re in there that much longer.”

Neil sighed as he started washing off, aware of the impatience in Andrew’s voice. It only took a minute or two to finish up, and then he cracked open the door to make sure that no one else was standing out there before he opened it farther. Andrew was mindful not to step inside and handed Neil a towel and then some clean clothes when he’d dried off. Neil noticed that someone had picked up his abandoned gear, and grabbed his soiled clothes to be dropped off with the towel in the laundry.

Once that was done, Andrew led Neil into the lounge, where everyone was changed out of their uniforms and waiting for them, it seemed. Wymack was back to glaring at everyone, and nodded to the two of them once they took their seats on the couch.

“It may have escaped your attention, but we won tonight. Not that you downers look like it right now,” he said.

“Yeah, we got our two out of three,” Nicky proclaimed as he leaned around Kevin to grin at Neil. “Next week is going to be rubbing it in their faces, then on to the fun stuff.”

“I’d rather talk about the stuff going on here right now,” Wymack said before anyone else could derail the conversation. “I checked around, and there was no sign of a break-in and no reports of the guards seeing anything odd either last night or earlier today.” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “This is supposed to be a safe place for all of you, and I failed you.” Dan started at that declaration, a pained noise escaping her, while Matt shook his head. “I’m of the mind to put in cameras,” which made Neil start at the thought of being filmed like that, “but only in the public areas, and only if everyone agrees. If they do go in, the only people who’ll see the footage will be those of us in the room right now, all right? I don’t like the idea of outsiders involved in our business as much as you do.” He waited for any instant reactions before he continued on, while Neil tugged at a loose thread on the left cuff of his sweater’s sleeve.

“Which brings us to our next topic, which is that Neil asked for the authorities to not be involved in what happened earlier.” He glanced around the room after saying that. “I respect his decision, but you’re all involved in this. Any of you have a problem with it?”

Dan looked over at Neil. “You really are willing to just let Riko get away with this? With… with everything?”

Neil stared at the thread he was pulling free. “You make it sound as if there’s any chance of him being caught in the first place.”

“Well, maybe not him, but what about the people who broke in here? What if they’re the same ones who busted up our cars?” Matt argued. “Maybe they know something. If the police find some sort of trail, maybe we can get some answers.”

“Maybe that’s what he’s afraid of, isn’t it, Abram,” Allison said as she stared at Neil from her chair. “That we’ll get some answers, like why he got a birthday cake today, why he speaks so many languages, what happened to his parents and everything else that doesn’t add up with him. Why Riko won’t leave him alone.”

“Does someone need another lesson?” Andrew asked as he leaned forward, a too sharp smile on his face as he stared at Allison.

“I’m not even *touching* him, you monster,” she snapped. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Neil struggled past the tight pain in his chest, the urge to get up and run so far away from these questions, from the pressure against him and the push of painful memories and… and… and *everything* just then as he stared back at Allison. “I expect an attack like this from the Ravens,” he admitted. “It’s the type of stab at the weakest point I had to deal with them,” he told her while she flinched at his words, while Dan glared and Matt clenched his fists as if he wanted to punch something. “But to go at me just because you’re upset with Andrew? Really?”

“It’s not all about Andrew,” Allison told him, her nails curled up into her palms enough that it had to hurt. “Riko’s coming after you to the point that it’s affecting all of us.”

Neil cringed at that, uncertain of what to say, but Dan rallied for him. “So what?” Dan spat out. “Riko would be coming after us anyway, for having Kevin on our team. For us daring to go against the Ravens’ precious order. We knew what we were getting into last year when we agreed to take in Kevin, and I don’t see what’s different now,” she said as she stared down Allison. “Neil’s just the one mouthing off to Riko in our place.”

Allison waved that aside. “We didn’t need-“

*No*,” Renee insisted. “You said it yourself, that it couldn’t continue to go on, that if Neil gives in it means that Riko can assume he’s beaten us.  So we move forward being defiant. All of us,” she stressed.

Allison stared at her for several seconds before she sighed. “Fine,” she gave in with ill grace. “But I’m not holding hands and being all ‘kumbaya’ with the monsters.”

Renee gave her a radiant smile. “I wouldn’t expect that of you right away.” Meanwhile, Andrew made a gagging sound.

That seemed to derail the conversation for the moment, for which Neil was very grateful for; anything that got it off of him and his real birthday was a good thing, though he wouldn’t be surprised if Allison or another upperclassman remembered it at some point.

Wymack got everyone’s approval to install the cameras in the public areas, and after that they all left to go back to the dorms; at that point, it wasn’t worth going to Columbia for the night, not when Neil had his date the next day. The four of them returned to the suite where Kevin, Nicky and Aaron could drink the alcohol they had on hand, and Neil and Andrew could go up on the roof for some privacy. Considering everything that had happened earlier in the day and the messages that Riko had sent to Neil… yeah, they didn’t do too much more than huddle together as they burned through cigarettes and stared out across the campus. As for the messages from Riko on his phone, Neil deleted them unread – he knew he couldn’t keep doing that forever, but it wasn’t worth the hassle of getting a new phone that weekend.

He woke up early on Saturday morning, driven from sleep by nightmares to get out of bed and out of the suite with his running shoes on. He was out the door before he knew it, out on the street in front of the Fox Tower and running, just wanting to deal with his demons in some form or another that wouldn’t  affect Andrew and the others. He ran around the campus for a while before he found himself at the stadium and gave in to heading inside the large building, his legs a bit weak and his head still a bit befuddled.

He found Wymack glaring at him in the lounge, dressed rather casual for once – well, for the man – with a bag of what looked to be take-out until he motioned Neil back toward his office. “If you’re here on a damn Saturday, you can help me sort through some files.”

“Uhm, what files?” Neil asked, having long learned to never just accept an offer like that.

“Next year’s recruits. Did you eat yet?”

“Ah, not yet.” Neil blinked as he was sat down with a stack of folders and a styrofoam container of scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. He was instructed to go through the files and rate them, which he did, growing more confident of winnowing out what he thought of as valuable players for Kevin to judge after a bit of time.

“So what’s the point of this?” he asked Wymack, who was going through his own stack of folders.

“We need six potential recruits for next year,” Wymack explained.

Neil stared at that. “You’re doubling the line?”

“Maybe,” Wymack said. “The ERC wasn’t happy with how we’re getting by with the bare minimum of players this season. Some promises were made, and unless I can get out of them before summer….” Wymack shrugged, which let Neil know that more than likely, they were stuck with taking on several new recruits next season. “I’m also bumping you up to vice-captain.”

Wait, what? Neil stared at the man in shock. “What? Are you crazy?”

Wymack just shook his head. “Dan’s only got one more year left, and I made her captain based on the fact that she could lead this team. From what I can see, you can do that, too.”

“I can’t lead shit,” Neil argued.

“You got Andrew to listen to you, which is a miracle and a half, as well as the rest of those monsters,” Wymack argued. “You’re not afraid to go for logic nor your fists, depending on whatever you think will benefit the team the best. I think you’re what’s needed for the team.”

“You don’t even know me,” Neil pointed out.

There was a weary sigh as Wymack rubbed at his hair. “I know enough about you, okay? That you stick by for the people you care about, that you’re passionate about Exy. I don’t give a shit who you were before you came to Palmetto State.”

“Maybe you should,” Neil told him as he thought about his father.

“Maybe you should shut up and just accept it, and find me some players for next year.”

Neil stared at the insane man, confused and torn and more than a little scared; he never had any sort of responsibility like that in his life. He didn’t understand why Wymack was insisting on it and was certain it was going to be a huge mistake. There was also the fact that he wasn’t sure that he’d still be a Fox come next season.

Completely thrown by the offer, Neil shook his head. “I have to get going, there’s… there’s things we’ve got planned for the day.” Some of it he wasn’t looking forward to, but yeah, it would be a busy day.

Fortunately, Wymack let him escape. “See you Monday, then. And I’m not changing my mind.”

Neil winced at that and got up to leave, jogging back to dorm where he found a grumpy boyfriend waiting for him, and took a shower so they could go off to get Andrew’s new car near Atlanta. He sat in the back while Nicky drove the rental car with Kevin up front, and Neil pressed against Andrew so there was more space between him and Aaron. Lulled by Andrew’s presence and the lack of sleep from the night before, Neil found himself drifting off during the drive and woke up when they arrived at some foreign car dealership at Alpharetta.

Andrew went off with some salesman while Aaron and Nicky wandered around the cars and Kevin talked to Neil about their upcoming game with SUA. After about an hour or so, Andrew pulled up in a sleek, very expensive car with black metallic paint, and Neil tried not to wince as he imagined what it had cost.

Nicky and Aaron came running over to examine the car, while Kevin just shook his head. Andrew got out and stared at Neil, as if daring him to say anything or to have a panic attack, to which Neil just gave him a weak grin. “Uhm, what is it?”

Andrew sighed, his expression slightly pained at the moment. “You’re an idiot.”

“That’s a Maserati, baby bro!” Nicky exclaimed. “Oh my god, I’m in love!”

Meanwhile, Aaron was giving his brother an odd look at the moment. “Huh, first you buy a house and then a car together? Must be nice.”

Andrew gave him a blank look back before he nodded to Nicky. “Let’s get going.” Then he waved at Neil to get into the new car – the Maserati.

Feeling that it would be a good thing to be away from Aaron just then, Neil hurried to join Andrew. The drive back was a lot more pleasant, it just being the two of them in the new, very comfortable car, at least until they got back around campus. First they had to drop off the rental car, and then they hit the mall so Nicky could pick out Neil’s outfit for the night.

Neil didn’t see why he needed new clothes for the date with Carlton, but Nicky insisted. Something about ‘had to send out the right vibe’, and that ‘vibe’ apparently were pants that were nice but in no way tight (Neil wasn’t going to complain about that) and a sweater that was also on the loose side with a high neck that covered most of his tattoo. Once that was done, they stopped for a late lunch before going back to the dorm.

Nicky took the bag of clothes inside their suite while Andrew and Neil continued up the steps to the roof. Once there, Andrew lit cigarettes for the both of them, and it was while Neil was sitting there with his burning that Andrew handed over the spare key for the Maserati. “Here.”

Neil stared at it for a moment before accepting it. “You know, it’s odd. For so long, it was me and my mom, was us on the run.” He held the key in his open hand. “Was us staying in motels or hostels or even abandoned places, in the cars we bought or stole, in homeless shelters or wherever we thought it was safe for the night.” He looked over at Andrew, who was staring at him without any expression on that face Neil had come to cherish. “No permanence, and considering what we’d left… it wasn’t a bad thing.

Then I met you, and…,” he held up the key. “Sometimes this doesn’t seem real. Sometimes it seems too real, and I keep waiting for it to be taken away.” He wasn’t sure that made any sense, but it was what he felt.

Andrew reached over to curl Neil’s fingers around the key. “It’s not going to be taken away. I won’t let that happen.” There was a roughness to Andrew’s voice just then, a fierceness to his expression; he hadn’t lived on the run like Neil had, but being brought up in the foster care system… Neil knew that *this*, the whole having something, was new to Andrew, too. Knew it was another thing they shared.

“I’m not going to let my uncle ruin anything for us,” Neil said while Andrew’s fingers remained on his. “I’ll go out tonight, put up with… whatever, and come back.”

“So you keep saying.” Andrew pulled Neil a bit closer. “I’m not worried about that guy turning your head or anything.”

“So what are you worried about?” Neil frowned at Andrew, at the obvious tension in his boyfriend just then.

He got his forehead flicked for his trouble. “The fact that you have to ask that stupid question illustrates my point,” Andrew said in a rather aggravated tone before he let go of Neil and ground out his cigarette. Before Neil could ask what the hell that meant, he got up and stalked back downstairs.

Neil stayed up on the roof for a little longer, his thoughts on meddlesome uncles and infuriating boyfriends and insane coaches, until he figured he better get ready for his ‘date’.

For some reason everyone was taking turns with the shower that afternoon, so it was a good thing he didn’t need to do too much to get ready, though Nicky fussed with Neil’s hair a bit to try to make it look ‘presentable’. Neil suffered through that for a minute or two before waving him away, then took to waiting for Carlton to arrive while Andrew loomed around in the living room like some sort of vengeful spirit.

Neil started when he heard his phone ring, his hands shaking a little as he pulled it out of his pocket. He gave a blank-faced Andrew a nervous smile when he saw Carlton’s number on it then answered the phone. “Uhm, hello?”

“Hello,” Carlton said. “It’s me. Ah, Carlton. I’m downstairs. Would come up but it looks like I need some sort of pass for that, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Neil agreed. “I’ll be down in a minute.” He hung up his phone then reached for his coat. “Uhm, I’m going out now,” he told the others. “Meeting him downstairs.”

Nicky gave a disapproving sniff. “A real gentleman would come to the door and all.”

Neil rolled his eyes as he pulled on his coat. “You know he can’t get past the elevators and everything.”

“Not much of a mobster then, is he?” Andrew commented, his expression still too blank for Neil’s liking, while Kevin radiated pure disapproval and even Aaron seemed displeased at the moment.

Neil wanted to strangle all of them at the moment, but it would take too much time when he had someone waiting for him downstairs; they knew he didn’t have a choice in this. “All right, I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” he said as he opened the door, trying to not be hurt by Andrew’s sullen attitude.

“You’ll be back by eleven pm, mister!” Nicky called out after him. “And nothing past first base, you hear? This is a first date, so tell him to keep his hands above the hips!” he shouted, causing Troy and Dave from the soccer team to give Neil some very odd looks as he made his way to the stairwell. “Just because he’s treating you to dinner doesn’t mean he gets to treat himself, too!”

“Oh god,” Neil mumbled as he felt his face heat up, grateful that none of the other Foxes were around to hear that bit of… of whatever. Insanity. As it was, yeah, not wanting to run into the soccer team again any time soon.

He mostly had everything under control by the time he got down to the foyer, at least until he stepped outside and found several people staring at the expensive sports car parked outside and the young man standing in front of it. Carlton McCormick was dressed in what looked to be a very nice long coat (Nicky would probably know what brand, him and Allison), over jeans and boots. He was a few inches taller than Neil, of course, but not quite six feet tall, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was indeed ‘decent to look at’, not stunningly handsome but attractive all the same, and the smile he gave Neil was warm and genuine.

“Na- ah, Neil,” he said, quick to catch himself as he held out a hand. “Sorry.” His gaze lingered for a moment on the ‘A’ tattoo on Neil’s face while Neil forced himself to accept the hand, to remain calm when Carlton’s larger hand wrapped around his and held on firm for a bit longer than he expected before letting go. “Shall we get going?”

“Yes.” Neil frowned a little when Carlton opened the door of the silver car for him, wondering if that was going to be a thing all night long, and slid into the passenger seat. “So is this a rental?” he asked once Carlton got behind the wheel.

Carlton nodded as he started to drive. “A slight indulgence, I’m afraid. It’s not practical to drive something with rear wheel drive up in Cambridge this time of year, so I miss driving the Porsche.”

Great, another car fanatic – Andrew would love this. Neil shook his head a little at that. “What, no British make? I’m surprised that Uncle Stuart approves of you at all.”

That prompted a laugh from Carlton. “Oh, I know, I hear about it from my father. He gave me enough grief for not going to Oxford, after all, but I figured it might be best that I at least do my undergrad outside of the UK, make some contacts that way.” Carlton looked over at Neil and smiled. “Speaking of which, we have a little time before dinner. Do you mind if we drive around your campus?”

“That’s fine.” Well, not really, Neil felt a bit on edge being trapped in the small car with a stranger, but at least Carlton was busy driving the car. He took a slow, steady breath to center himself and directed Carlton around, gave him directions to the stadium and a couple of other attractions on campus; Carlton seemed genuinely interested in everything, was polite and affable. Neil kept waiting for the biting comments to follow, for the snide remarks and was almost disappointed when it didn’t happen.

Still, it was nice, hearing the British accent, something he’d missed over the years. He’d grown up with it because of his mother, had spent so long hearing it every day, often hissed in his ear. He had to keep himself from slipping into the accent, which he had done when they were in Europe or alone together.

“So Harvard, hmm?” Neil asked as Carlton took off for the restaurant.

“Yes. I’m in the pre-law program.” Carlton gave a little shrug, his expression slightly embarrassed. “It’s nice, being someplace where not everyone’s going ‘so you’re one of *those* McCormicks, are you?’.” He was quiet for a moment. “Sure you can understand a bit, considering the, ah, well, the name change.”

“The situation’s a bit more complicated,” Neil admitted as he did his best not to fidget. “But yeah, it’s… nice.” He hoped to keep that part of his past a secret, to not have anything of Nathan Wesninski to ever touch his life as a Fox any more than it already had.

Carlton seemed to realize that wasn’t the best of topics and hurried to change it.

“So, I managed to catch the game last night. You guys did good, yeah? You get to go on to the next step now, don’t you?”

Neil smiled a little at Carlton’s attempt to engage him in something he clearly enjoyed and talked to him about the game against Belmonte, surprised that Carlton had paid attention to it rather well last night. He actually felt a bit relaxed when they pulled up to the restaurant, Carlton handing over the car to valet parking and waiting for Neil to get out to walk beside him to the restaurant; Neil frowned as he saw a familiar, very large blue truck turn the corner.

“Is something wrong?” Carlton asked as he held the door open for Neil.

“Ah, no, just saw something a bit odd,” Neil explained… and then sighed when he saw the couple handing over their coats to one of the hostesses in front of them. “Oh hell,” he muttered.

Dan, wearing a short black dress that showed off her long legs and trim physique, turned to smile at Neil; she also was wearing a little makeup and had done something with her hair to fluff it up a bit. The overall effect was very polished and a big change from her every day look, while behind her was Matt all dressed up in slacks, a button down shirt and a nice blazer, of all things. Neil felt as if he’d walked into an alternate universe or something. “Oh hey, imagine running into you here,” Matt said.

“Yeah, imagine that,” Neil said through gritted teeth while Carlton gave him a confused look. “Carlton, these are two of my teammates, Dan Wilds and Matt Boyd.”

“Ah, I see.” Carlton summoned a polite smile as he held out his right hand. “Carlton McCormick, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Wow, so polite,” Dan remarked as she shook his hand. “You won’t mix him up with Andrew, that’s for certain.”

“That would be Neil’s boyfriend,” Matt remarked as he shook Carlton’s hand next, all but looming over the young man. “In case that hasn’t come up yet.”

To give him credit, Carlton’s smile didn’t waver at all. “I believe Neil’s uncle has mentioned him a time or two.” Neil was the one to wince, certain that he didn’t want to know what his uncle had said.

“So the two of you had a sudden urge for Italian?” he asked.

“I thought Dan deserved a nice treat for us making it to the death round stage,” Matt said with evident pride as he looked down at his girlfriend. “Have a nice night,” he told Neil when the hostess waved at the two of them to follow her off to their table.

“They seem pleasant,” Carlton remarked while he handed over his coat to another hostess, and Neil did the same a moment later; he’d be more comfortable if he could keep it on him in case he had to leave in a hurry, but he supposed that would look odd. He tugged at the cuffs of his sweater to make sure that they covered the marks on his wrists and the edges of the arm bands, and noticed that Carlton also wore a sweater, one that looked very soft and expensive. Carlton was eyeing him up as well, in a manner that made Neil feel uncomfortable. When the hostess picked up a couple of menus and motioned for them to follow, Neil tensed up when Carlton placed a hand in the small of his back as they walked into the restaurant and had to fight the urge to both flinch and step away.

He had just forced himself to relax when they came upon the table where the hostess had led them, into a room filled with shimmering chandeliers and dancing candles, with pale cream walls and white tablecloths and scattered floral arrangements… and Andrew and Renee.

Neil stared at his boyfriend, who still had that too-blank expression on his face as he sipped what looked to be some white wine, seated at the table next to the one where the hostess was indicating he should sit. “This is ridiculous,” Neil said as he rubbed at his face.

“I’m sorry, sir, is something wrong?” the woman asked, a worried frown on her face.

“Yes, are you all right?” Carlton asked as well.

“I’m fine,” Neil said, his voice only slightly strained. Meanwhile, Renee smiled at him and gave a little wave.

Carlton picked up on that as he pulled out the chair for Neil, who stared at it for a moment before he realized that Carlton was waiting for him to sit down in it. Andrew made a faint gagging sound when Neil did and Carlton pushed him toward the table. “I take it these are more friends of yours?”

Neil hesitated again before he sighed. “Yes, Renee Walker and Andrew Minyard.”

“I see,” Carlton said with a hint of displeasure. He left Neil to step toward the table and smiled at Renee as he held out his hand. “Carlton McCormick. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Renee continued to smile as she gave his hand a shake. “Hello, I’m Renee, a friend and teammate of Neil’s. It’s nice to meet you.”

Carlton’s smile was a bit less warm when he went over to Andrew. “Hello.”

Andrew stood up, and Neil winced at both the way Andrew had to tilt his head back to look up to Carlton and the cold expression on his boyfriend’s face. “Can’t say I’m impressed much with Stuart’s tastes,” Andrew remarked as he shook Carlton’s hand.

Carlton kept the smile on his face, but it looked a bit strained at the moment. “I don’t believe it’s Stuart’s opinion that matters tonight.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Andrew told him before he let go of the handshake and sat back down. Neil saw Carlton shake his hand as he came back over to the table as if it troubled him.

“Interesting fellow,” Carlton remarked, his expression thoughtful as he sat down.

“You could say that,” Neil said as he wondered if he could go hide in the bathroom for the next hour or two. “Look, I’m sorry – oh for fuck’s sake,” he cried out when he saw the hostess lead Nicky, dressed up in a dark suit, and Allison, wearing something that probably had just come off of a runway in New York, past their table. He turned to glare at Andrew. “Really?”

Andrew just shrugged and had another sip of his wine.

Meanwhile, Carlton had picked up the wine menu. “Yet more friends?”

“More teammates,” Neil snapped. “I’m beginning to rethink the whole ‘friend’ thing, though.” He rested his elbows on the table and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Carlton laughed a little. “I think it’s amusing, to be honest. Shows that your friends care about you.” He gave the top of Neil’s head a gentle tap with the menu. “Not like I’m planning on knocking you out and dragging you back with me to Cambridge, but it’s good that you have people around you to watch over you.” He smiled at Neil. “You must be something special to make them worry about you like that.”

Neil sat back in his chair, suddenly flustered by that comment. “Uhm, not really. They just… uhm. It’s probably a big joke.” He tugged at his bangs, unsure of what to say.

Carlton was quiet for a few seconds. “Maybe I’ll rethink that whole dragging you back to Cambridge.”

“Huh?” Neil blinked at that – it was a joke, right?

“So, should I order a bottle of wine?” Carlton smiled as he held up the wine list.

“Oh yes, please,” Neil breathed out, desperate for something to make the night better -especially when he saw Kevin and *Abby* of all people walk in next. What the *hell*.

“Any preferences?”

“Strong. Something strong,” Neil pleaded. He didn’t think he could get through the next hour or so without some sort of help, even though he didn’t want to get drunk while out with a stranger. Not like he was really alone with Carlton, though, was he, he thought as he gave a sideways glare at Andrew, who was fiddling with his butter knife while giving a rather bland stare at the young man.

“I won’t take that personally,” Carlton quipped as he surveyed the menu. “Is it me, or is there a chill in here?”

“Maybe we should ask to have our table moved,” Neil offered, but as he looked around the restaurant, he couldn’t really find a much better place. Everywhere he looked, there was a damn Fox.

“No, no, here is fine,” Carlton insisted as he looked up from the wine menu to first smile at Neil and then to give Andrew a blank look. “Reminds me of the afternoons we’d spend at Westminster Abby, to be honest.”

The mental image of Andrew looming up among the revered church’s rooftops startled a laugh out of Neil, which of course only made Andrew’s expression turn into an impressive glower and Carlton to smile. “I… can see that now. Thank you, I think,” he said as he picked up his water glass to hide his own smile.

“Ah, so you’ve been there?”

Neil had to wait to answer that because their server, a young man in his mid-twenties, from the look of it, came over to introduce himself at last and to take their wine order. “A long time ago,” Neil admitted, his smile slipping a little as he thought about that time spent in London. “I got to see the Abby, though just briefly.”

“It’s more than most people here ever see,” Carlton offered.

“I wasn’t… exactly there on the scenic tour.” Neil reached for his glass of water again, not to pick it up but to touch it, to have something to do with his hand, to glide his fingers along the smooth, damp surface, and then pulled his arm back when he noticed the cuff of his sweater had shifted back enough to reveal the red marks on his right wrist.

Carlton seemed to have noticed, because his smile faltered and he was quick to hold up his own menu. “Ah, we should probably decide on an appetizer before he returns with our wine. Are you partial to anything?”

Neil nearly dropped the menu when he heard a coughed ‘short blonds’ come from somewhere and glanced behind him to see Nicky and Allison studying their own menus with a bit too much intent. “No,” he said a moment later. “I’m very open-minded,” he stressed.

“No, he isn’t,” Andrew called out.

“Where the hell is the wine?” Neil asked as he set his own menu aside.

“Yes, a very good question,” Carlton agreed as he shot an annoyed look around them. “So, bruschetta should be fine?”

“Yes.” Neil picked up his menu again so he could try to figure out an entrée, and around then the server returned with their wine. He tried not to stare at the young man with relief as he poured some for Carlton to try first, then into both of their glasses, and left to put in the appetizer order while promising to return shortly for the rest of their order.

Neil had just picked up his glass of what looked to be a nice red wine when Carlton leaned over with his glass extended. “So, to promising new beginnings, yes?”

“Ah, yeah. Yes.” Neil allowed their glasses to be clinked together and had just taken a sip – it did taste really nice, not that he was an expert by any means – when an older gentleman dressed in a black suit came by their table.

“I’m very sorry,” he said to Carlton, “but one of the other guests has just brought it to our attention that the young man you’re dining with is underage.” He spared Neil an apologetic smile. “Would you happen to be his guardian?”

Carlton let out an exasperated sigh while Neil groaned. “Not exactly. We’re just out trying to enjoy a nice dinner together.”

The man gave a slight bow of his head. “Then I’m sorry, but we’ll have to ask that you don’t share an alcoholic beverage. We wouldn’t want there to be any trouble.”

“Yes, I understand,” Carlton said through gritted teeth as the man took away Neil’s wineglass. As soon as he was gone, Carlton sighed again. “All right, now it’s going beyond amusing, I must admit.”

“I’m sorry,” Neil said as he hunched down in his seat. “I didn’t think they’d do this.” He purposely didn’t look over to see Andrew’s expression just then.

“It’s not your fault. I just look at it as if they’re going through this much effort, you must be worth the aggravation to get to know, yes?” Neil glanced up to find Carlton smiling at him.

For reason Neil felt a bit flustered just then. “Uhm, I’m not too sure about that.”

“Well I am. Now, any thoughts on dinner?” Carlton’s smile slipped a little as he picked up his menu. “None of your friends are back in the kitchen, you suppose?”

Neil didn’t see Aaron or Wymack anywhere, but somehow he doubted they could be bothered with tonight, and especially not to sneak into the restaurant’s kitchen. “I think we’re safe in that regard, at least.”

“Ah, a flaw in an otherwise devious plan.” The server returned a minute or so later, and they were able to place their order; Neil had a feeling that Carlton was going to insist on paying and so ordered something that didn’t cost too much. He almost said something about Andrew drinking wine to the man before he left with their orders, but figured that it wouldn’t be wise to start a ‘tit for tat’ situation.

Once the young man was gone, Carlton leaned forward again, his glass of wine pushed aside. “So, you’ve been to London and you managed to pronounce your entrée a lot better than I did. Have you been to Italy as well?”

Neil hesitated for a moment, mindful of Allison and Nicky behind him. “My mother believed in a well-rounded education,” was what he settled on.

Carlton seemed to realize that he didn’t want to say too much at the moment, his hazel eyes flickering behind Neil for a couple of seconds. “Hmm, next time I’ll surprise you with what we’re going to do for the night.”

That… was a bit presumptuous, wasn’t it? Neil blinked as he tried to figure out if he should say something or not, while at the next table Renee was murmuring something to Andrew.

“So… pre-law?” Neil asked, desperate to change the topic.

It worked, however, as Carlton spend the next ten or fifteen minutes talking about Harvard and his classes, during which their appetizer came and there was an awkward moment or two when they reached for a slice of bread at the same time. Neil almost dropped the appetizer when Carlton’s fingers brushed against his, a nervous smile on his face at the reaction, but the other man let it slip without paying any attention to it.

After the server came back to clear the table and set things up for the main course, Carlton pushed away from the table. “Pardon me for a moment,” he told Neil, and as soon as he stepped away, Neil was out of his own seat in order to keep Andrew in his.

“No,” he told his boyfriend, having a suspicion on what would happen if he didn’t prevent Andrew from following Carlton into the bathroom. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Andrew looked up from what appeared to a plate of chicken parmesan to give Neil a too wide grin. “Why, I’m having a friendly dinner with Renee. We decided to be best friends again, shouldn’t you be happy?” He nodded across the table at Renee, who beamed up at Neil.

“Of course, and you just happen to have this little make-up dinner at the same restaurant where Carlton made reservations for us, at the very same time, and ended up at the table right next to us,” Neil muttered as he tugged on his bangs.

“It is a rather amazing coincidence,” Renee murmured as she twirled her fettuccine Alfredo around her fork.

“Uh-huh. Just like everyone else just had to come out tonight, too.” Neil looked over at Nicky and Allison, who were grinning at him, and then at Dan who was sitting by herself… as was Abby. “Oh shit.”

Before he could go running for the men’s room, Andrew latched on to his arm. “Now, now, I’m sure boring Carlton is a big boy and can take care of himself,” Andrew chided.

“Why are you doing this?” Neil asked as he stared down at his boyfriend. “It’s just one night. Just a couple of hours.”

Andrew gave him an odd look back before shaking his head in obvious disgust. “If you think it’s really just a night, then I’ve grossly overestimated your intelligence.”

“But it’s-“

“You’re not listening to what he’s saying or seeing how he’s looking at you, you *idiot*. Now go sit back down, and if you get yourself roofied or anything like that, I will kick your ass so hard you’ll be feeling it for years, do you understand?”

Neil tried looking at Renee for help, but all she did was take a bite of her pasta, her expression carefully neutral. After a sip of what looked to be ice tea, she nodded to him. “Don’t forget about the knives.”

Well that was reassuring, wasn’t it? Neil went back to his own table, barely resisting the urge to grab Andrew’s glass of wine and drain it dry before he left, and sat down for a minute or two before Carlton returned, his expression a bit flushed.

“I am so, so sorry,” Neil apologize as the young man sat down.

“No, no, it’s perfectly fine,” Carlton tried to assure him as he poured himself some more wine from the bottle left on the table. “I mean, how many people can say that Kevin Day threatened their manhood?”

“Oh god,” Neil groaned as he buried his face in his hands.

“And that other fellow….”

“Matt,” Neil supplied, his face still hidden behind his hands. “Matt Boyd.”

“Yes, thank you. If the Exy thing doesn’t work out for him, I believe my father might be interested in hiring him. For, well… you know.”

“Wonderful, I’ll be sure to pass that on to him,” Neil said as he sat back in his chair and cast a longing glance at the bottle of wine. “Can I ask you something? Is this how dates are supposed to go?”

Carlton stared at him with evident confusion for several seconds before he laughed, at least until Neil continued to just stare at him. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” He frowned as he set aside the wineglass and seemed to think about something while the server arrived with their food.

As soon as they were alone again, he leaned over his plate toward Neil. “Well, usually there aren’t as many chaperones, if any, and any threats made against the suitor are gotten out of the way at the beginning of the date.” He paused to poke his fork at his osso buco. “I believe in light of everything… it might be better to alter our after dinner plans, if that’s fine with you.”

Neil glanced over at Andrew, who was paying a bit too much attention to the dessert menu at the moment. “I think that might be a very good idea.”

That earned him another smile from Carlton, and they were about halfway through their dinner when Allison came sauntering over to the table. Neil groaned internally and wondered what new disaster was waiting to occur as he set his knife and fork aside.

“Well, you do clean up nicely,” she told him with a sharp smile before she turned toward Carlton. “Pardon my intrusion, but you looked so familiar to me. Neil said you’re Carlton McCormick – you wouldn’t happen to be related to Alistair McCormick, would you?”

Carlton was polite enough to rise from the table and hold out his hand to her. “Only a great-uncle who passed away several years ago, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm, manners, how nice,” Allison murmured. “No, I don’t believe we’re thinking of the same person.” She eyed him up down for a couple of seconds. “What a shame, you’d be such a step up for him. No history of mental instability, I assume?”

“This is not happening,” Neil said in German as he took to tugging on his hair, too afraid to look over at Andrew but trusting in Renee to keep his boyfriend from killing her best friend.

Carlton appeared startled by the question, but soon took it in stride. “No, nothing at all like that.” He smiled at Neil. “I have to admit to a great-great grandfather who thought he was fighting in the Rebellion and would chase after anyone who had a British accent with a broom, but there’d been a head injury involved with that.”

Allison sighed as she glanced over a bared shoulder at Neil. “Seriously? Money, looks, good taste in fashion as well as a sense of humor and all without any evidence of some sort of psychosis, and you’re-“

“*Allison*!”

Several of the surrounding tables took to staring in their direction at Renee reining in the dealer, which caused Allison to sigh again and flip back a section of her blonde hair. “Fine.” She turned her attention back to an amused Carlton. “So, what do you do, if you’re one of not the Boston McCormicks?”

“I’m going to Harvard for a pre-law degree at the moment, Miss….”

“Allison. Allison Reynolds,” she told him with a bland smile. “You know, I’m old friends with Franklin Bindseil, the dean of the law school there.” She waved her right hand back and forth, the diamond bracelet she wore sparkling with the motion. “Attended summer camp with his daughters, even dated his son for a couple of months.” Her smile took on a feral edge just then. “Might have to reach out to him tomorrow to have a chat about things… the upcoming quarter and all.”

Carlton pushed his plate aside and propped his elbow up on the table so he could rest his chin on his hand. “Neil, do they really have no idea…?”

“*Don’t*,” Neil said as he pushed his plate aside as well, any appetite he had now effectively gone. “Carlton… don’t.”

Allison frowned as she looked down at him. “What? No idea of what?”

“This has stopped being funny. In fact, it never was funny,” Neil told her as he shoved his way out of the chair and stumbled away from the table, unable to stay there any longer, to put up with his friends’ fucked up efforts to… to whatever, to interfere in his life and just make things worse, to put themselves in danger. Because this wasn’t his life, apparently. It wasn’t going to nice places like normal people and doing nice things. It wasn’t being normal.

He heard someone call out his name and some noise behind him, but he didn’t stop, didn’t turn around until he was out of the restaurant and able to breathe once again. He stood out on the sidewalk with the valet people staring at him, with some middle-aged couple who were all dressed up and about to enter the restaurant glaring at him for almost knocking them over.

Neil gulped for air as he edged away from them, away from the restaurant’s entrance, and huddled against the wall as he tried to think of what he was going to do next. It was cold outside in just his sweater, but it also felt good as he combed his fingers through his hair and slowly began to calm down.

“Neil?”

He let out a shuddering breath and looked up at Abby, who wore a pretty green dress and was all made up, yet had a worried expression on her face. “Are you all right?”

For a moment he almost said ‘yes’, then he gave a tired shake of his head. “You let Kevin bring you here tonight?”

“I was hoping to mitigate some of the stupidity,” she admitted. “That didn’t seem to work out so well. I’m so sorry, sweetie.” When Neil rubbed at his face, she sighed. “Why don’t you come back inside where it’s warm?”

He closed his eyes as he steeled himself to do just that, to go back in and deal with the mess that the Foxes and Andrew were making of things, and then he heard the scuff of leather on concrete as someone else approached. When he opened his eyes, he saw Carlton walking toward him with Neil’s coat in his hands.

“If you’re still hungry, we can try someplace else,” Carlton offered as he held out Neil’s coat in both hands, clearly intending to help Neil into it; Neil hesitated for a moment, especially when he saw Andrew step outside as well, then turned around so he could slip his arms into the sleeves.

“No, I’m fine,” Neil told him.

“I paid our bill. I think it might be best just to leave right now.”

“I agree.” Neil twitched as Carlton’s hands lingered on his shoulders for a second or two. “Let’s go.” He gave Abby a tired smile. “Why don’t you go back in? Make Kevin treat you to a nice meal for tonight.”

“Be careful,” she urged him as she stepped toward the door. Meanwhile, Andrew was still standing nearby, with Renee close behind him. Neil approached while Carlton handed over the ticket to one of the valets.

“No more threats tonight, okay?” he asked in a quiet voice; he didn’t know what had happened in the restaurant after he left, but Andrew’s expression was that utter blankness once again, and Renee appeared stressed. “Whatever you and the others are trying to do… no more threats.”

Andrew stared at him for a couple of seconds. “You’re not ending this farce already?”

Neil felt a prickle along his back and had a feeling that Carlton was behind him. “No, I promised my uncle I would give tonight a chance,” he reminded Andrew. “And I don’t think that happened during dinner.” Then he let out a slow breath. “I don’t feel anything for him,” he said in German. “Stop making this night more difficult than it has to be and let me just get through the next hour or two, all right?”

Andrew’s lips pressed together a little before he shifted his gaze to behind Neil. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself or I’ll make you eat your fingers.”

“Lovely,” Carlton remarked on a dry note. “And on that cheerful note, our ride is here, Neil.” He motioned to the car, his gaze intent on Neil’s face.

“Okay,” was all Neil said as he turned away from Andrew and slipped into the passenger seat of the sports car. Carlton was the one to close the door, then hurried over to get behind the wheel. “So, figured out where we’re going now?”

“I have an idea or two.” Carlton went about a block of two from the restaurant then pulled over in the first available spot he could find so he use his phone to look up something. “Ah, yes, that’ll do!” He ended up backtracking a little as he drove to the entertainment section of the downtown area, and it took a little time to find a decent parking spot.

While that occurred, Neil apologized yet again for what had happened back at the restaurant. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know they were going to do that. My friends, I mean.”

Carlton waved aside the apology. “As I said, it just shows that you have people willing to look out for you.” He was quiet for a block or two. “I apologize if it was at all implied that I’d do anything to them – or let my family harm them. It’s just… I guess I thought they’d know a bit better, considering your uncle and all.” He gave a slight laugh.

“Most of them don’t know,” Neil explained. “I’d like to keep it that way.”

“But Andrew does?”

“Yes.” Neil tugged on the cuffs of his coat – the coat Nicky had bought for him. “We don’t have any secrets between us.”

“That’s… a bit frightening, really. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship like that.”

Neil gave a slight shrug. “This is the only one I’ve ever had.”

“’This’. Hmm.” Carlton frowned a little. “Look, Neil, your uncle was up front with me about everything. He said that you’re involved with Andrew and he’s hoping that maybe you can realize that there’s other options out there. To be perfectly honest, I came down here hoping to present myself as one of those other options, and nothing’s changed.” He glanced over at Neil and smiled. “I think we’d be good together.”

Uhm, was this what Andrew had been talking about, back in the restaurant? “I can see why Uncle Stuart set us up,” Neil admitted, “but… I’m not like most people. Andrew’s been the only person I’ve ever wanted.” He didn’t like talking about personal stuff, but he figured it was better to warn Carlton off now rather than later.

Carlton’s smile slipped as he seemed to think about what Neil had said. “That doesn’t sound good.” Just as Neil thought the guy might be getting it, he shook his head. “No wonder your uncle is so worried. It’ll work out, you’ll see.” Then he was smiling again.

Maybe Renee had been right to bring up the knives, Neil thought with growing apprehension.

It was right around then that Carlton parked the car, then led Neil to what turned out to be some sort of arcade center. Neil had walked past the place before and similar ones like it, but he’d never gone in – his mother had refused to waste time or money on something so ‘useless’, and the others preferred to play games at home.

Carlton smiled at the wide look Neil was giving all the different games and the noises and the blinking lights. “I take it that you’ve never been here before?”

“No,” Neil said. “This really is for adults?” He was surprised to not see any kids in the establishment.

“This one, yes.” Carlton tugged on his sleeve to lead him over to where they could get some sort of game tokens. “I thought this might be fun, since it’ll give us something to do but still let us talk and everything.”

“Ah.” Once again Carlton insisted on paying for everything, which turned out to be a card that would provide the tokens. After they checked their coats, they began to play the games.

Carlton won the driving game, which didn’t surprise Neil too much, considering his love of cars, and asked a little about Exy. Neil was explaining the whole system of how teams advanced through the rounds in the championships while they tried to shoot hoops (Carlton had the edge there as well because of his height, but neither of them were very skilled) when familiar faces began to trickle in to the establishment. At first Neil thought he was seeing things with Dan and Matt, but there was no way to mistake Nicky and Allison.

“My god, do you have a tracking device on you or something?” Carlton asked when seeing Nicky walk past made him miss a shot.

Suddenly remembering how Andrew had the GPS app on his phone, Neil swore. “Shit. Maybe?” He patted down his pants for his phone then pulled it out, and yep, the thing was powered on. “Uhm, there’s a good reason for it?” he tried to explain as he shoved the thing back into the pocket; no sense in turning it off when the damage was already done.

Carlton gave him a loaded look. “Brilliant. I have a feeling I know who put it on there, yeah?” When Neil didn’t say anything, he picked up the ball and threw it back at the basket. “Ever wonder if maybe your uncle might not be right?”

“I let him put it on there for a good reason,” Neil repeated as he watched Carlton extend his lead by another point.

“Which, again, might just be why your uncle is so worried about you and wants you to date someone who’ll treat you better.”

Neil flung the ball with too much anger and not enough coordination, and missed the hoop by several feet. “I’ve no complaints so far.”

“Because you don’t know that you should. You admitted it yourself, you haven’t dated anyone else.”

It was becoming very clear why that was so. “Oh yeah, you’re going to make a great lawyer,” Neil ground out as Carlton won that game, too.

“Thank you,” his ‘date’ told him with a grin, not realizing that Neil hadn’t meant that as a compliment.

Neil picked the next game, which involved shooting targets. He let Carlton go first, and his ‘date’ didn’t fare too well on that one. “Guess I do better when it’s a controller and not a plastic gun,” Carlton joked as he motioned for Neil to take his turn.

Neil noticed that Andrew and Renee had shown up at that point, and were standing off to the side, along with Nicky and Allison. He took a moment to size up the plastic gun the game employed, pulling the trigger a couple of times, and already had a good idea of how the targets were deployed. When his turn started, he managed to hit all of them, almost all near or on center, easily blowing past Carlton’s score. “Guess I’m used to the real thing,” he murmured to a surprised Carlton as he collected the tickets he’d won for all the points, mindful of his friends gawking a few feet away. “I appreciate my uncle’s concern, but I’ve been looking after myself for a long time now,” he said a bit louder.

“You can’t stand alone against so powerful an enemy,” Carlton countered as they stepped aside so someone else could play the game.

“I didn’t realize I was.” Neil glanced back at his friends behind him.

The look Carlton gave him then was one of pity. “A juvenile delinquent and a bunch of athletes aren’t going to be enough to protect you from… well, they’re not enough,” he said, catching himself in time. “Now, how do you feel about a game of pool?”

Neil allowed himself to be led away, and almost smiled when he found Dan and Matt already in the area playing a round. Carlton paid for a table anyway, and had to put up with Dan and Matt interrupting their discussion on American idiosyncrasies by his friends talking about the upcoming game with SUA and slipping in as many references of Andrew and Neil’s relationship with the man as possible.

So apparently the message of ‘no more threats’ had gotten out, and now it was ‘rub into Carlton’s face that he had no fucking chance’. Neil sincerely hoped that he never, ever went out on another date in his life.

After he won two rounds to one of Carlton’s, they tried skeetball for a bit, with mixed results. Carlton was better at it than Neil, who couldn’t see the point of the game – what, you rolled a ball? It didn’t help that Andrew was down several… whatever, ramps?, and managing to get it into the smallest hole every time, which made Nicky shout out and Renee clap her hands every time, and Carlton twitch. They gave up after about fifteen minutes or so.

Neil continued to clean up on any of the shooter games, and Carlton on things like bowling or other weird sports or games that Neil had never spent any time on while growing up. In between they started a couple different conversations, most interesting and on general topics and all derailed at some point or another by one or two of the Foxes interrupting in some manner. Neil could see Carlton’s patience wearing thing as the night went on, and they stopped playing to count their tickets as well as get something to drink.

“So when are you going back to Cambridge?”

Carlton set down his coffee and checked his watch. “In about twelve hours or so.”

Neil was a bit surprised to find out that it had gotten to be that late; he pulled out his phone and found it to be almost midnight. “Huh. Maybe you should think about getting back to the hotel soon.”

“Oh, I don’t know, are you sure we shouldn’t stick around a little longer so your friends can come up with new ways to muck things up?” He gave Neil a rather aggrieved look.

Neil sighed as he tugged on his bangs. “I don’t know how many times I can say ‘sorry’ for them. I wish they’d never found out about tonight.”

“So do I,” Carlton muttered.

“But it doesn’t change the outcome,” Neil confessed. “You’re a nice guy,” he winced when Carlton rolled his eyes upon hearing that, “and I’m glad I got to know you, but I’m still with Andrew. Nothing is changing there.”

Carlton let out a slow breath as he pushed his coffee aside and reached across the small table they were standing at for Neil’s hands. Neil started at that, but allowed him to hold onto them with some reluctance, his body tensing up at the contact. “Look, Neil, you’re what? Nineteen? I had… fuck, I had about four boyfriends by that time, if you even want to call a couple of them that. Might have had more, but it took my parents a little time to come ‘round, yeah?” He stared at Neil with a serious expression. “You’re smart, you’re talented, you’re attractive, and you’re… you’re not just a normal person,” he hedged. “Don’t go settling just because some guy makes you think you’ll never find anyone else who can put up with this crazy shit we’ve got going on around us because of who we are.”

Neil did his best not to lose his temper just then. “What, Andrew’s not right for me because he’s the first guy I’ve gone out with, but you’ll be better because you’re the *second* guy?”

“No, because he’s not from the same world we grew up in,” Carlton argued, his expression still serious.

This was not helping with Neil’s temper at all. No, Andrew had not grown up in a criminal organization – but somehow, Neil doubted that Carlton’s childhood had been anything like Neil’s. Had been one of fear and pain and nightmares, of never having a true home even if the address was the same, was in a ‘good’ neighborhood. Of fearing the man who was supposed to raise you, of being taught how to hurt people and lie to them and never to let anyone one close. No, he had much more in common with Andrew than he did with this man his uncle thought would be so good for him, and Andrew would do a much better job of keeping him safe, of keeping him *whole*, than Carlton ever could.

“I don’t think you have any idea of the world I grew up in,” Neil told the other man as he pulled his hands free. “So I should be getting back to the dorms and you need to return to the hotel.”

“So that’s it?” Carlton’s eyes narrowed in something akin to annoyance as he reached out to latch on to Neil’s left hand. “All of that and-“

Before Neil could attempt to pull his hand free or figure out if he should go for one of his knives, Andrew was at Carlton’s side. “Ah, ah, what did I say about touching him?” he asked in an almost cheerful voice – except for the hint of a hiss to it. “Are you that hungry?”

Judging from the sudden pallor to Carlton’s face, Andrew had a knife palmed in the hand he had pressed to the young man’s back. “Nuh-no.” He let go of Neil’s hand and held up his own. “It’s fine.”

“Neil?” Andrew asked as he continued to give Carlton a cold look.

“It’s fine,” Neil repeated. “We were just exchanging goodbyes.” Neil rubbed at his eyes as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. “Thank you for dinner and everything tonight, Carlton. Good luck with the degree.”

Carlton shook his head. “You need to get away from this lunatic.” He sucked in a sudden breath when Andrew shoved him away from the table. “Consider what I said, Neil.”

“Good night,” Neil told him, just wanting to have the whole ordeal end.

“Bu- okay, I’m leaving,” Carlton huffed as Matt and Nicky showed up with intimidating scowls on their faces. “I’m not so much sure you’re his friends now as his keepers, you know.”

“Which just proves that you’re an idiot, fancy university and accent aside,” Nicky said as he pointed in the direction of the front door while walking Carlton out.

Neil watched the three of them leave while Renee sidled up to the table and began to search through her small purse for what turned out to be a little packet of aspirin, which she handed to him. “Thank you,” he told her, as he accepted it and undid the cap so he could take a couple of the pills for his burgeoning headache. “Did you enjoy your dinner?”

“We didn’t get to finish our dessert, but that was all right,” she told him. “Everything else was really good.”

Allison gave a derisive snort. “If you think that place was ‘good’, then I have to treat you some night. Your standards are too low.” She fussed with the skirt of her expensive dress while Renee smiled at her.

Meanwhile, Dan shrugged. “I’m just happy to have done something other than hang out at the dorm and watch movies all night.”

“So happy I could have helped with that,” Neil mumbled as he finished off his bottle of water. “Such a bonding experience. Or torture. One of the two,” he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Dan’s expression crumpled a little upon hearing that. “Hey, we didn’t – okay, maybe we went a little overboard, but we meant well, you understand that, right?”

“Please, he was Harvard pre-law and wearing Tom Ford, you want to avoid him at all cost,” Allison assured him. “I know of what I speak.”

“I’m glad one of us does.” Neil wondered if there was a mandatory psychological exam each of the Foxes had to fail before they could be recruited and probably didn’t want to know his results. “Can we just go now?”

“We have to trade in our tickets first,” Allison informed him with a scathing look.

“How could I have ever forgotten,” Neil told her, his own expression utterly blank.

“At least you get all of what’s his names,” Renee said in an effort to cheer him up or something; Neil gathered up all of the pale blue tabs of paper on the table and let the three of them lead him off to ‘trade’ them in so he could just go back to the Fox Tower and try to pretend that the night never happened.

That was where Andrew, Matt and Nicky caught up with them, after ‘seeing’ Carlton off. “Tell me that you didn’t beat him up or anything,” Neil pleaded when Andrew pressed against his back; he relaxed for the first time in hours and rested his weight against his boyfriend.

“No, but it was close. Just made sure he got into his car and left after telling him in no uncertain terms that there was nothing here for him.”

“That’s what I was trying to do.” Neil rubbed at his eyes in frustration. “He didn’t seem to get it.”

“Well, maybe he did after ‘bother Neil again and I’ll break your fucking neck’.” Andrew slid an arm around Neil’s waist and rested his chin on Neil’s shoulder.

So much for the ‘no threat’ part – though Neil had a feeling if he pointed that out, Andrew would just argue that it wasn’t a threat, it was a promise. “And Matt just stood there for that?”

“I think he took offense at being called a ‘thug’ at that point.”

“Ah.” Wait until Matt found out that he’d been offered a job to be a full-time ‘thug’. “So what do you think?” Neil waved to the row of stuffed animals. “I’m trying to pick out one of them.”

“Why?” Andrew sounded disgusted at the moment.

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with these things?” Neil held up his tickets. “Get something stupid with them?”

Andrew regarded them for a moment, then pulled out a wad of tickets from one of the back pockets of his jeans. He managed a quick count of them, then looked back at the stuffed animals, before heading over to the counter where one turned the things in.

Neil followed, more than a little bemused by then, and was surprised to see the employee retrieve a huge orange and white fox after a minute. “Uhm….”

“For Kevin,” Andrew explained as he shoved the stuffed fox at Neil. “To remind the coward of what he is. He can snuggle with it at night.”

“Okay.” Neil smiled at the thought of it. They went to fetch their coats after that, and Neil rode home with Andrew with the stuffed fox taking up most of the back seat of the Maserati. When they got back to the suite, it was to find Aaron and Kevin waiting up for them.

“Huh, so no murder charges?” Aaron remarked when they came back together. “Or no murder charges *yet*?”

Andrew gave his twin the finger while Neil shrugged. “As far as I know, he left alive. I’m sticking with that story.”

Meanwhile, Andrew took the huge fox from Neil and shoved it at Kevin. “Here, for you.”

“Huh? What? What the fuck?” Kevin stared in confusion at the stuffed animal. “Ah, thank you?”

“Maybe it can be your date next time.”

Kevin glared Andrew at that remark. “Maybe Neil should reconsider dating someone more mature!” He managed to face down Andrew for all of about three seconds. “I… I mean-“

Neil left him to his fate and went to wash off, especially when it sounded like Nicky came in a minute or two later. All he wanted was to go to bed and not deal with anything for a while, to sleep and start a new day. So he ignored everyone and went to the bedroom, where he stripped down to his boxers then pulled on a plain t-shirt but left on his arm bands.

He hadn’t been in the bed very long when Andrew came to join him, smelling faintly of cigarette smoke. “Still up?”

“Huhn,” Neil mumbled.

Andrew climbed into the bed. “This spot reserved for someone? Boring Carlton, maybe?” He caught Neil’s fist when Neil swung it at the bastard.

“Hate you,” Neil muttered even as he waited for Andrew to settle so he could slide over next to him.

“Oh no, I do believe that’s my line after having my dessert interrupted and watching that asshole drive off in one piece.” Andrew gave the back of Neil’s hair a slight tug. “You’re buying me several pints of ice cream tomorrow to make up for it. And breakfast. Probably donuts as well.”

“Why don’t you have diabetes yet?” Neil closed his eyes as he draped his arm over the bastard’s trim waist.

“Burn it all off dealing with the insane shit in our lives – most of which is your fault. Now shut up and go to sleep.”

Neil gave Andrew’s shin a gentle kick in an effort to get some sort of last word in, and ignored the tug on his hair in favor of falling asleep.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> OMFG, did I crack 500k yet?
> 
> And hopefully that wasn't too disappointing, the date. *frets*
> 
> I felt a bit bad about the one scene between Andrew and Neil - well, you'll see next chapter. Meh. Andrew pov would help, and don't count on things being all better between the boys on that front.
> 
> I'm working on the next chapter of Armies (at least a third done of it already), so yeah, it'll be a little time until the next chapter of this is posted. But we're getting close to the end, relatively speaking (I'll probably wrap this fic up with the championship game, but do something with them afterwards, along the line of oneshots at the very least. It's just getting way too long to move past their first year).
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> *******


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, yeah, so to balance out the previous all Neil pov chapter... you get all Andrew pov chapter. Yay! Yay? Well, hope you like it.
> 
> Uhm, fair warning, Andrew takes a bit of bashing here, especially at the start - it's someone else's interpretation of his actions. Yeah. So try to keep that in mind (I'm not beating up on my baby here just because).  
> *******

*******

Andrew woke at the sound of his phone ringing, alone in the large bed he shared with Neil. He remembered Neil crawling out at one point at some unholy hour of the morning, murmuring his name and telling him to go back to sleep, something he'd been content to do. Now there was his damn phone going off and Aaron grumbling at him to answer it with Nicky moaning in the bunk above.

Doing some grumbling himself, Andrew got up and fetched the phone right as it stopped ringing. Waiting to see if it went into voicemail or not, he blinked when it started ringing again. Huh, someone was determined. Make it that a *certain* someone was determined, when he saw who the caller was.

Sparing a semi-amused glance at Kevin, who was still passed out on his own bed with his arms wrapped around the stuffed fox, Andrew sighed as he headed out of the bedroom while he grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor and answered the phone. "What do you want, you limey prick?"

"And a good fucking morning to you, too," Stuart snapped, irritableness all but dripping from his voice. "Have fun last night?"

Neil wasn't in the living area or kitchen, but a pot of coffee was on, its heavenly aroma scenting the air. "It was mildly amusing, now that you mention it. Let me guess, boring Carlton called to let you know how mean we were to him." Andrew detested tattletales. Hmm, a certain idiot's sneakers were missing; he also detested suicidal runners who were probably being knocked out and packed into the spare luggage at that very moment. "Can this wait? I have to-"

"You don't fucking get it, do you?" Stuart snarled, sounding more than a little irate just then. "One fucking night, that's all I asked, and you couldn't back the fuck down, could you, you little prick?"

Hmm, that was a lot of 'fucks' just then, wasn't it? "Like anything was going to happen. It was a lost cause from the start. Now goodbye." Andrew hung up on the man while he grabbed his own shoes and coat so he could track down a certain idiot and drag him back to the suite. Unfortunately, he barely got out in the hallway before his phone rang again. “What the hell do you want?” he snapped as he tossed his keys into the air. “Yes, I ruined poor boring Carlton’s date. Boo fucking hoo. The guy was a creep who didn’t understand the concept of ‘back the hell off’,” he told Stuart. “Neil wasn’t interested. Here’s a word for you to look up – ‘demisexual’. Learn it before you try to interfere in your nephew’s life again, all right, you asshole.”

Things were quiet on the other end of the line for several seconds, except for the sound of Stuart’s breathing, and then he scoffed. “You inconsiderate little prick,” he said, his voice almost pleasant except for the quiet yet intense hate behind the words. “You’ve no idea what you’ve done, do you?”

“I saved Neil from your interference,” Andrew informed the limey prick as he stepped out of the Fox Tower. “Don’t ever try to do something so stupid again. If I ever see boring Carlton, he’s dead.”

Stuart huffed a little at that. “Such a smug, overconfident bastard you are. You know who you remind me of? *Him*. Nathan Wesninski.” Andrew nearly dropped his keys when he heard that name. “Did it ever occur to you why I set up the fucking date?”

“Because you’re an interfering asshole and you hate me,” Andrew ground out as he stared out across the parking lot. “Because you-“

“Because Mary was so fucking certain she knew him,” Stuart continued, interrupting Andrew’s tirade. “She didn’t listen to us, me and Will. Didn’t want to wait any longer, didn’t want to give it more time. She bought into his pretty words and pretty face, thought that he couldn’t be as bad as the rumors said he was, not when he was so sweet to her. Thought the alliance would be good to the family.” He let out a bitter laugh. “And he was, for the first year or two. But his true colors came out in the end, eh? When it was too late for us to do her any fucking good, her and Nathaniel. When all we could do was make that bastard pay, a life for a life.”

Andrew came to a stop in front of the Maserati. “So what, you think I’m going to turn into Neil’s father? Thanks a lot, you asshole.”

“I think you *are* just like that bastard,” Stuart insisted, his voice cold as ice. “I look at you, and all I see is how you jump at controlling Nathaniel, at isolating him. Last night was supposed to be about presenting Nathaniel with options, with letting him see that you weren’t the only fucking choice he had, and what did you do? You fucked things up and threatened the guy on top of it. If that wasn’t such a Wesninski thing to do, I don’t know what else is, other than you slitting Carlton’s throat in front of Nathaniel.”

Andrew fought the urge to throw his phone to the ground and stomp on it. “You don’t know shit, you crazy bastard. You definitely don’t know your own nephew if you think I’m controlling him.”

“Don’t I? I know you’ve got him so wrapped up around you that he went to the damn Nest and let Riko fuck him up for you,” Stuart spit out. “So here’s your one and only warning, Minyard. I’m watching you. I let some abusive asshole take away my sister, but I’m not letting it happen to her son. Last night was you stepping up to the line. Cross over and that’s it. I don’t care if Nathaniel hates me, I’ll ensure he doesn’t end up paying for it like his mother did.”

“And you’ll do what?” Andrew asked as he tapped the fingers of his left hand against the roof of the Maserati. “Send him on another date?”

There was another pause of silence. “No, I’ll put a fucking bullet in your head,” Stuart promised. “Several, in fact. I learned from Mary, I won’t be too late for Nathaniel. Clock’s ticking now, you little prick.” The phone went dead after that rather pleasant ‘warning’.

Well, as alternative methods to waking up went, death threats had the advantage over caffeine, Andrew was discovering. Hmm, quite the jolt of adrenalin, yes, with a nice side of rage. He supposed there would be no Christmas pudding and tea basket for him that year, what a shame. But maybe he could finally convince Neil to bury the fucking bastard beneath the one maple tree in the back yard.

It just proved that uncles were a completely over-rated commodity, even the ones who killed for you.

Peeling out of the parking lot, Andrew forced himself to slow down after a block of two, in case he drove too fast and missed seeing Neil. He ended up driving around half of the campus before he spotted the idiot, jogging around the science buildings in just sweatpants and a hoodie.

Pulling over to the curb ahead of Neil, he turned off the engine and got out, then leaned against the side of the car as he watched Neil run toward him, the early morning sunlight glinting off of his auburn hair and making it burn like fire. Neil’s pace slowed down, until he finally came to a stop in front of Andrew. “Uhm, did you call me?” Neil frowned as he fished his phone out of the front pocket of his sweat-soaked hoodie. “Is something wrong? Why are you up so early?”

“Making sure that you aren’t on your way to Cambridge right now,” Andrew told him in an almost cheerful tone, a fake smile plastered across his face.

“Cambridge? But….” Neil’s frown deepened as he put the phone back into the pocket then brushed back the bangs falling onto his flushed face; his hair was slowly growing back out from what Riko had done to it. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not by choice.”

Neil sighed, the sound low and weary. “Carlton’s not going to bother me. Why would you think something like that?”

Why indeed? Oh, what a pair they were, Neil and his uncle – one was too paranoid, and one not enough, and Andrew was the ‘lucky’ person who got to deal with both of them. It was enough to make one believe in curses. “What did I tell you about not noticing things, hmmm? The man I saw last night? He wasn’t someone who was willing to just take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“But he did,” Neil insisted. “He left, and that’s that.”

How could someone be so blind and stupid? Andrew pushed away from his car and stalked toward the idiot. “He came all the way from fucking Massachusetts for a *date*,” he flung out at Neil. “You think he was going to be happy with a ‘thanks, but no thanks, let’s just be friends’? How can you be so stupid about these things?” Some part of his brain warned him to stop when Neil flinched at the question and took a step back, but there was too much anger just then, too much frustration; there was Stuart’s threat and having to let Carlton go unharmed and the last several nights of Neil’s nightmares, nightmares Andrew suspected he’d played some part in. “Do I have to spell things out to you? Especially after Christmas, do I-“

As soon as the words spilled out, he knew it was a mistake, that his tempter had gotten the better of him – he didn’t need to see Neil cringe like that, to see the blood drain from his boyfriend’s face, but by then it was too late. Neil was still for a heartbeat and then he was gone, his damn default for everything it seemed, off and running across the green between the buildings where Andrew had no fucking chance to catch him in the car or keep up on foot.

“Dammit!” Andrew yelled as he kicked at the tire of the Maserati. “Neil, dammit!” By that point the idiot was already around a building and out of sight. Andrew tore his fingers through his hair and wondered just how much more fucked up the morning could get, just how much of an asshole he could be, before he got back in the car.

Calling probably wouldn’t do a thing, because if Andrew was Neil, he’d turn off his phone. Still, he tried anyway as he drove around for a little while, even as all he got was Neil’s voicemail, before he gave up and returned to Fox Tower and the suite, where everyone but Kevin was now awake.

“Hey, where’s Neil?” Nicky asked as he fussed with some eggs on the small range.

“Either running a marathon or being kidnapped, one of the two,” Andrew mumbled as he headed to the bedroom, figuring that he’d go back to sleep for a while. Maybe by the time he woke up, the day would have improved and his boyfriend would have calmed down. Maybe.

“Eh?” Nicky gave up on the eggs to come after Andrew. “You’re joking, right?” He blanched at the look Andrew gave him. “Wait, you’re just going to leave him out there? Did something happen between you two?” He looked over at Aaron, who was nursing a cup of coffee, as if Andrew’s brother would be of any help.

“My ‘controlling and abusive’ ass is going back to bed,” Andrew informed his cousin as he struggled to keep from throwing something, either a punch or a heavy item. “I think your eggs are burning.”

“Wait, what?” Nicky let out a yelp and hurried back to the kitchen, and Andrew could hear him and Aaron muttering about something before he went into the bedroom and pulled the covers over his head. Not even the sight of Kevin still wrapped around the damn stuffed fox cheered him up at all.

He managed to get about another hour of sleep in, until he was woken up by the image of a smirking Riko pushing a blank-faced Neil down on his knees. Andrew woke up cursing, his fingers clenched so hard into fists that his nails bit into his palms, and stared up at the underside of Nicky’s bunkbed for several seconds as he struggled to push the nightmare away. As he lay there on the double bed without Neil beside him, the sheets twisted around him and with Kevin’s faint snore echoing in the room, he wondered why everything always had to be so fucked up in his life. Why his own twin couldn’t go along with a simple agreement between them, why Kevin couldn’t grow a damn spine when it was in his best interest, why the Foxes couldn’t follow a few simple rules, and why Neil….

Andrew let out a sharp, short breath as he rubbed at his face. One moment, Andrew was furious at Neil for giving away too much of himself for this… this thing between them, and the next he was tearing into the idiot for not understanding how it all – dammit. For too damn long, for most of Andrew’s life, he’d existed by denying that he’d felt anything, by pushing down everything he felt. By not wanting anything. Until some fucked-up runaway upended his life and all but ripped those emotions out of him, made him feel things and believe in things and… yeah, way to fuck up his life even more. Maybe he should just let the limey prick put a bullet in his head and end his misery, before Neil wrecked him even more.

Before he made Neil an even more fucked-up mess than the idiot already was. Because while it could possibly be argued that Andrew’s life had been improved (possibly, just possibly) by Neil’s presence… well, Neil had only been left that much more scarred and damaged, hadn’t he?

Andrew got out of bed and left the bedroom, barely resisting the urge to smack an unconscious Kevin awake, and after stopping in the bathroom, found an anxious Nicky hovering around the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hands and Neil returned but seated at his desk, which he barely ever used, doing his homework with a pair of headphones on. He stared at the screen of his laptop as if it contained the secrets of the universe, his expression flat and shoulders hunched forward.

Yeah, someone was happy at the moment, weren’t they?

Nicky waved at Andrew, a small, aborted motion of his left hand as if he wasn’t certain if he should do it or didn’t want Neil to notice, not that Neil seemed to be noticing much of anything, other than his laptop at the moment. “What?” Andrew snapped.

“Uhm, he came in about half an hour ago,” Nicky explained. “Been like that ever since.” He stared Andrew for a couple of seconds. “Okay, what’s going on? I thought you said he wasn’t angry about last night. At least, not that much. Allison said he seemed fine about it, too. A little snarky, but fine.”

“Well, now he’s not.” Andrew went to pour himself a cup of coffee, feeling the need for some caffeine at the moment. Of course there was barely any milk left, it was just that type of day, and when he went to throw out the container, he paused when he spied the busted up phone in the trash. “What did he say when he came back?”

Nicky shook his head. “That’s just it, he didn’t say anything, just threw out the phone, grabbed some clean clothes and washed off, then went over there.” He waved over at the desk. “Wouldn’t answer me when I asked him a couple of questions.” Nicky looked upset over that; he took the whole ‘brother’ thing seriously, apparently.

Neil must have been very sneaky indeed to come into the bedroom for a change of clothes and not wake up Andrew, which meant that he really didn’t want to talk about their previous discussion or the phone call. That tipped it more in the favor of Riko than Stuart, most likely.

“Where’s Aaron?” Andrew asked as he picked up his mug of coffee.

“Uhm… something about a paper due later in the week,” Nicky said with a nervous laugh.

Yeah, right, Andrew thought to himself. That was something he’d deal with soon enough, now that boring Carlton had been sent packing. “Go wake up Kevin and take him out for breakfast.” He glanced at the clock. “Brunch. Lunch, I don’t give a shit, just give me some time here.” Because poking a sullen, wounded Neil in front of an audience was such a fun thing to do.

Nicky winced as he set aside his own mug, as if figuring out why Andrew wanted the suite cleared out. He sighed and mumbled something under his breath in Spanish, almost like a prayer, before he went into the bedroom. A loud cry of protest followed after the sound of something heavy hitting the floor a minute later, along with sleepy curses from Kevin, while Andrew sipped his coffee.

It took about another fifteen minutes before a scowling Kevin, his hair a tousled mess, followed Nicky out the door, during which Neil didn’t once look away from his laptop. Hmm, that wasn’t suspicious at all, was it? Andrew had some coffee and toast during that time, and gave Kevin a cheerful wave goodbye before he dumped his dishes in the sink then went to deal with his idiot.

He sat down on the desk, almost on top of the laptop, and gave Neil an unimpressed look when the idiot nearly jumped out of his chair. “The silent treatment? Really? You think you can outlast me?”

Neil’s eyes narrowed as he pulled the earbuds out of his ears. “That would mean we have something to say to each other, yeah?” He pushed the chair back, putting some obvious distance between the two of them.

“I don’t know, you could start by telling me about the phone.” Andrew watched the flash of emotions over his boyfriend’s face, the pain and anger before Neil did his best to quell them. “It was Riko, wasn’t it? What did he want this time, other than the obvious?”

“Why does it matter?” Neil’s voice sounded ragged just then as he jumped from the chair, the fingers of his right hand digging into his neck, into the tattoo, his left hand buried in his hair. “I get it, okay? I fucked up, I fed the beast, I was stupid and a fool and everything else, and this is what happens. I know that. I can’t ever forget it, right?” His laugh just then was a broken thing. “Why did I ever think that I could make things better? That-“

Andrew didn’t let him continue, didn’t let him keep tearing into himself, either verbally or physically. He rushed across the room to grab Neil’s forearms, mindful of the now-scarred wrists, and got into Neil’s space. “Listen to me,” he commanded, and repeated it again to make those startling blue eyes focus on him, to stop seeing whatever nightmare was currently stuck inside of the idiot’s head. “Just because I despise the concept of you sacrificing yourself to… to help me, it doesn’t make what you did worthless.” He pulled Neil’s arms down, away from his now scratched neck and tousled hair. “I’m just going to kill that prick for what he did to you.”

Neil was quiet as he stared at Andrew for a few seconds, before he sighed and closed his eyes. When he began to pull away, Andrew felt something sharp and painful twist inside of his chest, but Neil just tugged his arms free before he breathed out “yes or no.”

A bit confused by that, Andrew stared at him for a moment. “Yes,” he said, uncertain what he was agreeing to, exactly, and started when Neil stepped forward to press against him, face tucked into the crook of his neck and arms loose around his waist. It wasn’t often that they did this, just… well, stand and ‘hug’ each other, but Andrew wrapped his arms around Neil’s waist as well and waited to see what happened next. Neil sighed and slumped a little, his weight coming to rest against Andrew as if he was too weary to stand on his own.

“I can’t take you knocking me down, not when….” Neil drew in a ragged breath and pressed his face tighter against Andrew’s neck, his skin warm and hair soft. “So don’t. *Please*.”

Neil knew that Andrew hated that damn word, so it was rare that Andrew heard him say it. Andrew sighed as he reached for a handful of the idiot’s hair and scrunched it between his fingers, held the strands tight but didn’t pull. “You better than anyone should know that sometimes words slip out without any thought behind them.” He couldn’t say he was sorry and he couldn’t promise it wouldn’t happen again, but he could stand there with Neil holding on to him. “It’s not you I’m aiming for.” Lately there were too many targets that faded into nothing when Andrew needed to lash out the most, leaving only Neil there when the anger got out of control.

“Yeah.” Neil seemed to concentrate on just breathing for a few seconds before he leaned back, his expression solemn. “I can’t do this without you, you know.”

Andrew thought about the recent nightmares, the look on Neil’s face earlier that morning, about Stuart’s words. “Maybe you should give it a try.”

“*No*,” Neil said in a rush. “I did that when you were in Easthaven.” He shook his head as his hands clung to Andrew’s hips with an uncommon tightness. “No,” he repeated. “We just… I hate how we’re taking it out on each other, anymore.”

“Because you won’t let me kill a certain prick,” Andrew reminded his boyfriend, even if he had to agree with most of what had been said.

“You… gah!” Neil let go of Andrew so he could throw his hands up in the air and stomped away, his expression now furious. “The last time you killed someone, it got you locked up.” He went into the kitchen and slammed cabinets open and shut for a couple of seconds; Andrew let him be for a moment before he followed, and found Neil glaring at nothing in particular as he poured himself the last of the coffee.

“What was it this time?” Andrew asked as he leaned his left hip against the counter. “I thought you were ignoring his texts.”

Neil nearly dropped the coffee pot at the question, but managed to set it down on the counter even though his hands were shaking. It wasn’t fear, it was anger, judging from the way his eyes glittered. “He used Jean’s phone to call me.”

All right, that didn’t quite explain things. “And you answered why?”

“Because the man patched me up.” Neil went to pick up the mug of coffee but had to stop when its contents sloshed around too much; Andrew went over to him to grasp his hands to help still their trembling, and Neil leaned against him. “Because when Riko told Federov and the others that if they could get me to call him ‘King’ that he’d allow them some special ‘privileges’ with me,” Neil shuddered as his voice hitched a little, and Andrew promised himself that Riko wouldn’t be the only Raven to suffer in the near future, “Jean would find ways to fend the bastard off, to keep him from just- I owe him, okay?” he said, his voice raw just then.

Andrew remembered Neil’s panicked voice and expression the other day when he had suggested that they wash off after… well, when they had probably pushed too far. When he had allowed himself to believe that Neil wouldn’t rush things, wouldn’t be an idiot, and when he’d been too caught up in his own damn anxieties to stop and think. “So Riko used someone else’s phone and was his usual asshole self.”

“Yeah.” Neil sighed before he pulled away. “Wasn’t pleased that I’ve been ignoring him, yet was a bit smug about the whole birthday thing. Also, he somehow found out about the whole Carlton mess.” He gave Andrew an unfathomable look before he picked up his coffee.

Wasn’t it such a happy thought, to know how closely Riko kept tabs on them? “Can only hope that the two of them have fun dealing with each other,” Andrew said as he went over to the freezer to grab a pint of ice cream, only to frown to find that there were none inside. Oh yeah, a certain idiot was supposed to buy him some.

“I think part of his displeasure was the fact that he can’t do too much about Carlton – there’s a reason Uncle Stuart set me up with him.” Neil’s brow became furrowed as he sipped his coffee. “Do I have ‘punching bag’ tattooed on me somewhere?”

“Hmm, hard to tell anymore, what with all the shit on you.” Andrew ignored the scowl he got for that and snatched Neil’s mug away; he was hungry and tired of talking about pricks for the moment. “You promised me ice cream and breakfast and donuts, remember? Though it’s going to be lunch at this point.”

“I never promised anything,” Neil complained.

“You didn’t say ‘no’, so it was a complicit agreement,” Andrew argued. “Now come on.”

“Apparently I have ‘walking wallet’ on me,” Neil grumbled, but he allowed Andrew to bully him into his coat and shoes, and then downstairs into the Maserati.

Maybe it would be better for Neil if Andrew cut him loose, if he let Stuart fix him up with boring Carlton. But Andrew couldn’t go through with it, not just yet. Not when Neil refused to go in the first place. Not when Neil believed that Andrew was any sort of good for him. The man was obviously insane.

They were seated at one of the local diners where Neil had a club sandwich for lunch and Andrew a double bacon cheeseburger along with a side of fries and most of Neil’s as well, washed down with a large chocolate milkshake, when he brought up a new topic. “So, see Aaron much when you’re hanging out at the library?”

“Hmm, a little,” Neil hedged as he all of a sudden found his sandwich of great interest.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And do you happen to see who he’s with when he’s there?”

Neil’s right shoulder rose a little. “I’m normally busy studying or talking to the other Foxes.”

Not a lie, but Neil wasn’t looking at him, so not the truth, either. Andrew picked up a fry and threw it at the idiot, hitting him right at that fancy ‘A’ tattoo. “What?” Neil glared.

“Let’s try this again. Who is he with at the library… when he’s claiming to be at the library?”

“Dammit,” Neil mumbled as he pushed his plate aside; Andrew picked up the last quarter of sandwich and began to munch on it. “Do I really have to say it?”

“Confession is good for the soul, or so I hear.”

Neil’s glare went up a notch. “I’m beginning to wonder if you have one,” he muttered while he shoved back his bangs. “He’s with Katelyn, all right?”

Andrew gave him a fake smile. “Now, now, was that so difficult?” Then he threw another of the idiot’s fries across the table. “I’m very displeased with you right now.”

“No,” Neil snapped as he folded his arms over his chest. “You told me to stay out of things, right? So I did – to me, that meant not running to you, right? I just kept my mouth shut and didn’t do anything.”

That… huh, what an unpleasant turn of events. “Don’t go trying to use logic at this late point in the game,” Andrew warned. “You’re going to have to buy even more ice cream, and don’t even think to get to pick dinner for a few weeks.”

“You’re an asshole,” Neil sulked.

“An asshole who is going to mostly buy your excuse, so count yourself lucky. However,” he told a semi-happy idiot, “don’t even try to warn Aaron or the poor unfortunate Katelyn, and don’t go twisting things like that again. I’m not very pleased at the moment.” He didn’t want to know how long Neil hadn’t ‘been involved’, because it would only make things worse for Aaron.

“Fine.” Neil tugged on his bangs for a moment and looked as if he wanted to say something before he shook his head. “Are you going to do anything rash?” When Andrew gave him another fake smile, he sighed. “What the hell was the point of all that therapy?”

“You got some quality bonding time with Renee, from what I understand,” Andrew said as he waved over their server for the check. Speaking of their friend, he supposed that she would want to know that Riko had hijacked Jean’s phone.

He pulled out his phone and texted her while Neil paid the bill, and she responded back while they were on their way to get yet another phone for Neil (more lovely trauma on that front, it was turning out to be a banner day for the idiot). Just a short message thanking Andrew and that she was up for a practice session later if he was, and Andrew left it at that while they went to the store so they could get a couple of groceries and stock up on ice cream.

Nicky and Kevin were back when they returned, and Nicky’s anxious expression melted away when he saw the two of them enter the suite together. “Did you get more milk?” He smiled when Neil held up one of the bags he was carrying.

Meanwhile, Kevin paused whatever Exy game he was watching on his laptop to look over at them, and sighed when he saw Andrew start unloading the cartons of ice cream into the freezer. “Neil, you have to stop enabling him! All that refined sugar is awful for his body and his reflexes! Think of how much better he’d play if he didn’t eat garbage all of the time.”

“Do we want to talk about how much refined sugar there is in your precious alcohol supply,” Andrew countered as he snatched a pint to be eaten right then, and savored the look of panic on the coward’s face. “I thought so.”

Neil sighed as he handed over a spoon. “Why do I get blamed for everything?”

“You’re slightly less psychotic?” And Andrew’s loud scoff and Neil’s blank look, Nicky shrugged. “I said ‘slightly’. We don’t know about any of your buried bodies.”

“Say nothing,” Neil snapped at a slightly smiling Andrew before stalking out of the kitchen, leaving a puzzled Nicky and a pale-faced Kevin behind.

Nicky gave a weak chuckle as he turned toward Andrew, who was busy with his ice cream. “Really? That’s just a joke, right?”

Andrew thought about the desert back in Nevada, then what Riko had said back in the Blackwell locker room before he shrugged. “He bought me ice cream, so I’m not saying anything.”

“Oh my god, what have you done to my baby bro?” Nicky shrieked as he went after Neil. “Neil, you’re not allowed to murder anyone! You’re supposed to be the adorable one, not the psycho one! Let Andrew do all the killing and you can pay him the conjugal visits, okay?”

Neil’s answer in what sounded to be the bedroom was a bit garbled, while Andrew stared after Kevin, who was searching the cupboards for a bottle of alcohol. “I refuse to believe that this is my life,” Kevin muttered right before he latched onto a bottle of whiskey.

“Want me to try slapping you back to reality?” Andrew offered before he smiled around a spoonful of ice cream. Kevin just shook his head and retreated back to his desk with the whiskey. As soon as the ice cream was all gone, Andrew threw away the empty pint then went to see if Nicky needed to be stabbed to get him to leave Neil alone.

His boyfriend was barricaded on their bed, eyes wary as Nicky leaned against the steps leading to his own bunk; Nicky straightened up when Andrew entered the bedroom. “Okay, I think that’s my cue.” He gave Andrew a smile as he breezed on past, and made a show of closing the door behind him.

Andrew stared after him for a moment, before he looked back at Neil, who had changed out of his jeans into a pair of sweatpants and was curled up in the far corner of the bed. “What was that about?” Nicky hadn’t been too much of a pest lately, but Andrew didn’t have a problem with reminding his cousin of boundaries if necessary.

Neil rubbed at his eyes while he stretched out on the bed. “He was just worried, wanted to make sure I wasn’t upset about last night.” He was quiet for a moment as he slipped beneath the sheets and blankets. “And, well, what happened on Friday.”

“What did he say about that?” With the whole Carlton thing, Andrew hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to the others about Riko’s lovely little surprise.

“He said that the others, the rest of the Foxes, asked a couple of questions.” Neil smiled a little when Andrew sat down on the bed and brushed back the hair falling onto his face. “If it really was my birthday, if they should do something about it.”

“And what did he say to them?”

“That as far as he knew, to celebrate my birthday in March.” Neil closed his eyes and hummed a little. “I thanked him for that.”

“Yeah, he’s not a total pain in the ass, sometimes.” Andrew fought the urge to stretch out beside his boyfriend; Neil looked tired, his eyes shadowed and face drawn from too little sleep and too much stress lately. While there wasn’t much Andrew could do about the nightmares, he thought that maybe Neil would benefit from a couple of hours of having their bed to himself for once, to being in a quiet room all safe and secure. “Get some rest, I’m going to go practice with Renee.”

“Hmm. Don’t let me sleep too long, just got back to… well.” Neil frowned a little, the expression smoothed out when Andrew gave a slight tug to his bangs.

“Want me to drag you out of bed like we do to Kevin?”

“Asshole,” Neil murmured as he caught at Andrew’s wrist even with his eyes closed, his fingers warm against Andrew’s pulse for a moment before he let go and pulled the covers up to his nose.

Andrew was quiet as he got up and changed into an outfit so he could practice with Renee as well as grab a spare change of clothes for when he got back. When he left the room, he closed the door behind him and told Nicky to keep things quiet as well as everyone else out of the bedroom, which his cousin was only too happy to do, a determined expression coming over his face.

That done for the time being, Andrew left and went down to knock on the door to Renee’s suite, and wasn’t surprised when she answered it, dressed for a practice session herself. She gave him a slight nod before she called out to the others that she’d be back in about an hour, then they made their way downstairs, to ‘their’ room.

Renee was in rare form that day, her eyes shadowed with darkness and her moves feral, and Andrew was only too willing to release the anger he’d been bottling up since Stuart’s call that morning. They took out their frustrations on each other, and it was one of the rare times when they had to call it a draw, both of them short of breath and knives knocked to the floor.

Renee was panting as she handed over a bottle of water she’d brought down in that small cloth bag of hers. “Neil has spoiled me, I think.”

“How so?” Andrew asked as he accepted it.

“Well, he’s very fast, very focused, but not brutal.” She gave him a slight smile as she made a slicing motion across her throat. “He’ll bleed you out if given an opening, not bash your face in.”

Andrew huffed at that. “He doesn’t like drawing attention.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Renee thought about that a little more. “You’re right, it’s a good style for a sneak attack.”

For a hitman – or hitwoman – as opposed to a butcher. Andrew had to wonder just how much Neil’s mother had taught her son during those long years on the run. But they weren’t here so much about Neil. “You seem a bit upset today,” Andrew remarked after a few swallows of water. “Not so much a good Christian Girl.”

“Some people make it very difficult to turn the other cheek,” she admitted. “I’d wondered why I got a very vulgar message from Jean this morning, one that didn’t sound at all like him.”

“From what Neil said, Jean helped him out a little. Riko probably didn’t like that.” Even though Jean kept those other assholes from ‘Riko’s’ claim. Andrew’s teeth clenched at the thought, and he promised himself that he would enjoy the revenge he enacted on the assholes.

“No, I’m sure he didn’t.” Renee stared off at the other end of the room for a few seconds. “One of the messages was something very rude about Neil. I deleted it.”

“Ah, juvenile tactics. I’m not impressed.”

“If he’s trying to split up the team, he’s doing a rather bad job of it,” Renee agreed. “He doesn’t know us very well. We’re used to being beaten down, being bullied. This will only bring us together.”

Andrew really didn’t care about any of that, his concern was that a certain spoiled prick remained too obsessed with an idiot. “So will Jean be able to text with you anymore?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it, considering that Riko got to his phone. He’ll probably be checking it regularly now.” Renee chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I’m really worried about him.”

Normally Andrew wouldn’t give a damn, but Neil felt as if he owed the Frenchman something. “Let me think on it, see if we can’t figure something out.”

Renee gave him one of her damn annoying smiles. “Thank you.”

He gagged before he finished off the water. “I’m not promising you anything.”

“Still, I appreciate it.”

“If you appreciate it so much, find out for me where Katelyn, that Vixen Aaron likes too much, will be tomorrow.” That wiped out Renee’s smile. “Come now, tit for tat time,” he told her with a smile of his own.

That earned him a weary sigh. “Don’t do anything drastic,” she said as she pulled her phone out of her bag. “Neil needs you, both on the team and to keep him whole with everything that Riko is doing.”

“Worry about your Frenchie, leave Neil to me,” he warned with a flat tone while she tapped out a message.

She didn’t look happy about that, but she promised him that she’d have the girl’s schedule soon enough, so they went their separate ways. Andrew went up to the roof to have a cigarette or two, then down to the suite to find that Aaron had returned and was playing a video game with Nicky while Kevin was watching Exy games in a semi-drunken stupor. In other words, same old, same old.

He washed off and taped a knuckle or two needing it, then went into the bedroom to wake up Neil, who was twisted up in the bedding and had his face buried in Andrew’s pillow. Since the idiot wasn’t drooling, Andrew was nice enough to wake him gently.

“Huzzhah?” Neil nearly slammed into the wall as he shot up, eyes blurry for a moment until he realized that Andrew was there. “Huh?”

“And you, the result of two notorious bloodlines of killers. Watch me quake in fear,” Andrew drawled as he gave his uninspiring boyfriend a bland look.

Neil pushed back his bangs with his left hand while his right was held up to give Andrew the finger. “Asshole,” he mumbled.

“Clearly it’s a case of recessive genes, that or inbreeding. Well, you’re half-British, what can one expect? Small island, smaller gene pool.”

“Did you wake me up just to torment me? Is Kevin passed out or something?” Neil whined as he curled back up on the bed. “Just find some random stranger and make them cry if you need to feel good about yourself.”

“Hmm, but it’s not quite the same,” Andrew insisted as he lay in front of his idiot. “Right before you reach your breaking point, you do this hair tugging thing while producing this utterly amusing growl. I need to film it one of these days.”

“This is one of those social experiment things, isn’t it? Like when they had those students pretend to be wardens and they started beating up the other students,” Neil said as if speaking to himself, his eyes unfocused. “I only think you ran away with me, really it was one big set-up and you’ve been trying new psychological torture methods on me the entire time.”

“Shhh, I think we’re going to start a word quota for you each day. You’re one of those things that fall under the category of better appreciated in a visual sense and not an audible one,” Andrew declared as he stroked his fingers through Neil’s soft, thick hair.

“Visualize this,” Neil mumbled while giving Andrew the finger again, before reaching for him and pulling him in close. “Hmm.” He didn’t do much more than that, just closed his eyes and nuzzled Andrew’s chin.

“Don’t fall back asleep,” Andrew warned even as he combed his fingers through the idiot’s hair, his other hand stroking along Neil’s back and enjoying the way that his boyfriend’s muscles were relaxed for once.

“’m not,” Neil breathed out, his fingers light along Andrew’s left bicep as they traced up and down, his other hand tangled in the hem of Andrew’s black t-shirt. “Huh, shower? You smell nice.”

“Yes. For some reason I didn’t want to be all sweaty and dirty after practicing with Renee.” He allowed them both to enjoy the peace a minute longer before he sighed. “She’s worried about Jean.”

“Yeah.” Neil sighed as he seemed to breathe in Andrew’s scent one more time then let out a slow breath before he sat up, his expression a bit remorseful. “Rightly so, I imagine. Not sure we can do anything about it, though.” His right arm bent so he could touch the tattoo spread out on his neck. “Not unless we go into the Nest.”

There was no way in hell Andrew was ever allowing Neil to return there, and if he went there himself… well, ‘bloodbath’ was too nice of a word to describe what would happen. “Not an option,” Andrew said, and something in his tone made Neil frown.

“I didn’t think it was. But… my uncle made it sound like he goes there, or at least knows what goes on there,” Neil admitted, right before his teeth worried at his bottom lip for a moment. “Maybe he can-“

“*No*.” Andrew didn’t mean for it to come out that loud. “No more favors from the bastard. If you have to date boring Carlton again, we really will be burying a body.”

Neil sat with his knees pulled toward his chest and his arms wrapped around them, but his gaze on Andrew was steady. “Then what do you propose we do? We can’t go to the Nest ourselves, I don’t want either of us getting anywhere near the Ravens, you know that’ll be a mistake, so that leaves Uncle Stuart.”

Dammit, Andrew wouldn’t let Nicky or Aaron near any of the Ravens, either, and the rest of the Foxes – bar Renee – were too stupid. Yet he was serious about not allowing Neil owe anything else to the limey prick… but that didn’t mean that this favor should come out of Neil’s ‘pocket’, right? “Okay, ask him to get a message or phone or something out to Jean, but it’s not for you, got it?” At Neil’s curious look, he gave a slight smile. “Renee wants it done, so Renee will owe him.” He didn’t have any problem with that.

“Huh.” Neil thought about that as he tapped his fingers on his knees. “He may not like that.”

“Tell him to look into her past – I think he can find a use for her at some point.”

His boyfriend gave him a cool look. “You shouldn’t be so free in handing out IOUs in other people’s names.”

“Do you want to pay off your debt to Jean or what?” Andrew countered, willing to be underhanded if it meant that there was one less person out there with any sort of obligation on Neil.

That earned him a weary sigh as Neil unfolded himself, his expression back to solemn. “I’ll call him later. Probably needs a little more time to calm down because of… well, I’ll call him later.”

Yeah, Andrew wasn’t going to say anything about how Neil’s uncle seemed to have vented out his displeasure over the date on Andrew already, whatever. Instead, he lay still as Neil hovered above him. “Yes or no?”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he advised, mindful of the last few nights. When Neil sighed again, he gave in. “Yes.” For now.

All Neil did was lean in a little closer for kiss, his lips parting after a second or two, while Andrew stroked his thumb over the ‘A’ tattoo. It was a bit less heated than usual… but the way Neil slowly curled up against him, so loose and trusting, helped to put Andrew at ease. When they finally broke apart, he gazed for several seconds at the slight smile on his boyfriend’s lips before he twisted about to make Neil slide onto the mattress.

“Come on, I want Chinese for dinner.”

“Goddamm torture experiment, I just know it,” Neil grumbled as he scrambled to get off the bed and follow Andrew. They had to order out for food because of Kevin, who mostly sobered up in time to eat his (and not bitch about the fact that they didn’t order him steamed rice and vegetables), while Andrew sat on the couch with Neil tucked up against his legs while they enjoyed their dinner. Then it was off to practice, Kevin finally back to his oh so fun self and grouchy as fuck, while Neil decimated cone after cone during drills.

Neil went up to the roof to talk to his uncle when they got back to the Fox Tower, while Andrew had a cigarette in the bedroom as he checked his phone to see that Renee had sent dear Katelyn’s schedule. There was a slight overlap after morning practice, so he planned to have a heart to heart talk with her then, and got ready for bed around when Neil returned with an odd expression on his face.

“Uhm, he’ll do it,” Neil said as he slid beneath the sheets. “Get a burner phone to Jean so he can talk to Renee.” He inched closer to Andrew with an odd hesitancy, considering earlier. “Did my uncle say something to you? Call or something?”

Andrew pushed Neil over onto his other side so he could press against Neil’s back. “Shut up and go to sleep. I’m tired.”

“But-“

“I said go to sleep.” He draped his arm over Neil’s waist and when Neil relaxed a little, pulled him closer. “It’s between me and the bastard, okay? Stay out of that, too.”

Neil let out a low sound of frustration. “I swear, the two of you are trying to drive me mad.”

“If it’s a contest, I’m going to win,” Andrew assured him. “I have to put up with your whiny ass the most, I need some sort of compensation.” He smiled as he blocked Neil’s elbow to his ribs. “Now go the fuck to sleep.”

“God, yes,” Aaron groaned from across the room. “It’s almost as bad as hearing the two of you make out.”

“Uhm, no it’s not,” Nicky added. “I prefer the kissy stuff. More kissy stuff.”

“Shut the hell up, too, you pervert,” Aaron insisted.

“Oh god, why is this my life?” Kevin muttered. “Why?”

“Because he hates cowards,” Andrew was kind enough to offer up. “Now everyone, go the fuck to sleep before I kick your asses.” He gave his idiot a warning squeeze to let Neil know he wasn’t exempt from that then blocked another elbow, that time a rather pathetic attempt which let him know that Neil was finally getting sleepy.

The nightmare that night was mild, compared to the other nights, was Neil gasping awake for a moment before curling up facing Andrew, his right hand splayed across Andrew’s chest and his left pressed against his own chest – against the scars there, Andrew realized just before he fell back asleep again. It was his turn to have his sleep tormented after that, by Riko appearing on court to grab Neil by the throat and lead him away while Neil’s uniform slowly darkened to black and red, and Andrew stopped by the press of a gun to the back of his head when he moved to stop the prick. By Aaron smiling at a cheering Katelyn on the sidelines, and when he went to hug the girl, her face changed to Tilda’s and her hands came up to slowly throttle him.

Needless to say, Andrew wasn’t in the best of moods when the alarm went off in the morning; Neil took one look at him and mumbled about getting the coffee ready, but didn’t flee like Nicky and Aaron at least. His boyfriend handed him a mug of sweetened coffee and a double chocolate energy bar before taking his turn in the bathroom, which helped to keep Andrew from committing homicide when Nicky had to yet again drag Kevin out of bed and Aaron was texting that early in the morning.

If Andrew lifted a little extra weight that morning, well and good; it helped to vent a bit of his frustrations at the moment. He noticed that Neil pulled Renee aside, saw them spend some extra time on the treadmills together, and waited to see if she’d get pissed off at his Frenchie solution.

“Thank you,” she told him as everyone was leaving the gym, which earned him an odd look from Reynolds as she hurried past.

Andrew shrugged, in the process of lighting up a cigarette. “Wait until you find out what the limey prick wants from you.”

“Neil said he argued for something small, to be determined at a later date.” She smiled a little. “I’m rather certain it won’t be a date, at the least.”

“You’re on your own if it is,” Andrew huffed. There was no way he was putting up with more death threats for anyone who wasn’t Neil.

She laughed a little and went off with Neil to walk to their classes together, and his boyfriend gave him a worried look for a moment; Neil hadn’t said anything else about Katelyn or Aaron since lunch yesterday, heeding Andrew’s warning to stay out of it. Andrew made certain that his twin had gone with Nicky and Kevin, then got in the Maserati so he could make it over to where the Vixen would be headed for her next class soon.

He was careful to park the Maserati out of sight, then hung out around the entrance of the Life Science building while waiting for a certain cheerleader to show up. He spotted her with another couple of Vixens, and once he was certain that she had caught a glimpse of him, he was quick to head off around the corner. That had snagged her curiosity, and she called out his twin's name - he'd worn an older coat of his, not the new black one, and had refrained from smoking any cigarettes while waiting.

She caught up with him when they were a bit away from the other students. "Aaron? Is something wrong, did you forget some-" Her smile faltered as she approached. "Andrew?"

"Ah, so she has a bit of a brain after all," Andrew remarked as he kept his hands in the pockets of his coat in order to best resist temptation. "Is that why he likes you? Well, that and other things." His gaze roamed over her in an insulting manner, which made her flush.

"Is something wrong? Where's Aaron?"

"Not here," he said in a bored tone. "This is quality time between the two of us." He took a step closer. "Why, don't you want to speak to me?"

Ah, Aaron must have said something, must have warned her, because she flinched a little as he approached. "Nuh-no, I'm just surprised." She summoned up a weak smile for him. "You've always ignored me."

"And you've been counting on that, haven't you? You and Aaron." He gave her a disdainful look as he leaned in closer. "Hoping that I didn't notice you, noticed how you're trying to worm your way into his life."

"No, that's not it," she said with a shake of her head, her loose curls flying about. "We're-"

His right hand shot out to grab onto that annoying ponytail, which made her cry out. "There is no *we*, do you understand?" he hissed. "Not between you and him. This is your only warning, little Fox girl. Leave him alone, don't even so much as look at him, or you'll never be able to look at him again, do you understand?" He gave her hair a harsh yank, which made her yelp in pain, tears welling up in her dark eyes. "Find some other fool to latch on to, to flip your skirts at, but leave my brother alone." He yanked once more and then let go, disgusted by the feel of her hair, by the scent of her perfume. She huddled on the ground, her arms wrapped around herself and sniffling, as he walked away.

That dealt with for the time being, he went off to his first class of the day, only arriving a few minutes late, and scrolled through the messages on his phone while the professor droned on and on about various laws and statues. So boring. There were a couple of texts from Riko on there, which Andrew quickly scanned; he'd say that Neil had managed to score a few points during the phone call yesterday, prompting Riko to want to lash out somehow, to include a few more damaging photos and videos in hopes that they would drive Andrew into rejecting Neil. Not going to happen, but Andrew downloaded them anyway; at some point he might have to force himself to watch them, to fast-forward through to at least see if there was something in there with Federov and the other Raven assholes – or any new ones. Neil seemed certain that he’d been awake for everything, but had admitted to at least one drug being used against him.

His foul mood was at least somewhat lifted when in his next class, during the discussion of great American serial killers, someone brought up Nathan Wesninski. Andrew sat there in with his arms folded across his chest and watched his idiot classmates argue about the bastard's exact headcount, about if his wife and only known son was included in those numbers since they had gone missing years before (well, those who argued 'for' were half right), and who was behind the prison hit (one of the very few things the limey prick had done right in his life). Hmm, would Andrew get any extra credit added to his grade if he brought Neil in for research material? Oh, too bad, he already had a 4.0 in the class... what a missed opportunity.

He had to put up with Kevin going on and on and on about SUA during lunch, to the point that he oh so kindly informed the striker that it would be difficult for the striker to play if the local ER had to remove a spoon from his spleen, which got the point across that it was in Kevin's best interests to shut up about Exy for a short while. Then off to the stadium to suffer more Exy.

It was clear that something was wrong as soon as he stepped into the hallway and heard shouting, heard Aaron's voice raised in anger. Andrew waved Kevin silent and hurried toward the  lounge, not quite in a run, and threw the door open just in time to see his brother slam a stone-faced Neil into the wall near the couch hard enough to shake several pictures, while Nicky called out Aaron's name and Matt came running from the locker room. "You asshole, you told him!" Aaron slammed his left arm across Neil's chest and pulled back his fist, only for Andrew to catch it and yank his twin back.

"Ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned his brother as he twisted Aaron's arm and threw him to the floor. "Not a good idea."

"Fuck you," Aaron snarled. "You went after Katelyn, you think that means I can't touch your 'fuck buddy' instead?"

"Oh shit," Nicky moaned as he hurried over to Neil's side, while the girls came out of the locker room to watch the fuss.

"One is not the same as the other," Andrew insisted as he moved to stand in front of Neil, his hands clenched into fists. "You should know better, you know what you promised."

Aaron hunched over his bent knees, his face a mask of livid outrage instead of its usual sullenness. "I don't give a shit about any stupid promise! I'm sick of it! Sick of you taking away anything that's good in my life while you rub my nose in your own fucked up relationship." He glared past Andrew at Neil. "What, just because you can't make up your mind between which guy you want to fuck doesn't mean that you can-"

Andrew lunged for his brother as soon as the words started to come out, but hands snagged onto the back of his coat, scrambled to hold him back. "Don't," Neil said, voice hoarse and low, and Andrew didn't know if that was meant for him or Aaron. "Stop being such a damn coward," he continued as he hooked an arm through Andrew's, so yeah, he must mean Aaron.

"I'm not a coward," Aaron grumbled as he scooted back to put more distance between them.

"Yes you are," Neil insisted, his body trembling against Andrew's and his eyes bright in his pale face, he was that furious just then. "You take your shit out on me and Andrew when I told you months ago to do something, to stand up for what you wanted. You're in this mess because you couldn't even stand up to your own damn mother and made Andrew do it for you. You've never stood up for anything in your pathetic life, and it's everyone's fault but yours when things get fucked up. You're worse than a coward."

"My god, Neil," Dan gasped as she stared at the three of them, while Nicky moaned and pressed his hands against his chest as if something pained him just then.

"I... I...." Aaron shook his head. "It's your fault," he tried to rally with a weak glare. "You told-"

"He didn't tell me shit," Andrew snapped. "I'm not an idiot."

"No, you're an asshole," Aaron insisted. "You have to take everything away from me. Why?" He sounded almost plaintive at the end there.

"Because it's what you promised," Andrew reminded him while Neil relaxed a little against him. "Because you're an idiot about these things.

Aaron shook his head. "Katelyn's good, she's not using me." His glare returned. "She's not like the others."

Andrew scoffed at that. "And you still think that Tilda was worth shedding tears over, that she was a decent mother. Pardon me if I find your opinion to be dubious." It was annoying, getting into such trivial topics in front of others like this, but maybe for once Aaron would consider the matter resolved.

"I mourn her because she's *dead*." Aaron looked at Andrew as if he was an incomprehensible thing just then. "Why can't you understand that?"

"Because it was her choice, in the end," he answered his brother while Neil became tense beside him once again.

It was quiet in the room while Aaron stared at him with something resembling desperation. “But she… she didn’t kill herself,” he said in a quiet voice.

Oh, someone just didn’t want to accept it, did they? Didn’t want to admit the truth. “I warned her,” Andrew reminded his brother while Neil gave a frantic tug to Andrew’s arm. “I told her what would happen if she kept hurting you, yet she didn’t stop. So yes, the choice was hers.”

“Oh hell,” Matt muttered. “Did you just-“

“Shut up,” Neil hissed as he turned toward the backliner.

“Did he have to say it while we were still in the room? I don’t need to get dragged into this shit,” Wymack muttered, while Andrew stared at his brother and dared him to speak up as well. Aaron glanced over at the man, as if hearing him complain about the confession somehow made it that much more real.

“Don’t,” Aaron said when he looked back at Andrew once more, his tone almost a plea. “Don’t act like you did it for me.”

Andrew scoffed at that. “I didn’t give a damn about her. I only was there for you in the first place, so why else would I have killed her?”

“Could you please not incriminate yourself like this,” Neil gritted out in a low voice while he kept glaring at the rest of the Foxes as if daring them to speak up again, which just made Andrew shrug. Then Neil turned to Aaron, who kept shaking his head. “What the hell did you expect him to do? You wanted him to fix your problems for you, which he did.”

“Fuck, Neil, he… you heard what he did,” Matt said, his face ashen and eyes wide.

Neil looked at Matt as if he was an idiot. “And you weren’t there, were you? You never knew the woman, who was an abusive drug addict, by the way.” That made Nicky flinch and Aaron curse at Neil. “But it all comes down to the fact that Aaron went to his brother for help in dealing with the woman, so no more running from what happened.” He turned to glare at Aaron. “Both of you, just deal with this shit already.”

“Honestly, I don’t know which of the three of you are more fucked up,” Reynolds huffed. “At least with the monster twins it’s genetic, obviously, but you’re pretty damn cold, Josten.”

“Allison,” Renee protested.

Neil shifted a little as if to block Andrew’s view of Aaron, who just kept staring at him as if he didn’t believe a word Andrew had said, and then he sighed and shifted back as if to let the two of them work it out instead. “Figure out if you’re going to keep your damn promise or not,” Andrew told his brother. “I’ve kept mine.”

Aaron flinched at that. “I don’t… I….” He shook his head. “Dammit, you have *him*.” He gestured to Neil. “Can’t you understand that she means the same to me?”

“That’s not what we agreed to,” Andrew said. “I told you that he’s outside of-“

“You told me that he wasn’t your boyfriend, too,” Aaron argued in a rush. “But that changed, didn’t it?” When Andrew paused at that, Aaron smiled. “So things can change, can’t they?” Beside Andrew, Neil took a very slow step back. “So how about this? I’ll agree to attend your weekly sessions with Betsy, and as long as she doesn’t see anything wrong, then I can still date Katelyn.”

Andrew glared at his brother the same time he reached back to latch onto Neil’s wrist. “I don’t see how-“

“I’ll attend the sessions for the rest of the time we’re here,” Aaron continued to bargain, his expression now stubborn. “I’m not going anywhere.”

It would probably be the most time alone – well, Betsy would be there – that Andrew had spent with his brother in… well, since Tilda. If even then. He wasn’t sure that was a good thing or not. But he supposed it was a way to keep an eye on him, and if Betsy was involved, it would ensure that the cheerleader didn’t fuck with Aaron’s head, wouldn’t turn into another Tilda. “Fine,” Andrew agreed with some reluctance.

“Oh my god, it-“ Dan shut up all of a sudden and gave a nervous laugh. “Ah, yeah, it’s a surprise!”

Andrew looked over at her to give her a searching look, at least until Kevin stopped pretending to be part of the wall and sighed. “Are we done now? This has wasted enough time.”

"Yes,” Wymack agreed. “Can we move past the potentially legally damaging shit and start the damn practice now?”

Andrew gave both of them the finger as he tugged Neil toward the door. “You know what? I feel a return of that darn pesky cold.” He summoned up a fake cough while father and son gave remarkably similar glares – really, how had no one figured it out yet? “I’m going to do the team a huge favor and sequester me and Neil for the afternoon just in case this is contagious.”

“There’s a game this Friday,” Kevin tried to argue. “We need-“

“We don’t need to win it,” Andrew told him as he continued on his way, Neil following along in a much too obedient manner. “Now shut up before I shut you up.” For some reason, Kevin didn’t argue past that point, nor did any of the other annoying Foxes intervene. Hmm, perhaps he should admit to premeditated murder more often.

“Be back here tomorrow,” Wymack called out before the door closed behind them, and then they were in the clear. Neil waited until they were in the parking lot before speaking up.

“Did you have to have that particular conversation in front of the team? Really?”

“Who was the one to tell us to ‘deal with our shit already’, huh?”

Neil sighed as he attempted to tug his wrist free. “That was after you confessed in front of everyone. Which, brilliant move, may I add.” Ah, the sarcasm was thick just then. “I’m going to love the favor to fix *that* decision.”

“There’s not going to be any ‘favor’,” Andrew said as he pulled Neil in close, right as they reached the Maserati. “No one’s going to say anything.”

“Are you certain?” Neil closed the space between them, causing Andrew to lean back against the car while Neil pressed against him, nestled between his thighs. “It was enough work to keep you out of jail this last time, dammit.”

“Hmm.” Andrew was slow to drape his arms over his idiot’s shoulders. “They’re all pains in the asses and a bunch of rejects, but they have this annoying tendency to be loyal. They’ll keep their mouths shut.” Even Reynolds.

“They better.” For a moment there was something so cold and pale in Neil’s eyes, before he closed them and let out a slow breath. “Such a fucked up day.”

That earned him a tug to the back of his head, as Andrew threaded his fingers into the soft, curly hair. “That’s what you get for keeping secrets from me.”

“I didn’t, not really.” Neil looked at him, those white teeth gnawing at the full bottom lip. “I just… didn’t speak up.”

Andrew scoffed as he gave the idiot’s hair another tug. “Fucking semantics. No more keeping Aaron’s secrets, do you understand?”

“I doubt he’ll speak to me after today, not that I’ll give a damn,” Neil muttered. “I told him to talk to you. Warned him that it would work out so much better if he didn’t try to hide it.”

“Well, now he’ll get to talk lots and lots, to me and Bee.” Neil shuddered at that, enough to make Andrew smile a little; he didn’t know why his brother had chosen that as a means to get through to him, but he did know that Aaron liked dealing with Bee about as much as Neil did, so things should be… interesting.

“Like I said, fucked up,” Neil argued.

“Hmm.” Andrew frowned a little while Neil’s hands brushed along his hips. “You know, you really meddle too much.” At Neil’s confused look, he gave a slight tug. “You wiped out my juvie record,”

“Well, you did help me escape from the place,” Neil murmured, which earned him another tug to his hair.

“And then there was taking care of the bodies in Nevada, which you also rolled into the whole immunity deal.”

“Technically I was an accessory to that,” Neil pointed out.

True, Andrew supposed. “You offered up your uncle for the Tilda thing and didn’t complain about being part of my alibi, got Wolfe involved with those bastards who beat up Nicky, got Wolfe involved again with that fucker Drake… you have to realize that at some point, it would probably be best if you save up all these favors for yourself.”

Neil sighed as he shook his head, his expression a bit bleak. “Don’t worry about me, all right?”

Andrew thought about Neil’s hitman uncle, about his notorious father and what Riko had said back in Blackwell, about Neil’s mysterious mother. “What, have a confession of your own to make?” As soon as he said that, he shook his head. “Never mind. I’m not serious.” He didn’t want Neil to feel compelled to admit something because of their agreement. He didn’t really want to know something like that.

The look on his boyfriend’s face just then was an awful mix of pain and regret. “We couldn’t always just run to save ourselves. My mom… she did her best to shelter me from things like that. To take the brunt of it. But… it wasn’t so much to, well, to spare me from it.” There was a roughness to Neil’s voice that it usually took on when he spoke about his mother. “Not really. I thought it was that at first, but then I realized she was just trying to keep me from turning into *him*. That one of her greatest fears was that I’d enjoy… well, that I’d find it too easy. That I’d like it.”

Andrew didn’t have to ask if Neil liked it, because the idiot was too upset by the pain others felt. Didn’t give a shit about his own pain, but yes, he cared too much about Andrew’s and even others’ to be a sadist like his father, like Riko. Maybe Neil was ‘fucked up’ enough to defend himself when backed into a corner, to not give a shit when those he cared about did the same, but he wasn’t a true monster. At least, not by Andrew’s definition. Just enough for Andrew to know that he could hold the idiot close like this and Neil wouldn’t be repulsed by the arms around him, that the only thing Neil cared about with what had been said back in the locker room today was that nothing came back to hurt Andrew.

Not everyone had the luxury of going through life unharmed and unscarred, without having people determined to break you in some manner or another. Or without losing the people who mattered to you the most. The Foxes were messed up and had taken their hits from life, but with the exception of Renee, they didn’t know how fucked up things could get. Well, maybe now they did. Which was a good thing, because Riko Moriyama was part of their lives and not going away, and it would only get worse when Andrew denied him Neil by beating the bastard’s ass during the championship games this season.

“Come on, let’s go,” Andrew told Neil as he pushed the idiot away.

“Ah, what are we going to do?” Neil asked as he went around to the passenger side of the car.

Andrew thought about it for a moment before he opened the door. “I’m taking you on a date.”

Neil thought he was joking for a minute or two, until Andrew didn’t smile or say anything else and they left the campus; they ended up at a movie theater, which at that point in time was rather empty. Neil still looked at Andrew with an incredulous expression on his face, while Andrew just stared straight ahead and ended up getting two tickets for the first movie that looked semi-interesting and was also about to start. Neither of them had much of a clue about that thing, and they ended up in an almost empty theater with a bucket of popcorn, soda for Andrew and water for Neil, and some candy for Andrew.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Neil said as the credits started.

“It beats Exy practice.” That’s all Andrew cared about. The popcorn wasn’t too bad, though Neil gave up on it after a couple of handfuls. The credits were mildly amusing, and the movie… the movie was horrible. It was some stupid, loud, boring action film with a predictable plot that had been done a dozen times before, enough that even Neil with his extremely limited film knowledge just shook his head. At least with the fact that there was no one else around them for several rows, they could start mocking the thing, with Neil providing new accents for several of the characters (much better than the ones they were trying to fake) and Andrew droning on for the supposedly ‘romantic’ parts, to the point that Neil was laughing for a good part of the movie. As much as Andrew hated it when that warm, intense emotion seized up the inside of his chest whenever his boyfriend laughed… it was also nice, because Neil hadn’t done it much, these last couple of weeks.

After that, they went for dinner, just some local place that had a few dishes they both liked and some great chocolate cake. It was quiet and unpretentious, though they got a few ‘go Foxes’ on the way to their table, they were mostly left alone. Neil sighed a little as he rubbed his cheek. “I hate standing out.”

“Yeah, it’s the tattoo. Totally the tattoo,” Andrew drawled as he pushed aside the menu, already knowing what he wanted to order. Of course the idiot just stared at him with those startling blue eyes in that gorgeous face, those red curls once more falling in a tousled mess. There was a reason why Carlton had been a pushy bastard the other night, and it hadn’t been just to suck up to Neil’s uncle.

“So….”

“It’s time to order.” Andrew motioned to the young woman approaching their table, from the looks of it a fellow student at PSU, and inwardly smirked at Neil’s frustration at the avoided answer. Once she left with their orders, Andrew pulled out his phone and saw that Renee had left a message indicating that things had calmed down at practice and were all right. Ah, one had to love a reborn peacemaker. Well, tolerate.

“Renee has done that ‘love one another’ crap of hers and things are all well and good,” he said as he showed Neil the message. “Looks like you don’t have to call in any new favors just yet.”

“Oh, darn, I was so hoping that my uncle knew the Iorio family. Hear they run the whole Midwest,” Neil said, a smile on his face but a hint of tension in his voice. “Figured it would be a step up and all.” Then he winced from Andrew kicking him in the shin. “Ow.”

“Bad date etiquette, to talk about dumping your current date for someone else.”

“My apologies, I’m new to all of this.” Neil sighed as he hung his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “No more… well, no more stuff like today, all right?”

“Well, not like I have *that* many more confessions to make,” Andrew admitted. “Unless you want to talk about a certain adventurous night with the two of us out west.”

Neil whimpered and rested his head on the table until the server returned with their drinks. Hmm, maybe they needed to do this ‘date’ stuff more often, it could be amusing.

The rest of the dinner went by without too much more psychological torment, though a good bit of verbal sparring, then they headed up to the roof upon returning to the Fox Towers for a couple of cigarettes and a bit of light making out. Kevin was in a pissy mood when they finally got back to the suite, displeased at Neil skipping out on the afternoon practice, while Aaron was taking advantage of their new agreement and Nicky relieved that they were back and in a good mood. Well, good until Kevin dragged them off to the night’s practice and did his best to work Neil into the ground.

Andrew had to threaten the coward to stop at one point, Kevin was so focused on regaining their ‘lost’ time, and remind him that Friday’s game didn’t even fucking count. Kevin snapped back that the points did and that the Foxes couldn’t risk slipping any… and Andrew just barely resisted punching the asshole. He’d created this monster, what with telling Kevin that if Neil went back to the Nest, Kevin did, too, and had to admit seeing some spine from the coward for once was positive. Annoying as fuck, but positive, so he just told both addicts to get their asses to the showers or else.

At least it meant that Neil fell into bed and basically didn’t move the entire night, too tired to shift about or anything, a warm presence by Andrew’s side that helped to calm him down so they both got a decent night’s sleep for once. It made Andrew not want to kill everyone quite so much when the alarm went off, though Neil still made sure to hand over the coffee and energy bar as a peace offering.

“He’s such a good wife,” Aaron snarked as he headed to the bedroom with a mug of his own coffee in hand.

“Are you really set on the whole twin thing?” Neil asked Andrew as his eyes strayed toward Aaron’s back, his right hand hovering over his left arm guard.

“No, no, no, no,” Nicky insisted as he shoved Neil toward the empty bathroom. “No bad things before 6am. I haven’t had enough coffee to put up with this shit.”

Meanwhile, Kevin just slumped more and more to the left, his eyes half-closed and coffee spilling down the front of his shirt.

Neil didn’t kill Aaron, but Nicky was certain to keep them separate on the way to the gym and during the morning workout. Andrew noticed that Nicky and the rest of the Foxes on the whole were being overprotective idiots in regards to his boyfriend, ever since the past weekend – well, since the new semester had started, but especially the past weekend. He didn’t know if it was the whole ‘birthday’ surprise, the Carlton thing or some of what had happened yesterday, or all of it, but they were keeping an eye on Neil. Matt even got in some lacrosse player’s face before Andrew could when the guy stared at Neil a bit too long.

So he caught up with his boyfriend as soon as Neil was done with his English class, rather than allow Neil to wander off to lunch with Renee, Dan and Reynolds then to the library – no, he had something to do and figured the idiot could help him out. “Come on,” he said, and Neil fell in step behind him without any question.

He waited until they got to the library to say anything, when they got in the stairwell and no one else was around. “Here, take these,” he told Neil as he stared to pull off his arm guards.

Neil frowned for a moment before he sighed. “This is off to such a promising start, isn’t it?”

“Hush, you are here to be seen and not heard,” Andrew said as he slipped off the guards and handed them over.

“You mean I’m here to provide an alibi.”

“Sometimes you’re not as stupid as you look.” Neil’s frown deepened as he accepted the guards then put them in his backpack. “You know I mean it with tolerance.”

“’I’m sorry, officer, I must have blinked at that moment. I can’t honestly say if he committed the crime or not’,” Neil droned on in a flat voice.

Andrew stomped on his foot before they continued up the stairs and out onto the third floor, where Renee’s notes told him a certain pest should be. It only took looking through the stacks a few minutes before he found her, chatting with a friend. Funny how coming up and giving a blank look could end a conversation in a hurry.

“Uhm…,” Katelyn shot Neil a look as if he would be any help, but Neil just shook his head. “Aaron said-“

“No, shut up and listen to me,” Andrew said as he slammed his right hand into the bookshelf next to Katelyn’s head, which startled a yelp out of her. “You may have won at the moment, might have what you wanted, but that doesn’t mean that I have to deal with you, do you understand? I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear your annoying voice at all, so stay the fuck away from me.”

She whimpered a little as he leaned back. “Remember, I don’t want to see you,” he said as he turned away; Neil hesitated a moment as if concerned about the pest, but was soon back at Andrew’s side. Nothing was said until they returned to the stairwell, where Neil fished out the arm guards from his backpack.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked as he handed them over.

“Not really, she’s alive and unharmed.”

“I think there was some mental damage inflicted, but we’ll go with your take on that situation.” Neil sighed as he rubbed at his face. “Aaron’s not going to be happy about that.”

“I don’t care, I didn’t touch her.” Aaron sniped at Neil all he wanted, he couldn’t complain when Andrew did the same.

Neil did some faint swearing beneath his breath. “You’re going to need more than one day a week with Dobson, the two of you. Way too many damn issues.”

“Very funny,” he told the idiot. “Speaking of issues, when are you going to sign up?” That got him a rude gesture in return.

It was a quiet lunch, with Kevin giving them odd looks while they ate. Afternoon practice turned out to be fun with Aaron in yet another snit, stomping into the locker room as they were changing out and insisting that he was moving into Matt Boyd’s room.

“You are beginning to try my patience,” Andrew told his brother.

“And you’re pissing me off,” Aaron shot back. “I refuse to live in the same room with you anymore, it won’t be safe to bring her back there.” His gaze flickered over to Neil, who was standing in front of his own locker. “So now we both can have a bit of privacy.”

“Well, relatively speaking,” Nicky added. “But yeah, group the heteros together, I’m all for it.”

“I’m still there,” Kevin gritted out.

“Keep fooling yourself,” Nicky told him with a condescending smile.

“Could we focus on Exy for once?” Neil pleaded.

“*Yes*,” Kevin agreed with evident desperation. Andrew stared down Aaron for a few more seconds before clicking his tongue and looking away. As soon as practice was finished, Aaron went back to the dorms and began to move out with Matt’s help. Andrew didn’t stick around for it, instead he went up to the roof and hung up there with Neil until they got hungry enough to eat.

It was odd, going back to someplace without Aaron being there after so long – other than those weeks at Easthaven, Aaron had always been around for the last couple of years. Technically he was just down the hall, but it was the intent of it all, that he was pulling away even if in some way he was drawing closer.

That was what Bee stressed during their first session together, when Aaron sat there in barely more than sullen silence and Andrew just went on about how useless the whole thing would be. Yet she smiled and said that they were sitting there together, that Aaron had come of his own free will and things would just improve from there on out. Oh she was the optimist… but yes, Aaron was sitting next to Andrew, was doing this for some fucked up reason and had agreed to it for the next few years. Andrew didn’t believe in hope, didn’t believe in foolish things… but it seemed more than the useless standoff that they’d had before.

So of course he wasn’t surprised when he met up with Neil and Kevin at lunch and found out that Kengo Moriyama had been rushed off to the hospital with some undisclosed illness. Kevin was jittery about the news and Neil shut-down, which was typical, and not much else was said even if Neil didn’t go with the other Foxes to the library. No, he chose to remain with Andrew until practice, and afterwards there still wasn’t much news, was just some interviews where Riko pretended to be a stoic asshole about the fact that his father – a man who had acted like he never existed – being in the hospital didn’t mean much when there was an upcoming Exy game. There wasn’t any news from Stuart, either, and Andrew wondered if it had anything to do with those comments from the limey prick about Ichiro, about why Stuart had always hedged his words about the ‘little lord’.

Which was maybe why Andrew had been a bit stupid that evening when, after Kevin had drunk a bit too much and Nicky had gone to hang out with Matt and Aaron, he’d dragged Neil into the bedroom in hopes of distracting his idiot for a short while. It had seemed to work, had started off with ‘yes’ and them kissing and Neil being eager, with everything being fine. Andrew had thought that as long as he focused on making Neil feel good, on just focusing on *Neil* that everything would be all right. He wasn’t pushing, wasn’t trying to take things too far; they were on the bed and he was kissing his way down Neil’s chest, had been stroking his hands along Neil’s sides then he touched the waist of Neil’s pants, his mouth around his boyfriend’s navel as he was about to ask about going further.

Neil tensed beneath him for a moment, and before Andrew could pull away there was a twisted, fast movement then a quick patter of Japanese, right before Neil almost kicked Andrew in the jaw as he rushed to tuck himself into the back corner of the bed.

Yeah, that was definitely a ‘no’.

Andrew gave Neil a minute or two to work through whatever he’d inadvertently set off, to work through the panic attack before he inched closer, calling out Neil’s name in a soothing voice as he dared to reach out to stroke his fingers along Neil’s legs as a sort of warning. Neil twitched at first, but the Japanese stopped and he panted for a moment, before eventually going still. When Andrew didn’t move for about a minute, Neil reached out for him.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Neil’s voice sounded as haggard as his expression just then.

“Don’t say such stupid shit,” Andrew told him. “You get to do things like that. You *better* do things like that,” he insisted. “I told you not to push.”

Neil shuddered a little as he unfurled from the corner and inched forward until he could drape his arms over Andrew’s shoulders. “I didn’t think… it just hits me.” He buried his face against Andrew’s left shoulder, his body tense.

Andrew allowed that for about half a minute, until he tilted them over to stretch out on the bed. “It took me months before I let anyone so much as touch me,” he admitted. “Then I figured out that I much preferred to do the touching.” To be in control. Which Neil allowed him, for the most part. He was working on moving past that… but the last few months didn’t help, if he was being honest.

“Hmm, I like you touching me,” Neil admitted even as he shifted Andrew’s hands a bit higher up from his hips. “Just… not that. Before.”

Okay, no oral sex for the immediate future. Andrew had figured out some of it, considering what Riko had done, but thought that… yeah, okay. “Maybe I should go sleep in Aaron’s bed tonight.” They hadn’t come to remove it from the room yet.

“No,” Neil breathed out as he pulled Andrew in closer, his face pressed against Andrew’s chest; funny, how Neil was about the only person who didn’t make Andrew feel as if he was tucked into bed with some tall moron. “It’s better… having you here.” He was quiet for a moment. “Was always alone when I slept… there.”

That explained why Neil insisted on them being together in bed after everything that happened, why he sought Andrew out after the nightmares. Somehow Andrew wasn’t surprised that Riko would completely fuck Neil up, would use him and then want nothing more to do with him until the next time. So he stroked his fingers lightly along Neil’s chest and shoulders, along the old scars which he’d memorized over the years, careful to avoid the new, and waited for the tension to leave Neil’s body. When enough time had passed, he tugged Neil off of the bed so they could pull on the clothes they’d tossed aside and get something to eat before Kevin sobered up enough for the night’s practice.

He enjoyed the physical pleasure being with Neil provided him. He wasn’t going to deny that, not after all the times they’d spent together exploring each other, not after all of the exchanged ‘yes and no’s. But the most important thing to him was how Neil would keep haltingly bringing up the future, would strive to ensure that Andrew was involved in it someway, would infuriate Andrew by striking deals with Wolfe and Stuart and even Riko. No one had ever cared enough about him to do such things, had ever wanted Andrew for more than their own goals, their own wants. With Neil… yeah, it was more than that. It cut Andrew up inside sometimes, how Neil gave up just as much as Andrew did, maybe even more. Sometimes Andrew didn’t get that. Why would anyone give up anything for him?

But Neil did, and as long as he continued to be such a fucking idiot about things… Andrew would bully him to eat something, to not push himself too far at that evening’s practice, and then pull him close when they lay down in bed at night. Because even if Neil woke him up with a nightmare at some point, or if Andrew was restless because he didn’t want to fall into too deep a sleep and risk hurting Neil because of one of his own nightmares… it was worth it to wake up with Neil’s fingers tangled in his shirt and breath against his collarbones.

It certainly was easier to get ready in the morning without Aaron there, one less person in the bathroom, and the day went by quickly as the Foxes threw themselves into the upcoming game against SUA even though they didn’t have to win. Renee stopped by to thank Andrew during practice, since apparently Stuart managed to get the burner phone to Jean, and Aaron joined them for dinner when they went out for pizza.

They had to leave early Friday morning to make it on time to Arkansas; Andrew and Neil took up their seat at the back of the bus, Neil a sleepy presence against Andrew in the morning for the first four hour leg as they got some rest, then determined to get some homework done for the rest of the trip while Andrew alternated between napping and reading.

They reached SUA around six pm, which gave them time to grab dinner at some buffet, then headed to the campus so they could get ready for the game; SUA knew they were out of the championships but were still determined to put on a good show. At least they weren’t being assholes about the whole thing, but they weren’t going down easy. Andrew didn’t work as hard as he could, either, but he kept most of the shots from going into the goal while he watched on to make sure that no one gave Neil any unnecessary grief.

They found out during half-time that UT were kicking Belmonte’s asses, so it might be a possibility that they’d be facing that team for the death match game, which gave the Foxes a little added incentive to finish up with SUA. Andrew watched the idiots – minus Neil – hug each other on the court when the final buzzer rang and waited for a smiling Neil to come for him, and just shook his head.

“So, we might have to deal with UT, huh?”

“I am so sick of white and orange,” Andrew complained, which just made Neil smile some more. “Shut up, I hate you.”

“Brunch tomorrow?”

“Hell yes,” Andrew insisted as he followed his idiot to the center of the court. They did the whole stupid hand-shaking thing and washed off, listened to Wymack prattle on and were back on the bus, where Andrew fell asleep with Neil’s head resting on his shoulder.

Having a free week of games should have meant less stress, but Wymack had to go and drag Neil into helping to pick out the new recruits for the next season as well as draft him as a co-captain, and Kevin was being an asshole about things. So Neil was stressed about his choices and Kevin bashing him for them, to the point that Abby got involved to tell Kevin to back the fuck down (Andrew may have some newfound respect for her, even though he preferred his method of putting a knife to Kevin’s throat better), and Andrew may have threatened to leave Kevin at campus when they went off to Columbia for the weekend if he didn’t shut up.

It surprised Andrew a little that Aaron was willing to resume their usual weekend schedule, but he supposed that his twin was making some sort of compromise after the whole moving out and pest thing, not to mention saying a word or two to Bee now. That and come Friday, everyone was more than willing to get the fuck off of campus and hit Eden’s Twilight for a bit of fun. Neil was better prepared for the club that time, was less stressed about it even if he was careful to stay as close to Andrew as possible, to avoid any unwanted contact with other people. His interactions with Roland and the rest of the staff were more natural, he had a couple of shots but that was it, and didn’t seem concerned when Andrew did a few packets of cracker dust and some shots.

“Ready to take on the Catamounts?” he asked Andrew after tossing back a shot.

Andrew gave him a hooded look. “I think that’s something you should ask after a few more drinks.”

Neil chuckled at that. “Maybe tomorrow,” he said, with no hint of reservation or teasing, then he stepped closer to Andrew, to nestle between Andrew’s legs since he sat in the high stool. “We’re that much closer to winning everything.” Now he showed a hint of anxiety.

“Just keep from being red-carded for all that shit you’re doing out on court and we’ll be fine,” Andrew chided. He knew that Wymack and Kevin had been on Neil for the ‘tricks’ he’d picked up from the Ravens, but so far… so far, Neil hadn’t been hurt by any of them.

The idiot shivered a little at the reprimand. “I can’t… too much is at stake,” he tried to explain.

“Don’t become like them in an effort to stay the fuck away from the Nest,” was all Andrew said as he stroked his right thumb over the ‘A’ on Neil’s face.

Neil reached for another shot before he answered, his body shuddering as he tossed it back. “I’m not,” he swore. “I just… I can’t lose.” The desperation he felt was evident in his voice just then, in how tense his lean frame had become.

“You’re not going to.” Andrew slid his fingers into the idiot’s hair and pulled him closer. “Trust me on that.”

“Yeah.” Neil smiled at him before their lips brushed together, then they spent the rest of the night watching people get drunk and act like idiots with Neil leaning loose-limbed against Andrew while he ignored the ‘no smoking’ sign and enjoyed going through his lined up shots.

Saturday was one of those rare, almost perfect days where they lazed about in bed for a good bit of the morning before Neil treated Andrew to brunch, where there was precious little fighting among the five of them and then take-out and a good bit of laughing and drinking and Aaron actually smiling before Nicky got on his nerves (or so Aaron claimed) and Kevin talking about things other than Exy before Neil tugged Andrew away to their bedroom. It wasn’t exactly the same as before, but there was ‘yes’ and Neil kissing him and Neil’s hands and them taking things slow, was Andrew feeling as if he wasn’t fucking things up when Neil smiled at him when things were done and the two of them just relaxing for a bit before needing to clean up. There were no nightmares that night.

He was starting to get used to the new ‘one step forward, one step back’ thing, and wasn’t surprised when Riko sent something to upset Neil the next day – the bastard had been quiet for a little while because of his father, but guess that brief reprieve was now done. Andrew wasn’t surprised when they got back to campus and Aaron went right off to see Katelyn and only partially surprised when Nicky hung out with Matt to talk about the weekend. Things were changing. Bee would tell him that they were probably changing for the better, but he didn’t have to buy into her happy shit and like it.

But he supposed it gave him some time to deal with Neil and Kevin before the week started, so pros and cons.

The week leading up to the UVM match, Wymack drilled them rather hard on the team, on what it would take the Foxes to win. The Catamounts had an uneven offensive line, which was their greatest weakness, but Kevin and Neil would have to work to get through their defensive line.

Considering that this was where the Foxes had sputtered out the year before, everyone was stressed that it would be a repeat as well this year. Instead of folding as they’d done in previous years, they seemed to pull together to face the Catamounts head on – Kevin stopped with the ‘we’re not good enough’ talk, there was no Gordon to drag them down, Neil pushed aside Riko’s shit for the week and Aaron didn’t pretend as if he wanted to be anywhere else.

Andrew almost felt sorry for UVM – they got out on the court and then the Foxes proceeded to tear them down. Renee did a good job of blocking the goal while Neil and Kevin worked hard to score seven goals against the Catamounts’ three. It was clear that UVM hadn’t expected to face such a challenge, not from a team that and crashed and burned relatively early the year before, and yet they were losing on national television while a crowd cheered on their demise.

Even worse, even the commentators were surprised by how well the Foxes were doing, judging from what was being said at the half-time review. The Foxes listened to it for a while before turning it off, with Dan seeming to use it to inspire the team to finish the Catamounts’ asses. Andrew just sighed and drank some more water before he turned to Neil.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Uhm, such as what?”

“I don’t know, inspire your backliner to want to bash your head in with a racquet, take on half the team by yourself, so on and so forth….”

Neil winced. “You really don’t think much of me, do you?”

“Depends on what the topic is,” Andrew admitted.

“Okay, I think I’m willing to get my head hit with a racquet now,” Neil sighed as he fiddled with his bandana.

“Wuss.”

The second half was Andrew’s turn in the goal, and it was a more frustrating half to watch what with him having to play as well as watch a tiring Neil deal with bigger backliners attempting to stall the score – which they managed to do. Of course, neither could any of the UVM players get the ball past Andrew, but it was a moot point when the play was starting to get rough and the Foxes wear down more and more against fresh players and Andrew grow frustrated with the way the bastards were sending his boyfriend flying across the smooth court floor.

So at one point when the referees stepped in, he nodded to Nicky, who meandered over to his goal. What he said to his cousin made the moron grin, an expression he quickly hid before Matt picked up on it – or worse, Dan.

There came a point when Andrew flung the ball up the court at Kevin, who was already pinned down by the Catamount backliners, so Andrew called out to Nicky to be ready. When Kevin threw the ball to Dan instead of Neil, who was too far away, she did her best to put it into play so either Kevin or Neil could snatch it and line it up for a goal – but the UVM goalkeeper managed to snag it instead and lob it back down toward the Foxes’ end of court. The striker Nicky was shadowing went for the ball, but Nicky fouled him by swiping his legs out from under him while grinning the entire time. Of course the bastard didn’t appreciate the illegal play, but Andrew left the goal to use his long racquet to shove the guy away from his cousin to stop the fight, and when the bastard went to swing at him instead, Matt and the other UVM striker hauled the bastard away.

Nicky got red-carded for his efforts, but the whole ruckus shook up the Catamounts while bringing Aaron out onto the court, and gave Andrew possession of the ball. He fired it off at Neil, who used the opportunity to gain a goal even if he crashed into the wall as a result, and the Catamounts lost their chance at any sort of a rally. The Foxes won, nine to three, and Andrew got to feel a bit of smug pride deep down inside when Neil set him an admiring look.

“Tell me that you didn’t put Nicky up to that trick back there,” he said while the Foxes screamed and hugged each other over their victory.

“I’ve no clue what you’re talking about,” Andrew replied while his expression remained impassive – well, maybe a hint of disgust crept upon it at his cousin’s antics.

“Nicky’s not a fighter, not like that,” Neil argued. “Yet he willingly got red-carded.”

“Hmm, it did make the game more interesting, I’ll give him that.” Andrew blinked at Neil’s incredulous look. “What?”

“There may be donuts in your future tomorrow.”

“Better damn be,” Andrew muttered as he tapped the idiot on the head with his racquet.

Neil led him toward the half-court so they could get the whole ‘yeah, good game’ thing over with, and the rest of the Foxes fawned over Andrew’s boyfriend by giving him careful half-hugs and pats and tousles to his sweaty hair, and even smiled at Andrew and nodded. Neil accepted the affection, for the most part, his smile only a little strained, but seemed grateful when it was just him and Andrew. He most definitely was quick to hurry past the line of reporters, giving up on waving to the roaring crowds and leaving the irritants to the girls in an effort to get inside without causing another scandal. Andrew may have assisted by shoving him through the door.

Wymack was waiting with obvious impatience for them all once they’d finished washing off and getting dressed, his gaze lingering on Andrew and his crew for a moment. “Remember when I told you earlier in the week not to make plans for tonight?” Yes, but Andrew had ignored that, for the most part. “Well, everyone,” he made sure to glare in Andrew’s direction, “is going to her place.” He pointed at Abby, who was smiling with pride at the team.

When Andrew made to complain, the man shook his head. “No, she’s been cooking all day for everyone and I made sure to stock the cabinets with booze. Consider it a mandatory event.”

Andrew glanced around to see that Kevin, Aaron and Nicky didn’t seem too upset by the change of plans – why not, free alcohol was free alcohol – and then at Neil, who just shrugged as if to say it was up to him. He wasn’t entirely pleased with the plans, but again, free alcohol was free alcohol, he supposed, and saved them the drive.

When there were no complaints forthcoming, Wymack grunted and Dan grinned. “So what, was it going to be a consolation prize or a victory celebration?”

“It doesn’t matter, just get your asses in gear,” Wymack told her. “I’m hungry and not about to put up with you wretches sober.”

Andrew felt much the same way, so he pushed Neil to get the idiot moving. Of course they had to deal with traffic and a bunch of cheering fans to get to Abby’s, which took forever, but once there, Abby put some food in the oven and pulled out even more from the fridge, while Andrew grabbed some whiskey for himself and even a little vodka for Neil. Then they went outside, where Renee was waiting for them.

Neil gave her a slight smile, which she returned, while Andrew just drank from the bottle of whiskey. “How’s Jean?” Neil asked.

“Not so good. Riko’s been… well, he’s upset about his father.”

“Him and those daddy issues,” Andrew mused aloud. “He’s never going to learn that he’s just trash in Kengo’s eyes. How pathetic.” Then he took another swallow of alcohol. “Well, he’s just trash, period, but yes, Kengo’s never going to acknowledge him.”

There was that hint of lovely darkness back in Renee’s eyes. “Normally I would argue with you… but I’m not feeling so charitable about Riko right now.” Her lips pursed together as she stared at Neil’s forearms, at the knives hidden there as if she was rethinking her decision to pass them on. Then she shook her head. “Jean doesn’t know much, Riko doesn’t seem to trust him after… well, between his actions and the phone,” her gaze flickered up at Neil’s face for a moment before settling on Andrew, “but he suspects that Riko is planning something. Maybe to try to impress Kengo.”

Something in regards to Neil, from the sounds of it. Oh, wasn’t that going to be fun. Someone was going to get a real collar put on them if they kept dashing off on morning runs, yes they were. “He’s starting to move beyond an annoyance.”

Renee graced the two of them with a truly lovely smile, one containing a baring of teeth and all that lovely darkness instead of her usual disgusting cheerfulness. “It’s going to be so exciting, our next game with the Ravens, isn’t it?”

“No bloodshed on the court,” Neil said, then moaned as he took in Andrew and Renee. “No obvious bloodshed on the court.”

“You’re not the only one with your tricks,” Andrew told his idiot, while Renee gave Neil a quick pat on the shoulder when she walked past, back to the house.

Andrew sat down on the hood of Wymack’s stupid sedan and waited for Neil to drain his cup of vodka before he pulled his boyfriend in close. “Listen to me, because I will be mildly insulted if you choose to ignore this warning, understand?”

Neil gave him a pathetic attempt at an innocent look. “How ‘mildly insulted’?”

“I will wait until after we win the championships to break that expensive new racquet of yours over your fool head, that ‘mildly insulted’, understand?” Andrew promised. Considering how thick-headed the idiot was, it would do the least amount of damage while providing him the most satisfaction. “Then make you buy ten more, to repeat the lesson as needed.”

Neil cringed. “Okay, duly noted.”

“Now shut up,” Andrew ordered as he slid his fingers along Neil’s neck, for a moment stroking them along the new tattoo before settling against Neil’s warm nape. “You stay by my side from now on, no more invigorating early morning or late night jaunts around the campus or neighborhood by yourself, no more hanging out at the library unless you tell me you’re there and who you’re with.” When Neil frowned at that, he shook his head. “I’d prefer that you’re there with Renee, if anybody.” Andrew knew she wouldn’t make another mistake, not after Christmas break, but he didn’t trust the other Foxes, not if Riko was up to something. Not even Nicky, because as Neil had pointed out earlier, his cousin wasn’t a fighter.

The expression on Neil’s face just then wasn’t very pleased, and he raised his right hand up to his neck; for a moment, Andrew thought it was to knock Andrew’s hands aside, but instead Neil pressed his fingertips to the feathers and bit of red that peeked out past the coat. “All right. I’m not happy about it,” Neil made clear, his tone surly, “but it’s Riko’s fault in the end.”

“Yes indeed, and I’m getting very tired of how the scales keep tipping over in his direction. Sooner or later, they need to be reset.” Andrew would prefer for it to happen sooner than later.

“And I don’t want you to have murder charges filed against you, or for you to go up against a ton of armed guards,” Neil shot back as he slid his arms over Andrew’s shoulders. “It’ll… we’ll figure something out. For right now, can we just concentrate on winning some damn games?”

“Exy junkie,” Andrew sneered as he let go of Neil’s nape with his right hand so he could pick up the bottle of whiskey resting on the hood beside him and take another swig.

“Hmm, everyone’s so happy that we won tonight.” Neil rolled his eyes when Andrew gave him an unimpressed look in return. “Well, almost everyone. Even Aaron’s in there, having fun.” Then he smiled. “Who knows which team we’ll have to fight next. USC? Nevada? Washington? Penn State?”

All of those were schools they’d have to fly to if it was an away game, which the bastard very well knew. “I think when we go back in there, you’re going to join the fun, too, Josten.” Not too much, not enough to bring out Neil’s British accent, but yes, Andrew wasn’t going to put up with a sober boyfriend after that jab.

“Asshole,” Neil muttered, but he was smiling all the same.

“Idiot,” Andrew shot back.

Neil leaned in then paused, his eyes intent on Andrew’s, and considering where they were and the noise filtering outside from Abby’s house, Andrew took a guess and slowly closed the gap between them in a silent ‘yes’. He kept his left hand loose on the back of Neil’s neck, Neil flexed his arms on Andrew’s shoulders but didn’t curl them into a proper embrace, and they just enjoyed the kiss, the press of lips and slide of tongues for almost a minute until Neil shifted back with that smile still there.

“Come on, I’m hungry,” he told Andrew as he took a step away.

“Better be some damn desserts,” Andrew mumbled as he picked up the bottle of whiskey.

“Donuts tomorrow,” Neil reminded him before turning around.

“And breakfast – I’m not hanging out here for any longer than I have to,” Andrew argued. They’d gather everyone together then go out to eat, and see if there was any word on the next team they’d have to play.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> *winces* Hopefully you don't hate me too much. Stuart really tore into Andrew, didn't he? To be fair, he only see's the relationship from the outside, and he's trying to prevent what happened to Mary happen to Neil/Nathaniel. 
> 
> And Andrew's thoughts on him and Neil, and things being 'pushed' too far when they have sex (or try to have sex). Things are slowly recovering between (and with Neil), and in all truth Neil is going a bit too fast, but Andrew being Andrew, he's going to blame himself for things. 
> 
> And... think that's it. Will get a new chapter of Armies out. Hmm, do believe that a Fox will appear in it. :-)
> 
> Also... have hit 500k on this fic. GAH! Hmm, feel like there should be something to be done for that (and since I've been neglecting tumblr to, well, write). Any fic prompt ideas?


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, more twisty stuff time.  
> *******

*******

After having beaten SUA and being assured their spot in the second round of the championship season, the Foxes went into the next stage with a mix of trepidation and excitement; they had never gotten this far before and the whole university was once again rallying behind them, and the team knew just how much was riding on them to keep advancing. All they had to do was look at Neil, to witness Andrew take an active part in practice each day, to watch the Ravens' interviews where Tetsuji and Riko swore the Ravens were going to win another title and hint at the new line-up for the next year.

Yeah, no pressure at all.

Yet the Foxes threw themselves into practice with smiles on their faces - sometimes anxious smiles, but still smiles - and only spared a little time to the holiday that fell in the middle of their 'off week' since they got a break on the one Friday between the game with SUA and Nevada. Dan and Matt had plans to go out the following Saturday for a belated Valentine's Day, as did Aaron and Katelyn, their first official one as a couple, and the rest of the 'monsters' knew to stay away from whatever room Nicky holed himself up in that day. As for Neil, he snuck out an extra hour early before practice on Thursday, body weary from all the practice and eyes blurry, so he could hit the nearest store for his annual post-Valentine Day chocolate raid so when Andrew finally did wake up, the kitchen was overflowing with marked-down boxes of the stuff. It was worth the lack of sleep to see the disgusted look on Kevin's face and for the invigorating kiss from his boyfriend when Kevin, Andrew and Nicky finally woke up.

"You keep enabling him," Kevin muttered on their way to the gym, during which Neil drove and Andrew steadily ate chocolates from one of the larger boxes.

"It makes him happy," Neil said, not so much an argument or explanation but a simple statement; he'd long ago accepted that it was the way things were; Andrew liked sweets and Neil liked making Andrew happy.

"Oh shut up," Nicky added to the discussion. "It's *romantic*, and you, Kevin Day, don't have a romantic bone in your impressive body. I feel for the poor guy who gets stuck with you."

"I'm *straight*," Kevin gritted out.

"Uh-huh. Still not buying it, especially since you 'almost' walked in on those two again."

Neil tuned out the argument in the back with long practice while Andrew pulled out another box of chocolates from his backpack.

The day went mostly well, considering that Andrew was in a good mood for once. At least until Neil found out that a TV crew was to be there for the afternoon practice to film a segment on the Foxes for their NCAA show, which would interrupt said practice... and everyone was required to partake in the interviews. However, both Wymack and Kevin insisted that it would be good for the team, could provide them some positive publicity... while giving pointed stares at Neil and Andrew.

Neil couldn't avoid his turn in front of the camera forever, and of course Kevin and Wymack were on hand when the reporter finally pinned him down after he'd been practicing some drills. He did his best to plaster on a neutral smile and removed the bandana holding back his bangs while the man asked about the Foxes, about how well they'd been doing so far that season. But eventually the question came up about Neil's tattoo and the Ravens.

Neil took a deep breath before he answered. "How can I say this without offending anyone, considering that the last time I spoke on air, my school was vandalized?” His smile slipped a little at that, and he noticed that Andrew had come over as well. “I stand by what I said before, that I don't feel that there's a Perfect Court. Riko and Jean Moreau are very talented players, but the best way to play this game is to assume that you're not already at the top, that you need to keep reaching for it. That was in part why I altered it."

"Some say that the 'A" is for 'Ace', that you're implying that you're the 'Ace' to Riko's 'King'," the man stated.

Neil shook his head. "No, it's nothing that grand and I'm not trying to compete with Riko." He wanted nothing to do with the man. "It stands for a few things, to be honest, but not that."

"Oh, such as?"

"Well, it reminds me of my mother, of family, because of a family name," he admitted as he brushed his fingers along the tattoo. "And of some very important people in my life who have gone out of their way to help me. So it's a personal thing, not an Exy thing, really. Sometimes we need a reminder of what gets us through hard times, what gives us the strength to play." He dropped his hand as he stared at the reporter. "Which is why the Foxes are going to go all the way this season and beat the Ravens. Why a team of 'feral dogs' and rejects will beat the nation's best, because we don’t know anything but how to fight." Off to the side, Dan and Nicky let out a cheer. "We really don't know how to do anything else but fight, and the Ravens don't understand that. It's not in their mindset, and it's going to hit them hard when they lose. When that happens, I think they should take a good, hard look at what Coach Moriyama is teaching them... and reconsider him in that position." That last was directed at Kengo and Ichiro, in case they were watching.

Behind the cameraman, Kevin made a choking sound, which made the man glance over his shoulder at the striker while he stared at Neil as if he was insane before taking off for the locker room. Meanwhile, Andrew pushed off from the wall he'd been leaning against during the interview and just shook his head, and Wymack actually looked at Neil with something akin to approval.

The reporter gave Neil a nervous smile while Neil stared at him with an impassive expression, mumbled something about brave words and looking forward to the upcoming games, then ended the interview before moving on to a grinning Nicky.

"Oh my god, that was amazing!" Dan gushed as she came over to Neil. "I don't care if they bash the cars again, it'll be worth it."

"Speak for yourself," Andrew stated, even as he stood at Neil's side. "Though I could always go back and get the Ferrari, I suppose."

"Your support is overwhelming," Neil told his boyfriend.

"And you're a suicidal idiot."

"I just told the truth," Neil argued.

"That you did," Wymack said, breaking into the burgeoning fight. "Moriyama can't complain too much about that. We're going to keep fighting until we tear that precious championship of his from his team's claws."

"Damn right!" Dan cheered. "Now come on, let's see what we can do even with these pests around," she told Neil as she tugged him by the sleeve of his jersey back toward the court, while Andrew followed with a weary sigh. Neil didn't see Kevin for the rest of the practice, but somehow, he wasn't surprised.

In fact, Kevin avoided him for the rest of the evening, which allowed Neil and Andrew some time 'alone', both up on the roof and in the bedroom. Neil still felt bad about the other week when he'd reacted so awfully, when he'd done what he felt was his first real 'no'... but Andrew didn't do anything to make him feel guilty, didn't hold it against him. Made him feel frustrated sometimes by being so slow and cautious when all he wanted was to pull him close and drink him in, to feel Andrew's solid weight and warmth against him and around him. To know he was still wanted, that he wasn't alone. To push away the other bad thoughts and emotions at times. But he was beginning to better understand that 'not like the others' Andrew had talked about, too. About not using someone, even if it was just to escape things for a while. To not mix up things.

It still felt good, though, to lie on the bed with Andrew, to tell him ‘yes’ and arch beneath hands which stroked along his skin while he savored a mouth which tasted of chocolate – the only time he cared for sweets. He’d realized after the first time or two how Andrew always tasted of something, of either cigarettes or sweets, and it helped to center him, to make it that much less like – it was easier now, to remember that it was Andrew. To not get confused, as long as he focused on things like that.

So his left hand buried in Andrew’s short, wiry hair to keep him from pulling away, to keep being able to kiss him, while Neil’s right hand rested on Andrew’s hip. “Yes or no?” he murmured as he ran his fingers along the waistband of Andrew’s jeans.

“Don’t do anything too stupid,” Andrew breathed against Neil’s mouth; since the other week, Andrew had been saying something similar to that, and hadn’t touch Neil below the waist.

“I’m not. Yes or no?”

Andrew stared at him for several seconds, as if searching for something, then told him ‘yes’ before leaning in for another kiss. Neil’s fingers tightened in his hair as he began to unfasten the button to Andrew’s jeans, and he nipped at Andrew’s bottom lip when he felt a slight tug at his own jeans. “Yes,” he told his boyfriend. “Go on, yes.”

It was better than the last time, the feel of Andrew’s hand on him, of giving over that bit of control. Of letting the pleasure coil tighter and tighter inside of him with each firm stroke of Andrew’s hand and teasing graze of teeth along his chin and neck. Neil closed his eyes and gave in to the sensations, to the way Andrew thrust into his grip and sweat dampened the hair between his fingers, the faint gasps against his neck even as he moaned lowly as his own climax first drew closer and then shattered through him when Andrew’s fingers tightened a little while speeding up.

It was better. He had to struggle to force his own hand to keep moving afterward, to see Andrew through to the end, Andrew’s now damp hand joining in until Andrew’s mouth once more sought out Neil’s and his boyfriend shuddered against him. They then lay on the bed together, covered in sweat and breath slowly evening out, foreheads touching as Andrew slowly trailed his fingers along the raven tattoo; Neil had noticed him doing that lately, noticed him tracing the feathers and flowers the few times when Neil left it exposed… which was mainly moments like this. He suspected that Andrew was attempting to ‘desensitize’ him to the thing, to make him not flinch so much whenever he saw all of the red and black ink, and in a way it was working. It helped, to associate times like these with the tattoo instead of what Riko intended it to be, to think of it as something he shared with Andrew instead.

“What would you get if you got one?” he asked as Andrew’s thumb rubbed over a peony. “Hmm?”

“I’m not sure,” Andrew admitted. “Probably something rude. No stupid tribal shit, I know that much.”

“No hearts or flowers for you, huh?” Neil smiled as he placed his right hand over Andrew’s heart. “I was so counting on an ‘I love Exy’.”

“It’s a good thing you got a sports scholarship, because there’s no way anyone would ever pay for you to come here for your brains,” Andrew told him in a highly derisive tone before pulling up his jeans and underwear so he could get off the bed – then pulled Neil off of it as well, despite the fact that his pants were still pushed down. Fumbling about for a minute to straighten out his clothes, Neil glared at the bastard while Andrew yanked off the dirty duvet and threw it into their laundry basket, then went over to fetch some clean clothes while the bed was made up and waited until the two of them could go clean up together.

They came out of the bathroom later to find Kevin drinking while sitting on the couch, some Exy game on the television on front of him. "So... no practice tonight?" Neil hazarded a guess while Andrew went into the kitchen to fetch them some water.

Kevin gave him a bleary glare. "Why do you do it? How can you do it?"

He assumed 'it' was antagonize Tetsuji and Riko. "Because I refuse to live my life cowering in fear of them. You should try it sometime." He accepted the water with a thankful nod to Andrew.

"But... when you-" Even as drunk as he was, Kevin noticed the look from Andrew and flinched. "If, *if* you go back, it'll just be that much worse."

Neil fought hard not to shudder just then. "It's going to be bad either way," he admitted. "I'm not going to kowtow to them just on the offhand hope that they only abuse me *half* as much because I didn't call them on their shit." He paused to take a deep breath. "Living in fear of them means you're still their slave, Kevin. You're never going to truly be free, to be your own man, until you stop."

"That's easy for you to say," Kevin mumbled.

"Is it?" Neil lost his temper and threw his water at the far wall. "Is it really?" He jerked down the neck of his t-shirt to reveal the tattoo on his right chest, which made Kevin flinch again. "I'll bear this for the rest of my life, so no, it's not *easy*." And that was only one of the physical marks Riko had left on him. "But I'm not giving in, dammit! He's already got a team of broken little toys, I'm not adding to the number!" Having said his piece, he spun around and returned to the bedroom, to the room without Kevin, and curled up on the bed. The duvet was new, but the sheets and pillows smelled liked him, like *Andrew*, like his boyfriend's shampoo and cigarettes so that helped to calm Neil down.

He had been there a few minutes when Andrew came to join him, leaving the bedroom door open. "Pizza will be here in about twenty minutes," Andrew remarked as he sat down on the bed.

Neil groaned upon hearing that. "Really?" He bought all those boxes of chocolates and got stuck with veggie lover pizza, go figure.

Andrew tugged at a lock of Neil’s hair. "It's good for you."

"No it isn't," Neil mumbled as he hugged Andrew's pillow tighter to his chest. After a minute's silence, he sighed. "I thought he was getting better."

"Maybe we should send *him* to Easthaven for a few weeks," Andrew said in a much too mild tone of voice, then sighed as he crawled over Neil to stretch out behind him. "I think it's the fact that he’ll have to face off against the Ravens again, and that Riko might have used Jean's phone to reach out to him." Andrew's arm tightened around Neil's waist. "Which, granted, he needs to deal with and face up to. You need to learn to back the fuck down, he needs to learn to deal with this shit, the both of you are polar pains in my ass."

Neil chuckled a little. "You should be majoring in child care or something."

"I am, it's just an informal one," Andrew complained. "Lots of hands-on experience rather than coursework."

Neil almost made a joke about how that had rather disturbing implications for what they'd just done, but caught himself just in time. "Maybe you'll be nominated for sainthood one day because of your many sacrifices." He chuckled a little at the thought. "People can leave cigarettes and switchblades at your altar. Your acolytes will wear all black and have to forego displaying any emotions as a sign of their devotions." He laughed when Andrew took to giving his ribs a rather painful squeeze. "Co-come on... funny," he wheezed.

"Words cannot describe the depth of your idiocy," Andrew swore.

"Yet you put up with me anyway." That came out a bit squeakier than Neil would have liked.

"Only because I don't think it's fair at this point to inflict you on anyone else." When Neil did his best to inhale so he could speak, Andrew gave his ribs another painful squeeze. "Say anything about a certain boring person, and I'll make you eat the entire pizza, vegetables and all."

All right, enough teasing for the time being. Neil just huffed a little and lay there on the bed, Andrew's arm tight around him, until the phone rang to let them know their pizza had arrived.

Andrew went down to fetch it while Neil attempted to get Kevin to hand over the rest of his whiskey, then at least shooed the striker into the bedroom so he didn't have to put up with Kevin's complaining about them eating. Next he fetched some soda for Andrew and water for himself, along with a bunch of napkins and two plates, and was already seated on the floor when Andrew returned.

They were busy eating (and picking off vegetables in Neil’s case) when Nicky came over with Matt to play a game and was a bit surprised to find them there. Neil waited to see if Andrew would object, but he barely paid them any attention so Neil smiled as he leaned against his boyfriend's legs and watched the two bicker and laugh as they played, the feel of Andrew's fingers in his hair. After a while they went up to the roof to have a couple of cigarettes, then went down to the bedroom to work on their homework before going to sleep at a decent time.

Kevin appeared back to normal on Friday and determined to make up for two missed practice sessions. Which on one hand was good, and on the other.... "Do we really need him?" Neil groaned as he collapsed on the bench during afternoon practice. "We can hide the body and say he's in Easthaven, right? You'll back me."

Andrew snorted and handed him a bottle of water. "Drama queen." Meanwhile, Allison paused in checking something on her phone, which really should be in her locker, and gave Neil an assessing look.

"That's not a no," Neil said, clinging to a bit of hope.

"Get another striker for the team and we'll talk," Andrew argued. "I'm not going back to playing full games while Renee pretends to be a backliner."

"No, no, it'll work! We'll make it work!" Neil didn't know how much more of Kevin's anxiety-driven bi-polar nature he could take.

Meanwhile, Allison snorted in derision while she resumed tapping on her phone. "He's got everyone fooled, doesn't he?" she said to Andrew.

"You have no idea," Andrew replied, deigning to speak to her for once.

Friday evening didn't come soon enough, where Neil could collapse in the passenger seat of the Maserati and let Andrew drive the four of them - Aaron was staying behind so he could go out with Katelyn and study for a big exam - to Columbia. It felt odd, going without the other twin, but in some ways it was also better since Aaron wasn't there with his sometimes biting jabs and insults. Andrew was quiet at first, but after a few texts (Neil assumed from Betsy) he seemed to return to normal.

"So, Nicky's going to be unbearable tomorrow. What do you want to do?" Neil asked as he waited for Andrew to finish his first round of shots before coming to stand in front of him, Nicky and Kevin already out on the dance floor.

"Hmm, off to the wizard to see about buying Kevin a spine?" As he spoke, Andrew ran his left hand along Neil's back, his fingers warm through the thin material of Neil's long-sleeved back t-shirt.

"Not sure I'm up for a magical quest this weekend."

"Slacker," Andrew mocked.

"Well, it's just that if he's the cowardly lion, you're the tin man without a heart and Nicky the scarecrow without a brain. I'm getting the uncomfortable feeling that puts me as the person in fancy shoes and a dress at the moment." At Andrew's flat look, Neil shrugged. "What, that's one reference I do get."

"No, I'm imagining the dress. It might work if you grow your hair out a bit more, you've already got the legs for it."

Neil stared at him in shock for a couple of seconds, until he noticed the ever so slight hitch to the left corner of Andrew's mouth. "You asshole," he laughed as he attempted to smack his boyfriend. "I actually bought that for a moment."

Andrew caught Neil's fight and held onto it lightly as he twisted Neil's arm behind his back; Neil could pull free with ease, but allowed it since Andrew wasn't trying to restrain him. "Well, you have to admit that you have a habit of wearing skirts."

"It was a kilt, dammit," Neil pointed out as he leaned forward. "And it was once. For Halloween."

"You still wore it," Andrew argued as his right hand came up to tangle into the hair falling onto Neil’s neck. Foreseeing a heated and prolonged debate if he answered back, Neil chose the wiser – not to mention more fun – route and closed the space between them for a kiss, one that wasn’t very long but still managed to take his breath away.

When they broke apart, Neil rubbed at the back of his neck as he looked over his shoulder, for a moment nervous at something. He didn't see anything other than the usual crowd, and shrugged when he felt Andrew give his hand a slight squeeze before letting it go. "Something wrong?"

"Just... just felt a bit odd," he admitted. "So, you didn't say anything about tomorrow."

"Nothing to do with Exy," Andrew insisted. "Other than that, I don't care."

"We'll figure it out." All Neil cared about was spending some time with Andrew, not hearing Kevin whine about Riko, and *not* hearing Nicky get it on with Erik over the phone. He looked up some ideas on his own phone while talking with Andrew, and it was then that he saw the mass text from Wymack that Kengo Moriyama had been hospitalized again. Needless to say that when Kevin found out, there were more shots consumed. A lot of shots.

Andrew slid one of them over to Neil. “There’s nothing you can do, you know.”

“Yes, I know,” he said as he tossed back the drink, his only one that night. For all he knew, it might work out better in his favor if something happened to the man; he’d dealt with Ichiro the one time, and from the little Uncle Stuart had told Neil, it seemed to be Ichiro who had been keeping Neil out of Edgar Allen, who saw him as property of the main branch. But still, it wasn’t a good thing, any uncertainty in his life when things were already so fucked up, and he had to wonder what Riko was doing to Jean just then.

Neil ended up driving everyone home that night, Kevin all but passed out in the back of the car.

The next day, after waiting for Andrew to wake up so they could go out for some breakfast, they came back to collect a grumpy Kevin and spent a good part of the day driving around, which Andrew enjoyed, and visited the Mulberry Plantation, which Kevin enjoyed while Andrew and Neil tagged along, tuning out their friend's excited prattling. They stopped on the way back to pick up some fried chicken and sides for dinner (Kevin was so happy about the day that he didn't even complain about the fried part for once), and found a dispirited Nicky who quickly cheered up in their presence.

"I miss him so much," Nicky told Neil as they grabbed the plates and silverware so everyone could eat in the living room. "I can't wait until the summer when I can see him again."

"It'll be another year down, by then." Neil tried not to think about how one year closer to graduation for Nicky put Andrew closer as well; even if they were making plans together for the future, there would be the year when Neil had to stay behind at Palmetto State while Andrew went off to the pros, and no guarantee that they would be signed to the same team, at least at first. After the end of last year... no, he didn't want to think about that.

"Yeah, I'm almost at the halfway point now." Nicky smiled at that. "Pretty soon it'll all be downhill, so to speak."

Neil tried to smile in encouragement, but was grateful when Andrew yelled at them to hurry up.

They watched a few movies while they ate and then the others had a few drinks - at least, Andrew and Neil stuck around for two of them, some stupid comedy Nicky insisted on and a semi-decent drama that Kevin picked out. After that, they left the movie watching to those two and went off to their bedroom, Andrew with the bottle of whiskey in hand.

Neil switched out into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts while Andrew just sprawled out on their bed, and soon joined him there. He accepted the bottle but only had a couple of sips before passing it back. "So, an interesting day."

"You're never picking what we do again," Andrew informed him with a slight frown. "I never wanted to know that much about the Civil War, ever."

Neil laughed a little as he lay beside his disgruntled boyfriend. "It made Kevin happy."

"History addict."

"Hmm." Nice to know that Kevin was interested in something other than Exy, while Neil had found some amusement in the people oohing and ahhing over the age of the plantation; clearly they'd never been to Europe and maybe not even up north. "It was different." That was all he'd cared about, them getting out and doing something to take his mind off of Riko and the Moriyamas and everything. And, well, giving Nicky some private time with Erik.

His left hand wrapped around the bottle, Andrew reached out with his right to play with Neil's hair. "Still think I can come up with something better than that."

"Hmm." Neil closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of Andrew's fingers rubbing against his scalp for a moment. "Well, you'll get your chance soon." He smiled when Andrew's fingers still for a moment. "Spring break is coming up soon, yes? Why don't we do something during it for once?"

"This, from the other Exy junkie?"

"I know." Neil opened his eyes and reached out his hand slowly, waited until Andrew gave him a slight nod to run it along Andrew's chest. "I think it'll be good for us, just... I don't know, just get on the road and do something. Go anywhere. Meander. Not have to worry about where we're going or what we're leaving behind." That would be a new thing for him, just going somewhere without any fear. "Your pick."

Andrew seemed to think about that. "And no Exy?"

Neil pressed his fingers over Andrew's heart and smiled. "Well, Kevin will probably complain, but I don't care." He wanted to leave Exy behind for a few days, forget about the importance of everything, of *why* they were playing... he just wanted to forget and enjoy a few days with Andrew. "It's a break, right?"

There was a pause while Andrew had some more whiskey. "Maybe we'll hit some historic bars or something, that'll get him to shut up."

Neil smiled again. "Best of both worlds for him." He'd have to dust off his fake ID if they were doing that, but it should work.

"Yeah." Andrew's fingers resumed combing through Neil's hair.

They spent the rest of the night talking about possible places to visit, until Neil felt sleepy and Andrew had enough to drink, then finished getting ready for bed; Kevin was asleep on the couch and the tv still on, so Neil turned it off while Andrew flung a blanket over the drunk. Sunday was their usual brunch before they dragged Nicky and Kevin out of bed and got back to campus, where Neil studied and talked to Anna for a bit, and Andrew practiced with Renee before Kevin dragged them off to the stadium.

Monday was back to classes and practice, and since Renee was able to go the library with him, Neil got to spend some time with the upperclassmen. That was when he found out about their plans to go to South Dakota with her that weekend, right after the game, to help her foster mother move into a new home. Neil sat there, his Japanese homework mostly forgotten, as they talked with evident excitement about all the effort that went into moving a house - the packing, the cleaning, the organizing. From the sounds of it, Dan, Matt and Allison had never done it before, and were actually looking forward to helping Renee and Stephanie. Neil didn't understand their enthusiasm since it seemed like a lot of effort; he'd never moved a house before, either. Abandoned one, yes. Moved into a new one, yes (and still felt his heart race when he thought about buying the house in Columbia and everything needed for it).

Allison seemed to pick up on his silence and turned toward him. "So, you know about moving, right? You at least moved from Racine to Columbia."

Yeah, not something Neil wanted to talk about. He sighed as he picked up his pen so he could at least pretend he was filling in his workbook. "We had an apartment in Racine and left our stuff to a friend. There wasn't much to bring, especially since Andrew moved in with Aaron and I got my own place."

Allison's eyes narrowed at that. "What about that house of yours we hear about but you don't invite any of us to?" She ignored Renee's admonishment to behave. "Abby said it's nice."

He was beginning to wish that he'd gone back to the dorms instead. "We just got new stuff for it, too, which got dropped off." He shrugged at Dan's surprised look and Allison's appraising one. "So sorry, not much help here."

"You know, I never thought about it before, but just how do you support yourself? Apartments, the cars - and I know the insurance company didn't cut a check big enough for Andrew to afford that Maserati - a house and everything... and no parents? Just some mystery uncle who sets you up with a rich guy? I'm thinking that maybe 'Abram' comes from a better background than his ratty clothes would indicate." She picked at the sleeve of his overlarge sweatshirt and sneered.

He thought about the ostentatious house back in Baltimore, about how immaculate and polished it had always looked, especially on the outside, about the 'nice' clothes Neil had always worn as a child with strict orders to never get dirty... clothes that would be ruined so quickly when his father or one of the man’s people would grab onto them and tear them when they wanted to punish him for disobeying, how they would be thrown away because of the blood stains.... He didn't realize that he was hunched over and staring at his workbook until Renee gave a gentle touch to his left shoulder, near the back of his neck.

"That's enough, Allison. You don't like it when people pry into your personal things so I don't see why you're behaving like this," she said with more than a little censure in her voice.

Allison appeared surprised at something, possibly the rebuke, as she stared at Neil. "I... I just..." She deflated a bit, especially when Neil began to pack up his things. "I'm sorry," she snapped. "It's just, he never talks about that stuff, and we've had quite a few surprises already. I just... I just wanted to know."

"You should know better," Dan said, her voice rough in anger, before turning to Neil. "You don't have to leave, all right? Please stay. No more questions."

Neil hesitated for a moment, because if he left, he really would need Renee to go with him or else Andrew wouldn't be happy; his boyfriend was serious about the whole 'don't go anywhere alone' thing because of whatever Riko was planning. It didn't help that Riko had gone quiet again, what with his father back in the hospital.

"All right, but no more questions," Neil insisted, his own voice a little rough as well.

"You've got it!" Dan appeared relieved that he'd chosen to stay, and Matt even offered to pay for his coffee at the cafe on their way out - his and Andrew's. Seeing how Allison cheered up at that, Neil had a feeling there'd be another bet on that one, and hoped he didn't run into Cheryl or whatever her name was down there.

Wednesday he spent a good bit of the evening up on the roof with Andrew, just leaning against his boyfriend's side while Andrew went through several cigarettes and stared out over the campus while he processed whatever had been brought up in the session with Aaron and Betsy. Neil took that as a good sign - it meant the two of them were talking, even if maybe it hadn't been about anything good. There was going to be a lot of bad, of grievances and ill feelings for them to get through before they could build on something true for once, but he had hopes for them. At the least, it had to be better than what they had.

Friday was their game with Nevada, and the campus was once again in an uproar, the students excited about the Foxes moving into the second stage of the championships. Neil had been so anxious that he'd barely slept the night before, even with Andrew next to him, had been tormented with nightmares, and so struggled to stay awake in his classes. He managed to choke down something to eat at lunch then went back to the suite for a short nap before going off to the stadium with the others.

Nicky geared up with them and did the laps and drills even though he got the red card in the last game and would be on the bench all night, which meant Andrew as the goalkeeper for the game and Renee their spare backliner. Neil felt all right with the substitution until the game started, and Nevada proved how much of a different level second round teams were from the first. He had to fight for each goal he made, had to struggle to keep the ball away from the monster backliners assigned to him, to not get red-carded himself. The temptation to cross the line, to play a little *too* dirty was there, to reach out with his racquet a little more and - no, he had to resist, to remember that these weren't Ravens even if he still was fighting for his life, was just as desperate as he'd been- no.

He didn't want to talk to anyone during halftime, not even Andrew, just wanted to sit there and breathe and focus on everyone's voices, to remember where he was and what he was fighting for, to feel Andrew's hand on his neck. Kevin came to sit down on the other side of him, and at first the sound of Japanese made him flinch.

"You're... you're doing well," Kevin said. He ignored Andrew's glare and looked at Neil. "It's better not to win that way."

Neil just laughed at that statement coming from Kevin of all people, the sound weak and off-key, but he relaxed a little and leaned against Andrew.

They played as hard as they could, the crowd screaming and cheering the entire time, and when the buzzer went off the score was tied, six to six. Since there couldn't be any tied games in the championships, the referees waved all of the players except the goalkeepers and the strikers off the field, with the strikers lining up in front of the opposite goals; they'd take turn firing off shots until one team came out ahead.

Kevin nodded at Neil, and after Nevada went first, scoring against Andrew, he took his shot and also got it inside of the net. Nevada scored again, but then Neil managed to land a point, much to his relief. Another Nevada striker took aim... but that time, Andrew caught it and fired it across the court. When it was Kevin's turn again, of course he got the point and the game was theirs.

The crowd went wild, even though what really mattered was the points, not so much the win. Kevin patted Neil on the shoulder while the Foxes ran back out onto the court. "It wasn't our best game, but we can work with it. Nevada plays next week, so we'll know when we play Binghamton how many points we'll need to make up for tonight."

That was actually rather positive for Kevin, so Neil managed a smile and stepped aside so Nicky could launch himself at the striker, then went down the court to check up on Andrew. His boyfriend, as always, was standing in the goal, this time with a frown on his face, his racquet draped over his shoulders. "Good game," Neil called out to him.

Andrew didn't look like it. "It could have gone better," he said after a minute, and Neil felt a weird mix-up just then, to have Kevin be the cheerful one of the bunch.

He took off his helmet and gave his boyfriend a slight smile. "We'll do better next time."

Andrew gave him an indecipherable look for a moment before lifting his racquet to tap Neil gently - which was good, because no helmet - on the head. "Breakfast tomorrow."

"When don't I buy you breakfast on the weekends?" Neil complained.

"Hush. What did I say about your word quota?" Andrew said as he once more slung his racquet over his shoulders and came out of the goal to join Neil, who thought it was a very good idea to change the topic just then before he did find himself slapped with such a thing.

"Ah, so, want me to drive tonight?"

Andrew gave him a look which meant that he knew what Neil was trying to do, but allowed it anyway.

The weekend was one of their better ones, with Aaron coming along and not being such a snarky pain in the ass for once even if he spent an awful lot of the time texting with Katelyn - maybe because he didn't have to hide what he was doing - and it went by quickly. The Foxes threw themselves back into practice on Monday with fervor as if to make up for Friday, determined to have a clear victory over Binghamton, and Neil spent his lunches and breaks on homework because he was usually so exhausted come evenings because of practice. Neil was so grateful for the weekend, where they stayed on campus so they could focus on studying for midterms falling before the upcoming spring break. It didn't give him as much time with Andrew as he'd like, but they did find a little, and the rest of it was spent together on their bed as they read or worked on papers.

Wednesday before the Binghamton game, while Andrew was off with Aaron for their weekly session with Betsy, Neil asked a favor of Abby, which she did with a hopeful look on her face and while talking about moving on and taking small steps. Neil just gave her a tight smile after it was done, and did his best not to think about certain things for the rest of the day.

Thursday night was an exception from all the practicing, since it was when the odds' bracket was playing and the big three were up against each other. The Foxes gathered at the stadium so they could watch the two games, which were staggered because of the time zones, and see which teams advanced to the next death match round, to see if there was a chance of Maryland taking out Edgar Allen (doubtful, but Neil could always pray. Not that doing so had ever gotten him anything in the past), and who would win between Penn State and USC. Considering that in the past six years that all of the big three had made it past the semifinals... tonight was a big deal, having one of the three being eliminated so early in the championship season.

There were pizzas for the team, courtesy of Wymack who wasn't staying around to join them, being busy on the weekends now with the potential recruits that Neil and Kevin had helped him select. He was determined to have the new players signed by the end of spring break, and Neil felt some anxiety about that - about facing new people... and the thought that one of the new strikers might be replacing him, if the Foxes didn't win.

Of course the Ravens won against Maryland. Neil didn't know why they went through the torture of watching the game at all, though the Foxes had some fun mocking Riko during most of it. He noticed that Renee seemed focused on seeing how Jean was doing during the game.

Things grew quiet when the USC-Penn State game started, and Neil felt a little nostalgia about how he'd once hoped to be playing for Penn State as well as smiled when he saw his former captain, Eddy, come onto the court as a sub dealer. Other than once hoping to be a Lion because it would allow him to remain close to Andrew, he didn't really care which team won since they both were strong candidates to take on the Ravens, though Kevin clearly had a favorite. Kevin nearly threw a fit each time Penn State scored a point against his beloved Trojans, to the point that Neil gave a slight cheer every time it happened - much to Andrew's faint delight and Kevin's growing animosity.

However, it was a short-lived amusement because it soon became clear just how impressive the two teams were, how close they were to the Ravens in skill - which Neil would know, having spent two weeks with the other team. Not quite as good, but yes, very close. And at some point the Foxes would have to face one of them if they did a good enough of a job against Binghamton, which wiped out Neil's good mood and made the anxiety return, made it gnaw at Neil's insides and his wrists ache as if the handcuffs were back on, made him feel as a hand was between his shoulder-blades to push him onto his knees.

Kevin was right, the Foxes weren't ready, weren't ready at all. Neil could barely watch the game, for all the tugging he was doing to his bangs, until Andrew snatched at his hand and pinned it to his lap.

Even Dan came to that realization, as she spoke up during one of the commercial breaks toward the end of the game. "Okay, so it's clear that we need to step it up a notch or two, guys."

Kevin looked at her as if she was insane. "'A notch or two'? Not even if you'd listened to me a year ago when I told you about how bad you were, would you be good enough to face them. There's no way you can improve enough this late to do anything. They're just that much better."

Everyone was quiet for a moment after that, until Nicky threw a dirty napkin at him. "Really? Do you get off at being so damn negative all the time?"

Kevin batted the napkin aside with ease. "Like denying the facts will do us any good? We barely won against Nevada and you think we can take on the Big Three? Just admit it that we're going to lose."

"Kevin, *shut up*," Andrew said, his tone almost civil. Kevin glanced at him and then quickly away, but he didn't say anything else.

Meanwhile, Nicky's expression became rather mulish. "Who knows, right? Miracles can happen. California's overdue for a big earthquake, maybe USC wont' be a big concern for us after all."

"Nicky," Renee chided. "That's not very nice."

"I think we need to stop being nice right about now," Allison told her. "It works for the Ravens, after all."

Renee turned her disappointed expression on her best friend. "Did you forget how the Trojans were there for us when we were almost were disqualified for the season." Then she looked over at Nicky. "Do you really want to wish them ill like that?"

"It's not really about them, you know," he tried to explain. "I just think we've come so far and through so much, I don't want us to lose just yet."

"We haven't," Dan insisted. "So don't act like we have, or it really will be all over."

Kevin started to open his mouth, probably to comment about his precious Trojans again, and Neil didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to know how hopeless the situation was, how the Foxes had maybe one more game in them at best and that was it, that he should start packing his bags right now, and reached over to smack Kevin in the back of the head to keep him quiet. Kevin went still for a moment, as if in disbelief that someone had hit him, and then glared at Neil in outrage.

"I don't want to hear it," Neil told him.

"You hit me," Kevin said, his voice low and angry.

"What about it?" Andrew asked as he toyed with the sleeves of his sweater, a hint of a smile on his face. That made Kevin become quiet again, and everyone resumed watching the game, where USC beat Penn State. Since they had accumulated thirty-seven points over the last three games, they were right behind the Ravens going into the second death match round. Of course Kevin was happy about the whole thing.

They called it a night after that, and everyone went back to the dorms since they'd have a long drive to Binghamton the next day - a fact that only pleased Andrew. Neil tried his best to get some sleep, but after watching the games... he ended up whispering an apology to Andrew halfway through the night and offering to go to the couch so at least one of them could get some rest, but Andrew just pulled him back down, tugged him against Andrew's chest and held him in place. "Don't listen to the coward," he murmured in Neil's ear. "Don't you dare give up already."

Neil smiled a little at that, at Andrew's conviction, and closed his eyes, his fingers loose around Andrew's clothbound wrists, and tried to get a bit more sleep. But they both needed a good bit of caffeine in them come morning, and collapsed in the back seat of the bus together to get some naps in while they could. Andrew rather cheerfully (for him) informed the rest of the Foxes (especially Nicky) to disturb them at their peril.

That lasted as long as the first four hours of the trip, when they stopped for a bit of a longer break and then got back on the bus refreshed and all, and the upperclassmen began to rather vocal about their ride's lack of amenities (mostly a tv), which Wymack promised to look into if they won finals. Appeased that they'd have one next year at least (they knew Wymack well enough that he wouldn’t promise something like that and then hold out on a technicality like a win), things quieted down a little more for Andrew to do some reading and Neil to gaze out the window while letting his mind drift, and they stopped another two hours later for lunch. While walking across the parking lot, Abby caught up to Neil and gave his right arm a squeeze while smiling brightly and flashing him a ‘thumbs’ up sign, doing it quickly while Andrew was distracted by lighting up a cigarette. He felt a sudden rush of relief and smiled at her in gratitude.

When they got back on the bus, Dan and Kevin started talking about the upcoming game and the Bearcats' capabilities, something that Neil would normally be interested in at listening to if not taking part in. However, he continued on to sit back with Andrew, who gave him a curious look then just shrugged. It took Kevin a minute or two to realize that Neil hadn't joined in, then to look around. "Neil?" When Kevin saw him in the back, he frowned. "Get up here, we're talking."

Neil gave him a cool look in return. "I know." He didn't move.

A frown furrowed Kevin's brow as he waited a few seconds for Neil to obey, and when he didn't, he heaved an exaggerated sigh and got up as if to fetch Neil, except after about two steps, Matt flung out his legs to block Kevin from moving any further, and had the audacity to grin at him when Kevin turned his glower at the backliner. "Just stretching out my legs," Matt told him, and wouldn't budge when Kevin tried to shove his way past.

Kevin gave up after a couple of tries, and resumed scowling at Neil. "You gave me your game, remember?" he said in French. "So get back up here and listen to what I have to say."

"No," Neil told him, which only made Kevin all the more furious. "I gave you my game so we could win, and you said last night that we've no chance of doing that. If you think we're so hopeless, then there's no point, right? There's no 'game' for me to give you anymore."

Kevin made a low sound of frustration. "You're being ridiculous," he said while shooting a nervous glance at Andrew. "The only chance we have for winning tonight rests on you and me, so you need to-"

"I already know all about the team," Neil told him. "So go tell it to those 'hopeless' people you're looking down upon." While he spoke, Andrew leaned forward to rest his forearms against the back of the seat in front of them, his attention obviously on Kevin, who wavered for a moment before turning around and sitting back down by Dan then resuming their conversation.

"I may be slightly impressed," Andrew murmured. "Slightly. But I know you'll do something incredibly stupid any moment now to ruin it."

Neil smiled at his boyfriend and tugged Andrew against him. "I'll do my best to stay quiet for as long as possible to make the moment last."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Still, Andrew made himself comfortable against Neil's right side and went back to reading his book, while Neil resumed staring out the window of the bus.

*******

Andrew kept a careful watch on Neil the closer they got to Binghamton; he could see the tension building in his boyfriend as they drew near to the university and he wanted to bash Kevin’s head in for putting it there. Yes, Nevada had been a difficult team to beat. Yes, it was clear to everyone that the Foxes were facing off against tougher teams now. But that was no reason to up and declare that the cause was hopeless and that they were going to lose in the end, not when losing meant that Neil was going off to Edgar Allen and Riko got to sink his claws – no. *No*.

Andrew was going to do everything in his power to prevent that from happening. *Everything*.

So he distracted his idiot by making Neil talk a bit about their plans for the upcoming spring break, about possible places they could stop at on their road trip, while the rest of the Foxes prattled on about the upcoming game. He felt Neil relax a little when they discussed going further south, something that Neil had never done with his mother since they had mainly traveled north and west, the little bit that they’d been in the US.

They argued about possible locations to visit – Neil wasn’t sold on Florida, while Andrew wanted to get out of South Carolina entirely, until they finally reached their destination. They figured that out by the bus exiting the highway, with them finally pulling up to the Binghamton campus in all of its green and white glory. Andrew was a bit disappointed in having his time with Neil come to an end, with having to deal with the crowds and the noise and the rest of the Foxes being all hyped up about the game ahead.

The police were out in force for the game, since the Bearcats had beat the Nevada Tornados the week before and seemed to be on a roll. Andrew stared out the window of the bus at the idiots tailgating and carrying on and… yeah, idiots. Of course Nicky leaned out the window to yell back at them, until Wymack pulled him back into the bus, but for the most part they just drove through the thong of yelling and obscene gestures until they reached the part of the stadium where they could safely unload into the Away game locker area.

They needed at least seven points tonight in order to proceed to the next step of the championship season, to the second round of the death match. To ensure that Neil remained a Fox and didn’t end up back at Edgar Allen. That Riko didn’t get his hands on him again. Neil’s phone had been tucked away the whole day, as had Andrew’s, and he was certain that if they pulled them out, that there would be several messages related to that fact. Related to how unlikely it was that the Foxes could beat a team like Binghamton, could overcome the point gap. How Riko was counting down the days until the end of the semester and Neil would have to return to the Nest.

Until Riko could live up to his threats, to his promise, and make Neil his in every sense. Until he could thoroughly break Neil.

There was no way that Andrew was ever going to let that happen, because if by some incredible chance Neil managed to talk him into letting Neil walk away, to prevent Andrew from following and committing a massive massacre that summer in Edgar Allen… it would happen then and there on the court the first time Andrew looked up from his goal and found Neil on the opposite side of the court dressed in black and red, with that awful attempt of Neil’s to hide all of the pain and darkness inside of him. Because while Neil could fool most of the people most of the time, he never could fool Andrew. Not after all of these years together, not after all of the nightmares in the same bed.

So yes, the only option was to push forward and keep on winning, to face the Ravens together on the court and beat them into the hard wood floor until Riko would never dare to get up again. Until Ichiro would never dare to imagine Neil as anything other than a Fox.

By the time they got into the Away locker rooms, they had about an hour to kill before they would be allowed onto the court for drills. Neil immediately started reviewing his notes on the Bearcats, until Kevin came up to snatch the stack of papers from his hands and sat down on the bench beside him to go over everything with him; Andrew stayed around long enough to make sure everything was all right before wandering around the area and hitting the soda machine for some sugar.

It was before they were about to go onto court that Wymack pulled them all together, his expression uncommonly serious for once. “Ah, before you go out….”

“What?” Dan asked as she pulled on the front of her jersey. “We know, we need to win, we need to get the points tonight.”

“And yeah, they’re a bunch of assholes out there,” Nicky added. “Seriously, did they give out a ‘haters gotta hate’ spiel with each ticket or what?”

Wymack stared at them for a moment before he shook his head. “No, it’s not that, but yeah, watch the crowd while you’re out there.” He paused a moment, and Andrew noticed how he glanced at him and Neil. “There was… well, I don’t know if you want to call it a leak or gossip or what.”

Andrew leaned forward, unwilling to let the man draw out what he suspected was something he wasn’t going to like. “What was it?”

Wymack winced as he went over to the television and turned it on. It took a few flips to through the channels to find it, but it was there on one of the general sports news channels, cycling through the highlights of the day.

From what Andrew could tell, someone had leaked pictures of him and Neil, mostly recent ones at that, where they were together and… and it didn’t look good. Andrew could admit that, seeing it from another perspective. Seeing it from what was being shown on the screen in front of him.

Seeing the images of him with his fingers in Neil’s hair, usually pulling Neil toward him in some way. Of the latest weekend of them at Eden’s Twilight, where he had Neil’s one wrist pinned to the small of Neil’s back. Others were of Andrew with his hand on the back of Neil’s neck, with him seeming to loom over Neil in some manner despite their size differences. Of two photos taken after Neil had gotten back from Evermore, covered in bruises and Andrew… yeah. And of course there was some colorful commentary to go along with the images.

Oh, he had to hand it to the bastard, Riko had done a masterful job of picking the perfect pictures. Of finding the ones where he was calming Neil down from a panic attack, or turning a simple gesture into something of menace, of domination. Because anyone who knew Neil would realize that he wouldn’t put up with anyone pinning him down so easily, with anyone making him behave so meek and mild.

Yet according to the commentary accompanying the video, people were being led to believe that the photos were signs of Neil being in a questionable, possibly abusive relationship, a relationship which was the reason behind him speaking out so much against the Ravens, for his erratic behavior.

Andrew glanced over at his boyfriend, who as staring in aghast horror at the screen. “So, guess those BDSM rumors haven’t died down.”

Neil turned toward him and didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then it was to say, “I hate so many people so much right now,” before he turned around to start kicking a locker.

“Neil? Neil, don’t go breaking anything!” Nicky called out as he rushed over to wave his hands around the idiot. “Like, a foot or something.”

“Oh my fucking god, just when I think that asshole can’t sink any lower, he goes and proves me wrong,” Dan said, her tone almost one of wonderment. Almost.

“Yeah, he’s a special something, isn’t he? Something what, we’ll not get into right now,” Reynolds said as she stared at the screen as if she couldn’t look away, similar to people with car crashes.

Meanwhile, Andrew pulled Neil away from the locker. “Calm the fuck down,” he told him in French. “He’s trying to mess up with us before the game.”

“He’s making me want to rip heads off, he is,” Neil hissed, with a hint of that disturbing smile. “I just, fucking with me is one thing, but this? I don’t-“

Andrew grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him close until their foreheads touched, well aware of the irony of the situation. He felt Neil tense up for a moment, and then relax after a second or two. “Don’t. Don’t let him get to you,” he told the idiot, and Neil gave a slight nod.

However, Wymack grunted when they pulled apart. “Nice that the two of you have calmed down, but the news channels are in an uproar, and my phone has blown up with them demanding an interview – them and the school board. Some people seem to think that I’m allowing an abusive relationship to happen right below my nose.”

Neil jerked away upon hearing that, while Andrew thought about what Stuart had told him, thought about what the hell Riko might be trying to pull at the moment. “What the hell? Who would think such a thing?” Neil demanded. “That’s so fucked up!”

“I know that,” Wymack told him, the words coming out so fast and with such conviction that for once, Andrew believed the man without any hesitation. “But whoever put those damn photos out there is one hell of a spin doctor, I have to give him that.”

“You really think there’s any doubt about who put them out there?” Nicky asked. “Really?”

Wymack shrugged. “Okay, I’m trying not to be completely biased here.”

“It’s Riko,” Neil ground out. “Riko and Tetsuji. They were hinting at Andrew controlling me back in January, now they’re doing this. I just… I just don’t know why.” He latched on to Andrew’s left arm as if it was a lifeline.

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Reynolds was kind enough to point out, which earned her a disapproving look from Wymack and the rest of the Foxes even if it was true. At that point, Abby stepped into the room and motioned to Wymack, which seemed to end the discussion for the moment, while the Foxes broke off into small groups as if to talk about what the hell had just happened. Andrew noticed that Kevin was awfully quiet, but he didn’t think the coward had anything to do with what had just happened. No, probably doing his best to bite back on how inter-team relationships were never a good idea.

Eventually everyone geared up and went out on court to do laps, stretch and do some drills, and the fact that the vast majority of the crowd was Binghamton fans was made clear by the way that they booed at the Foxes’ presence yet cheered at their home team. Yeah, no support there, but the Foxes didn’t seem daunted by that. Considering how little support there had been for them until the past season or so… yeah, no big deal. That there were some added slurs against Andrew in the mix? No big deal indeed.

Andrew sat out the first half of the game, and watched as Neil and Kevin worked themselves hard to score points, worked themselves hard against the Bearcats’ impressive defensive line. Neil was back to his ‘Ravens’ tricks but not pressing too hard, and still the Foxes were down a point come halftime.

Wymack chewed Neil out during the break and warning him to not get red-carded, but Andrew could tell it was a lost cause – Neil was only thinking about them scoring points, about them advancing, and would do whatever it was necessary to make it happen. Was focused on the game and not what had happened before it. Even Kevin was oddly silent on that front, probably because he, too, was trying not to think about how far Riko’s reach extended.

Neil came up to Andrew as they went out onto the court for the second half of the game. “Can you shut down the goal again? Like you did with the Catamounts?”

Andrew gave a heavy sigh for that request. “The Catamounts weren’t anywhere near the same league as the Bearcats.”

That earned him a bit of an annoyed look from Neil. “What does that matter? Can you or can’t you?” There was a bit of a desperate bite to the question, the strain of everything starting to show on the idiot.

Andrew knew where Neil was coming from just then, but he didn’t like Neil relying upon him so much. He didn’t like the thought of Riko feeling like Andrew was bailing out Neil so much, much like back in the previous year. “What do you want?”

“I want you to help us out some,” Neil admitted. “Shut down the goal as much as you can while Kevin and I do… yeah, we’ll do our best.” He sounded as if he meant that last bit, at least.

Andrew stared at him for several seconds. “You’re going to owe me.” He wanted to make it clear that Neil couldn’t expect such things so cheaply.

“Whatever.” The blatant desperation in his boyfriend’s voice almost made him feel bad. Almost. “Just… just help us out, okay?”

 The fact that Neil wanted ‘help’ and not Andrew to do everything swayed him, and he pulled Neil close for a moment. “All right.”

The look of relief on Neil’s gorgeous face just then almost made Andrew forget that they were out on the court, so he just tapped his racquet against the idiot’s helmet as he forced himself away. “Remember, you owe me one,” he forced out as he went over to the goal, and told himself not to be distracted by the grateful smile on his boyfriend’s face. As it was, the catcalls and insults rained down by the crowd did a good enough of a job of centering him.

It was a good thing that Neil was going to owe him one for this shit, because the Bearcats were determined to make him work for that ‘whatever’; they wanted more points and wanted them desperately, making Andrew put more effort than he preferred into shutting down the goal. It wasn’t as if Kevin and Neil weren’t working their asses off to keep the ball on the other side of the court, it was the fact that they were just two people and growing tired from playing half a game already. Meanwhile, the defense rotated through Matt, Nicky and Aaron, and only one of them was really any good. So Andrew started bitching them out, whoever was out on the court, to pick up the fucking slack before he shoved his damn racquet up their fucking asses.

Aaron of course grew ticked off over everything, but Matt rose to the challenge, as did Nicky. Eventually Aaron did, too, once he got over his initial hissy fit. It helped Andrew to keep the goal shut down while first Kevin and then Neil scored points for the Foxes, then repeat those feats again much to the Bearcats’ and the crowd’s dismay. If the game itself had been a tough battle, it was nothing like when the final buzzer sounded off; the Bearcats did *not* take their loss with any sort of graciousness. As soon as it was clear that they’d lost – really, it should have been obvious when they were down two points and only had a couple of minutes on the clock – a Bearcat striker took a swing at Nicky. Before Andrew could get out of the goal, Matt was on the guy to help defend a fellow Fox, and it went downhill from there.

Andrew could hear shouts of ‘fag’ and worse among some other insults while the referees broke up the fight, and knew without a doubt that the Bearcats fans had seen the leaked photos before the game. His main thought was to get Neil out of there, Neil and Aaron and Kevin, and was relieved that Aaron was safe on the bench while Neil seemed to have pulled Kevin away from the ‘scuffle’. He was even more relieved when it was decided to skip the ‘shake hands and pretend to be friends’ shit thanks to the evident animosity between the teams and in general at the moment.

Neil was stuck helping Dan with the interviews, something that had been decided to help show that he wasn’t some cowering, abused idiot (Dan was under strict orders to keep him from ranting about Riko and the Ravens), so Andrew nodded to his boyfriend as he made sure that Aaron and Kevin got safely to the locker room. He hurried through his own shower, one in an actual stall with walls, which would make Neil happy, and joined the rest of the Foxes in a lounge where a couple of guards were standing, probably because of the ruckus out in the stadium. Both were rather large men, one in his thirties and the other a bit older, their bodies bulked up with muscle and their expressions… well, Andrew had seen a lot of people who had given him pause over the years, but these two made him want to stay out of reach for some reason. Whatever security firm they worked for had done a great job of hiring, that was for certain.

One of them, the older of the two but still no one to mess with, considering his bulk and the lightness of his step, went a bit further down the hall to pull a phone of out the pocket of his coat and place a call. He was too far away to hear what he said, but he had a very pleased smile on his face while he talked. Andrew watched him for a little while, something about the man bothering him, until he noticed that the other guard was staring at him and looked away.

Creepy. Neil needed to show up soon so they could leave.

It took a couple more minutes before the idiot did arrive, his hair wet as if he hadn’t bothered to dry it, breathing heavy as if he’d run from the showers with his duffel bag slung over his shoulders. His eyes darted around the room for a moment, and Andrew thought he saw a flurry of emotions cross over it before Neil focused on him – that and Nicky called out Neil’s name and rushed over to tousle the idiot’s wet hair.

“We won!”

“I know,” Neil told him in a rather subdued tone as he flinched away; Andrew frowned at that, because he thought that Neil had gotten better about a few things.

“Aw, such a killjoy,” Nicky said, his happiness a bit deflated since he had noticed Neil’s reaction, too.

Before anyone could say something else, the younger of the two guards stepped forward. “We should head out if everyone’s here.”

“Oh…okay.” Neil stumbled toward Andrew with a clean bandana in his hands. “Thanks for letting me borrow it. And for the game tonight. You were… well, it was amazing.” He stared intently at Andrew. “As always, you were *amazing*.” Then he spun away, to follow the younger guard down the hallway.

Why the hell had Neil given Andrew one of his bandanas? Andrew had no use for the thing, since he actually got his hair cut from time to time. And what was with that ‘amazing’ crap? Neil barely said that to him, he could count the times….

Oh shit, he *could* count the times Neil had said it to him, couldn’t he? Andrew thought as he forced his legs to move, to follow Neil and the two guards. The two guards who were hovering a bit too much around one Fox in particular, and seemed uncaring about the rest of them. Neil had said it to him the night they had played against the Ravens, almost in a joking sense… and back in Nevada, back when Andrew had saved him from the Malcolms. Back from Nathan Wesninski’s people.

The FBI had shown Andrew pictures of Jackson Plank and Patrick DiMaccio, and only now was he remembering it. Older guy had dyed his hair a dark brown and cropped it short, while younger guy had grown it out, lightened it and went with greenish contacts.

By the time he had realized that, they were out of the stadium and surrounded by the few Foxes fans who had attended the game. Meanwhile, all around them was the noise of thousands of disgruntled fans, was the roar of disappointment and rage and heartbreak, along with the scent of alcohol and testosterone and anger. So it wasn’t surprising when the insults rained down on them, which didn’t help in Andrew’s attempt to figure out what to do next, in his analyzing the situation and if those guards had weapons (most likely) and how the hell to get Neil away from the bastards.

They didn’t even make it to the parking lot, where Andrew figured he could dash forward, grab Neil and hide among the cars, before someone started throwing shit at them. One or two items would have been a welcome diversion, but a torrent of shit? Yeah, not good. Especially when it stopped being small stuff and started being large objects, like coolers and parts ripped from the stadium.

Andrew turned away to make sure Aaron was all right for one moment, and then looked back to find that Neil was gone, dammit. He yelled at the police about the fact, but they were too busy screaming at the crowd to remain calm, so that left it up to him, didn’t it? Grabbing onto Renee, he told her to watch Aaron and Kevin, which she quickly nodded in agreement of, before he dropped his bag and went off to search for his idiot.

He found Neil’s bag about ten yards away, which wasn’t much help other than to tell him the idiot had been that way, and fought his way through the now rampaging crowd. Oh, lovely, a full-on riot, what were the odds? First someone painting him as a sadistic bastard, then some mobsters kidnapping his boyfriend, and now this. Wasn’t his night, was it? Or was it that someone was going out of his way to *make* it a rather lousy night, hmm? Dammit, Jean had tried to warn Renee that Riko was up to something. And Andrew thought that Kevin had the flair for the dramatic.

At that point, Andrew was going to have to start looking into grimoires and the dark arts and shit, because killing Riko once wasn’t going to be enough to satisfy the vast amount of frustration he felt. Oh no. He’d need to raise the bastard from the dead again and again so he could break his fucking neck a few more times.

He realized that a service ‘tunnel’ wasn’t too far ahead, and had to hope that was where they’d pulled Neil – it was a bit private and would lead them out to the parking lot. But to reach there, Andrew had to get through a rowdy crowd of imbeciles who were throwing shit around and trying to beat each other up – trying to beat *him* up.  After taking a hit to the side of his face that had him seeing stars for a few seconds, and resulted in the asshole being punched hard enough in the left kidney that Andrew hoped he pissed blood for a day or two, Andrew ditched his team jacket to the ground in hopes that the assholes left him alone a bit more. It worked. A little. Punching yelling, rampaging shitheads helped him to contain his panic over what was going on with Neil. A little.

He grabbed an armrest that some strong fuck had broken off from a seat and thrown down to the ground, and used it to smack people out of his way, which helped to clear a path that much faster. Finally reaching the service tunnel, he caught sight of blood on the ground, which was *not* good, and then one figure huddled over, his hands clutched around his bloody stomach, and the other, the larger one looming over Neil who was on the ground, his face bleeding and his cuffed hands trying to fend off a knife.

Andrew charged ahead, the piece of plastic covered metal held high, and brought it down hard on the bastard’s back. It knocked the man forward, onto Neil, whose eyes were wide with shock at the moment, so Andrew hit the bastard again on the head while also kicking him off of Neil. The man attempted to move, to get up, so that earned him another hit.

Andrew went to finish him off, but Neil cried out his name. “Andrew, don’t!” He fumbled to his knees and knocked Andrew aside. “Stop!”

“He’s not dead yet,” Andrew growled as the bastard – DiMaccio, he realized, let out a ragged breath.

“It’s enough,” Neil insisted, his voice tight with pain. “It’s… too many around.” He closed his eyes for a moment and slumped against Andrew. “Phone?”

All around them they could hear the crowd yelling, could hear people screaming, and the sound of the police telling people to disperse, to exit the stadium and its surroundings. Andrew took that in, took in Neil’s battered state – there was a cut across his nose and trailing a bit beneath his left eye, and the palms of his hands were slashed to shit. He also had been smacked around a good bit. Remembering about the other guy – Plank – Andrew looked up to find him gone. Dammit.

“What are you thinking?”

“That… that enough people saw me leaving with them, and the police are all around us. Call Wolfe.” Neil slumped against the wall and winced in pain. “Call her now before someone comes in here, then warn Stuart.”

“Why should I?”

Neil just gave him a beseeching look, until Andrew swore and dug out his phone. “You owe me even more,” he warned as he kicked DiMaccio’s still form. It took a moment to pull up Wolfe’s number, and she answered it on the second ring. “Who is this?”

“It’s Minyard. Andrew Minyard.” Beside him, Neil began to fuss with his handcuffs, his wrists already torn bloody.

“Andrew? What the hell is going on? We were watching the game and heard a riot broke out, is Neil okay?”

Somehow he wasn’t surprised to know that Wolfe was following things. “No, because some of Wesninski’s men grabbed Neil during the shitfest.” He ignored her cry of surprise and reached over to smack Neil’s arm to get him to stop. “We’re in a service tunnel, it’s taken care of for now but it’s messy. Come help us clean it up.” Then he hung up because too many people were gathering around the entrance of the tunnel; dammit, Neil had been right. The trail of blood probably didn’t help.

He hurried to pull up the limey prick’s number while ignoring Wolfe’s attempt to call him back, and wasn’t too distressed when it went into voicemail. “Riko’s playing games again,” he said in a rush. “Have fun cleaning this up, Binghamton’s proved lovely so far.” Then he hung up as he helped Neil stand up. “Leave the damn things alone,” he snapped while he did his best to wipe the call history, then placed another quick call to a random number on his call list to make it look like accidental dials while fumbling with his phone.

“I want them off,” Neil said, a note of panic in his voice. ”Get them off!” Andrew sighed as he grabbed at Neil’s forearms to make him stop destroying his wrists even more.

Before he could calm down his boyfriend and see about finding something to use to pick off the damn things, someone came down into the tunnel, caught sight of the blood and called out before going back out, and it wasn’t that much longer before police, university and local, were flooding the tunnel. At first they were pushing Neil and Andrew against the wall, rough and threatening, and then Wolfe must have made the call because the assholes backed off even though Andrew still ended up in wrist ties despite Neil’s very loud protests. There was an ambulance for DiMaccio, though a bright soul finally figured out to cuff him to the bed, and medics checked out Neil and Andrew as well before deciding that they needed to go to a hospital as well; Andrew wasn’t going to argue about the decision, since it kept him near Neil and out of jail for the moment.

They let them ride in the back of the ambulance together, though hands cuffed together and with a police officer riding along, and Neil slumped against Andrew, his face and hands bandaged for a moment.

“What happened?” Andrew asked in German, ignoring the police officer’s dirty look.

“DiMaccio… he called right after I got out of the shower. Told me to go along with them or he’d kill you and the other Foxes.” Neil shuddered at that. “Told me not to say anything, to just….”

“Yeah, I get it.” Andrew reached over with his bound hands to tap Neil on the knee. “The ‘amazing’ thing was smart.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure what I could say.” Neil tried to move his hands and shivered at the ties around his wrists; the police had at least removed the handcuffs so the medics could deal with the new wounds from Neil struggling so much. “They… they said that… they were to grab me and, well, rough me up a little, hold me for a few days, but they weren’t going to go along with the plan. They wanted me to pay for my father.”

Andrew thought about that for a moment. “Huh.” Seemed that someone hadn’t come up with the best plan, had he? Hadn’t vetted his ‘people’ all that well. Andrew had to wonder if the announcement earlier had anything to do with the plan to grab Neil, and even the riot at the stadium. Throw in some bad publicity, make it look as if Neil was in an abusive relationship, as if there was something to make him want to leave the Foxes, then have something like tonight happen where he got separated from the Foxes… and yeah, he ends up at Edgar Allen a few days later?

“What are you going to say?”

“Just that they found me and were going to kill me,” Neil told him while closing his eyes, one of which was turning some very lovely shades of green and purple.

Well, Andrew supposed he couldn’t blame the idiot on that one, not when Neil still answered to the main branch and things had to be tense with Kengo being ill. But oooh, this had to look bad for Riko, things failing so spectacularly.

They were quiet the rest of the way to the hospital, where they were separated, much to Andrew’s displeasure and Neil’s very vocal complaint. Some doctor looked Andrew over and told him that he didn’t have a concussion (which Andrew already knew) and that his right eye would be fine (he got a look at it in the mirror and saw that it was half-filled with blood. Huh, interesting). He was offered some pills for the pain, which he had barely noticed due to, well, everything, but turned them down since he wasn’t about to let anything mess with his head; not long after that, an Agent Thompson came to talk to him.

“Huh, you’re a new one. Can I just say that’s not a good look for you,” Andrew told the man. “Undercuts aren’t your friend.”

Thompson gave him a sour look. “I should have left you to Sonja.”

“Probably,” Andrew agreed. “Where’s Neil?” He hadn’t seen his boyfriend since arriving at the hospital, and wasn’t very pleased with the situation. “You know, redhead, mouthy, attracts psychos?”

“You mean Josten. He’s still getting stitched up.” Thompson gave Andrew a stern look. “Now, what the hell went on back there?”

“Nope, no answers until we’re together,” Andrew insisted. “Someone should have warned you about us.”

Thompson tried for an intimidating look next, and gave up after about a minute of Andrew returning it with an impassive stare – he thought the bloody eye helped to unnerve people. “There’s a man in critical condition right now, a man you helped put there.”

“A man who was trying to gut my boyfriend, so it was me defending him. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s on your most wanted list.”

“We want him alive for questioning,” Thompson ground out.

“Then pray that these doctors are good at their job, yes? And be thankful I didn’t kill him outright.” Actually, thank Neil.

Thompson tried a little longer to intimidate Andrew before he threw his hands in the air. “Fine, come along.”

Andrew got moved to a double room where Neil was sitting on a bed staring at a wall, rather dazed and even more bandaged up from before. A nurse was checking on him, which made Neil flinch from time to time. Thompson went over to the bed, which definitely made Neil flinch. “All done with him?”

“His wounds have been cleaned up and tended to, yes,” the nurse told the agent with a frown. “We also had to sedate him a little.” Andrew wasn’t pleased to hear that.

“Good. Now why isn’t he handcuffed to the bed?”

“Because of his wrists – the doctor didn’t want-“

“He needs to be restrained so-“

“I’m not going to run,” Neil said in a tired, distant voice. “I had Andrew call Wolfe.” He scooted back on the bed as if to get away from everyone, and his eyes cleared a little when he spied Andrew. “Can we just get this over with?”

“Yes, the sooner the better,” Andrew agreed as he shoved his way past the agents and even the nurse, uncaring at how Thompson cursed him out. Then he climbed up on the bed next to Neil. “Is Wolfe joining this party or what?”

“She seems to think she is,” Thompson complained. “Now, if you’re both here than we can start.”

“No, Mr. Josten has just been medicated. Dr. Ingram insists that he gets some rest tonight,” the nurse told the agent while pointing toward the door. “Then he’ll check on his condition in the morning before releasing him into your care.”

Oh, Andrew would enjoy the look of frustration on Thompson’s face for some time to come, especially after the day he’d had. When Thompson attempted to argue, the nurse just shook her head and continued to herd the man toward the door. Thompson informed Neil and Andrew that there would be men stationed outside of the door, which was fine with them, and that he’d be back early in the morning.

“About damn time,” Andrew said as he lay down on the bed while tugging Neil down with him; someone had swapped out Neil’s clothes with scrubs, considering that they’d been covered with blood and dirt. Neil stretched out next to him, body loose because of the drugs, and closed his eyes.

“What about the others?” he asked as they fit the best they could on the hospital bed.

“Haven’t heard anything, Andrew admitted. “They took away my phone, so can’t call or anything.” If the others were smart, they were far away from the damn state already.

“Hmm.” Neil tugged Andrew’s hand tighter over his waist. “Thank you. I didn’t… for earlier.”

“I’d rather it have been a certain prick’s head I bashed in, but yeah, you’re welcome.”

“So tired of all of all this shit,” Neil mumbled, the drugs seeming to have really kicked in. “Jus’ wanna be left alone.”

“Yeah.” Andrew missed the days back in Racine, before things got so fucked up. When it was just the two of them, when they muddled through figuring out a ‘normal’ life. Though there was something to be said for the thought of this idiot wanting to stick around for rest of their lives… however long that was going to be at this point.

He didn’t get much sleep that night, not with them being in a strange room, not with Neil doped up with whatever the doctor had given him, and not with Riko fucking with their lives even more. Not with Plank still out there. Andrew didn’t trust the FBI stationed at their door any farther than he could throw them. But he got a couple of hours, especially when Neil drifted awake toward the morning and offered to keep watch while he got some rest, and it was enough to keep him going when that Dr. Ingram and a nurse came in to check up on Neil in the morning and was rather startled to see them both in the same bed. The nurse offered Andrew some scrubs so he could change into mostly clean clothes, and he sat at the edge of the bed to watch while she waited to change Neil’s bandages after the doctor checked him. Yeah, his hands wouldn’t be good for anything for the next week or so, but the nurse assured them both that there didn’t look to be any permanent damage, proven by Neil moving his fingers at his request, and he’d some new scars to add to the collection.

She’d just finished up with Neil and Andrew had changed when instead of Thompson, Browning showed up in the morning with Wolfe in tow. Sonja did a double-take upon seeing Neil and Andrew, especially Neil. “Ah hell, don’t even think to threaten these kids with charges,” she snapped at Browning.

“Minyard’s not really a kid anymore,” the man argued. “And DiMaccio is-“

“Is a notorious killer,” she argued back. “Who was clearly trying to add to his already high body count.”

Browning gave her a surly look. “Can we not do this here? It’s bad enough that word leaked out about the mess at the stadium, we’re still trying to track down Plank and their team is raising a fuss.”

That got Andrew’s attention, along with Neil’s. “Wait, what was that about the Foxes?” Neil asked.

“Nothing,” Browning tried to insist.

“Your team is camped out at a local hotel,” Wolfe let them know while Browning’s expression turned murderous. “The two of you were seen being escorted from the stadium and they refuse to leave the city without you.”

“We’re trying to suppress the story because we don’t want to spook Plank away or let word leak out about where DiMaccio is, but the rumors are flying,” Browning admitted. The look he gave Neil was almost pitying. “It’s probably only a matter of time before people figure out who you are – it’ll be best to go into the witness protection program, then.”

“*No*,” Neil ground out, his bandages hands scrambling for Andrew’s; Andrew lightly grasped one before the idiot hurt himself. “No, I’m not letting that happen! I need… let us see them. The Foxes.” He sounded desperate right about then.

“You’re going to come with us and tell us everything about what happened, do you-“

“Take us to our team,” Andrew told the man. “Let us see them first, then we’ll talk to you.” He gave him a cold look to back up the words.

“Oh, let them see their friends, Adam,” Sonja insisted. “Maybe it’ll get the team to move on if you do.” She smiled in the face of Browning’s displeased glare. “Another hour or so won’t hurt anything.”

“This is my fucking case,” he declared in an almost petulant voice, to which Sonja agreed. After glaring around the room for almost a minute, the middle-aged agent sighed. “Fine, we’ll stop by on the way to the local office, but I’m only giving you twenty minutes with the team. Now get moving, dammit.” After snapping at them, he all but stomped out of the room while pulling out his phone.

Sonja came over to nod at Andrew and give Neil a slight hug, then helped them gather up the few things they had and check out; while she was doing the latter, Neil nudged at Andrew when they caught sight of more agents mulling around the outside of another room and mouthed the word ‘Stuart’. It took Andrew a moment to catch on; that should be where DiMaccio was staying, and the Moriyamas probably would want to know that, seeing how the enforcer was a loose end and all. While Andrew was more than willing to let the man wake up and squeal about his deal with Riko… unfortunately, it would be better for Neil in the end if his uncle took care of things before that happened. And getting the message to the limey prick would settle an outstanding debt someone else owed. Andrew took a quick glance down that way to memorize the room number.

They rode in the back of some boring black SUV to a hotel on the outskirts of the city, not too far from the highway. On their way there, Browning placed a call and said something about ‘get it out of there,’ and spoke to a few other people, sounding more and more annoyed each time. So yes, Andrew wasn’t surprised that the man was in a foul mood by the time the vehicle came to a stop. “Twenty minutes,” he reminded them. “Say whatever you have to and then you’re coming with us.”

“God, Adam, stop being a dramatic asshole,” Sonja snapped. “Neil’s always cooperated with us.”

“I don’t consider extorting us to cover up his boyfriend’s past crimes ‘cooperating’,” Browning grumbled, but he got out of the way.

“I don’t see the team bus,” Neil pointed out as they hurried across the parking lot.

“It attracted too much attention so I had them move it,” Browning said, one of the first intelligent things yet to come out of his mouth, in Andrew’s opinion. “The news has been crawling around your team enough as it is, since the game ended.” The agent nodded to another agent stationed at the bottom of the stairs leading to the upper floor of the hotel, where more agents waited near a particular door. Yeah, like *that* wouldn’t attract anyone’s notice, either.

They finally reached the guarded door, which Browning knocked on. Some grim-faced agent cracked it open and complained about the whole thing, but opened the door the rest of the way before Andrew could kick the damn door into his face. Browning stepped into the room before anyone else, and Andrew could hear the loud voices of the Foxes while the agent tried to talk over them.

“Listen up, you have twenty minutes with them, all right? So try to keep it – hey!”

Wolfe rolled her eyes and motioned for Andrew and Neil to go in while he was talking, and at that point, Nicky let out a loud yelp and rushed past Browning to hug them; Andrew allowed it for all of two seconds before he shoved the idiot away. “Oh my god, you’re – ack!”

“Yeah, it’s them all right,” Dan said with a laugh, which faded once she got a good look at them. “Oh hell, Neil? What happened, are you all right? And you too, Andrew?”

Everyone was there but Wymack, Andrew noticed; Abby rushed forward to hover around Neil, during which Andrew caught Renee’s eyes. He gave a slight wave to the girl to come forward, and once she was in reaching distance, forced himself to grab her for a hug.

“Good to see you,” he told her; after a moment she followed along and hugged him back. He used the opportunity to murmur Stuart’s phone number and the room number in her ear, and felt her give a slight nod in return. Once he knew she’d gotten the message, he let go in a hurry.

There were a few odd stares from the rest of the Foxes, but one look back from Renee had them just smile off the exchange, while Neil finally convinced Abby that he was ‘fine’, that his wounds had been tended to at the hospital. It was around then that Wymack returned to the room with a set of keys in his hands. He took one look around, took in Neil and Andrew and the agents, and nodded.

“All right, what’s going on here?”

Browning stepped forward before anyone else could speak up. “I’m letting Josten and Minyard stop by before I take them in for questioning. Depending on how things go… Minyard will probably be coming back, but it’s most likely best that Josten is placed in the witness protection program this time.”

It was quiet for a moment, and then all hell broke loose. “No! You’re not taking him!” Nicky insisted, louder than the rest of them and almost latching on to Neil except for the fact that Andrew tugged his boyfriend out of the moron’s reach.

“You can’t do that to him! Does Neil even want to go?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, who are you to make that decision?” Matt wanted to know.

“I’m a federal agent,” Browning snapped at them. “And this isn’t a joke! You have no idea what’s-“

“We know about his father,” Dan said, which provoked a faint moan from Neil. She shot him a guilty look while folding her arms over her chest. “Ah, Matt and Allison sorta got it out of Kevin last night, since he seemed to know about some other things.”

The striker, who had been rather quiet up until then, shook his head and gave Neil a beseeching look. “They were going to break my racquets if I didn’t talk.”

Andrew was duly impressed at the way the two had managed to get to Kevin without touching him, and even Neil smiled a little. “That’s all right, I don’t think it’s going to be a secret that much longer.”

Nicky let out a nervous laugh just then. “Well, since Kevin spilled the beans… I may have said a little, too.” He winced when Andrew glared at him. “Not much, just that… well, a little.”

“Yes, so we know about Neil’s father, and we know that Neil made a deal with you guys when he got to Columbia,” Allison said as she tapped her nails together, somehow still looking all immaculate while everyone else was in rumpled clothes and a good bit of them sporting bruises and even bandages as if they’d taken some hits in the whole riot the night before. “So get the information you need out of those two about whatever happened last night and then bring them back, because I am rather tired of staying in this shithole and want to go home.”

Wymack clapped his hands together. “Very well said.” He glared at Browning. “I’m not going to get in the way of an ongoing investigation, but yes, finish up with them and bring them back. Quickly.”

Wolfe smiled while Browning looked as if he was a few seconds from throwing a fit. “I don’t think you understand what this means. They’ve already tracked down Josten once, and as soon as the press realize that he’s a Wesninski, it’s going to be a madhouse.”

“You let me worry about the press, it’s part of my job,” Wymack told him. “Just focus on catching those bastards.” Then he looked over at Neil. “Kid, do you want to come back with us?”

Neil, who had been mostly quiet since finding out that Kevin and Nicky had revealed the truth about his past, glanced over at Andrew for a moment before looking back at Wymack and nodding. “Yes. I mean, it’s a lot to ask-“

“No, it isn’t,” Matt assured him. “No more than dealing with any of the rest of our fucked up families, right?” Allison nodded at that. “Or what we went through for Kevin. It’ll work out.”

Neil tried to rub at his face, but couldn’t, not with the new wounds, and so hissed instead. “I don’t want to be any trouble. Any more trouble.”

“Kid, you’re going to be a ton of trouble if you don’t come back, considering the whining I’ve put up with ever since last night,” Wymack sighed. “Bring him back, and that grouchy bastard with him,” he told Browning. “They’re sort of a matched set, if you haven’t figured it out by now.”

Wolfe laughed at that. “Yeah, there’s even a note in their files about it.”

Nicky sniffed as he eyed Andrew and Neil. “*I* want to have something like that in my files. Why don’t I have FBI files?”

“Oh my god, I’m surrounded by morons,” Aaron griped. “You do *not* want those types of files, all right?”

“I bet Erik and I could-“

“Shut up about the files!” Aaron told his cousin, looking about two seconds away from getting some files of his own.

“Has it been twenty minutes yet?” Andrew asked Wolfe, having reached his limit of dealing with his teammates and family for the time being.

“Just about.” She gave Browning a level look. “Both of them are adults and he’s refused the program before. We can’t force him to go into it, especially since he’s been cooperative in the past. Let’s just take them in, get the information we need and let them go.”

Browning didn’t appear happy right then, but Wolfe was right – Neil hadn’t run after turning over all the information he’d been willing to give up on his father almost three years go, and he’d done basically what the FBI wanted. He’d helped drawn out two of Nathan Wesninski’s top men. Too bad that one of them had gotten away and another was going to die very soon, considering that Renee had her phone out and was busy tapping away on it right then, but yes, it was a valiant try by the FBI to wrap up loose ends.

“Fine. This will probably take most of the day,” Browning snapped at Wymack. “Best to change hotels in case any reporters have figured things out.”

“I’m not going to argue. The longer we can put off that latest PR disaster, the better.” Wymack turned back to Neil and Andrew and gave them an encouraging smile. “We’ll be waiting for you and head back home together.”

Neil looked shocked by that statement, as if he couldn’t believe that the Foxes were just accepting the truth about his parents and everything. Andrew put it down to too much happening all at once, and the fact that Neil was an idiot. “Did you find our stuff?”

Nicky spoke up. “Your bags? Yeah, they’re in my room.”

“Good.” That taken care of, he grabbed Neil by the back of the neck and gave a gentle tug. “Come on, let’s get this over with.” The sooner they left, the sooner they’d be back.

Nicky looked like he wanted to hug Neil again, while Kevin’s expression was one of relief. While Wymack got on the agents to make sure that the two of them were returned quickly, Andrew gave Matt a cool look. “No more threats.”

“We were making sure your boyfriend was okay,” Matt tried to argue, and when Andrew continued to stare at him, sighed. “Whatever.”

At that point Wolfe came over to them with an apologetic smile. “Let’s get going.”

Neil waved to Nicky and Abby. “All right. We’ll… we’ll be back soon.” He sounded a bit amazed about that. Andrew pushed him toward the door so they could deal with the Feds and be done with this shit.

*******

Neil was grateful when Agent Browning was *finally* satisfied with his account of what had happened back at the Binghamton stadium, with everything that had happened with Patrick DiMaccio and Jackson Plank; he was tired of reliving the events, of the terror that had gone through him upon receiving the phone call, soon to be replaced with anger at the thought of his father’s men harming Andrew and the others. At the old fear of seeing the two men, even with the cosmetic changes and the addition of years. Of doing his best to warn Andrew, of walking away from his boyfriend with Plank hovering next to him. Then the riot breaking out and Plank grabbing on to him, the handcuffs being shoved onto his wrists and him fighting them as the awful, familiar panic had broken out.

Of Plank dragging him into the service tunnel while DiMaccio had told him about how they weren’t going to go along with Riko’s plan after all, how they wanted to get revenge for Nathan Wesninski. How they were going to enjoy cutting Neil up a piece at a time, making him bleed and break down. It had taken some effort, but Neil had managed to work a knife free, only for a sudden loud noise to make Plank jerk away right when he went to stab the man, making the hit off-center. Still, it had gotten Plank to let go of him, to give Neil a little space… and left him to deal with DiMaccio.

There had been more hits, the man’s strength just as powerful as before, and then DiMaccio had pulled one of his knives (but not the gun, thank god), which Neil had done his best to fend off. Stupid, now that he looked back at it, but he’d reacted on instinct and was lucky that he hadn’t lost a finger or cut any tendons.

And then Andrew had turned up. At that point, there wasn’t much more to tell the Feds, especially since Andrew’s story matched up with Neil’s. Browning had to be satisfied with the fact that DiMaccio and Plank had seen Neil on the news and decided to risk making a grab for him since he was so close to Baltimore, and the riot was just a case of sore losers.

No charges were filed against Neil or Andrew, Andrew got his phone back, and Sonja drove them off to meet the Foxes. “You know, it would be nice to see each other when things weren’t so messed up,” she told them.

“Sorry,” Neil said as he did his best not to fuss with the bandages on his hands; how was he going to do anything with his hands like this? “Uhm, thank you, for everything.”

She glanced back at them through the rear-view mirror of the SUV. “It’s all right, I’m glad you called me. Being involved on a case like this is good for my career, and I’m glad to know you’re doing all right. Well, mostly.” She grimaced a little. “Brian and I enjoyed watching the game and are happy you won. Just sucks that all the rest happened.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Andrew remarked as he caught at Neil’s bandaged hands and made him put them back in his lap.

She told them that she’d probably stay in Binghamton for more days while she helped out with tracking down Plank and seeing if DiMaccio woke up, then head back to Columbia to work on some leads there. She stressed to Neil about watching out for himself, though she seemed to direct that to Andrew for some reason, and to let her know if anything suspicious happened. She meant well, but there was only so much Neil could tell her, considering the Moriyama involvement.

It was a bit of a drive to where the Foxes were staying, and Neil was tired, tired and sore. There was the pain in his hands and wrists, a throbbing ache, along with the line of fire across his nose and a bit beneath his left eye. A softer tempo were the bruises and aches where DiMaccio had hit him, on the face and chest, and… yeah. He was sore. There were the pain pills which Andrew carried, tucked in the pocket of the hoodie that the FBI had provided to his boyfriend, but Neil hadn’t taken any in hours since he couldn’t risk it while in the Feds’ custody.

They finally reached some mid-ranged hotel, and Neil felt a sense of relief when he spotted the Foxes’ distinctive bus parked in the parking lot. Sonja grimaced a little at it. “At least the press isn’t here now.”

Neil didn’t want to think about people finding out about his true identity – one thing at a time. “Yeah.” His shoulders slumped a little, until he felt Andrew’s warm hand on the back of his neck.

“Let’s get going before they do,” Andrew said, and helped him get out of the SUV. Sonja seemed to know where they were going, and soon enough had them knocking on a door on the third floor. Abby opened it, and let out a relieved cry when she saw the three of them; she reached out to give Neil a gentle hug, which he allowed for a moment before Andrew pushed the two of them to go into the room.

“So it’s all done?” Wymack asked from his spot by one of the two queen beds.

“Yes,” Sonja assured him. “We’ll need Neil and Andrew to testify if things get that far, but for now, we have their statements and whatever information they could give. They’re free to leave.” She paused for a moment. “You do know to be careful, correct? Neil’s an adult and it’s his choice, to remain outside of our protective custody, but something like this might happen again.”

“You’re right, it’s his choice,” Wymack stated. “And me and my team are standing by that choice. We talked about it on the way here, and all of them agree that Neil’s not going anywhere, no matter what the risk. We’re not giving him up on a ‘maybe things will get bad’. There’s always going to be a ‘maybe things will get bad’. Forget it.”

Neil felt something tight in his chest upon hearing those words and couldn’t understand it, why the Foxes were sticking with him like that. He stared in shock at Wymack and Abby, who smiled at him and reached out to give his right cheek a soft touch. Meanwhile, Sonja smiled as well.

“I can’t say that’s the wisest decision, but I’m glad he has friends like you. He has my number, but here it is just in case you notice something.” She handed Wymack a business card. “Now I have to get going.” She gave Neil a quick hug while he was still stunned by what Wymack had said. “Take care, Neil. And keep winning, Brian and I have the Foxes down in the NCAA pool.”

“I think I like you, even if you’re a Fed,” Wymack said as he went with Sonja to the door, which made her laugh.

“Let me take a look at those wounds of yours,” Abby told Neil as she sat him down on the bed. “Did they give you anything?”

“Uhm, some pain pills and antibiotics,” he admitted, which Andrew held up; he sat down on the bed next to Neil and watched on with interest while Abby undid the bandages around Neil’s right hand to reveal the stitched up slashes.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line when she saw the damage. “You don’t touch a racquet until I tell you that you can, all right?”

“But-“

“*No*. It’s a miracle you don’t have any tendon damage, and the last thing you want is an infection. Don’t push it.” She glared at him before she went about checking the stitches, cleaning them and re-bandaging his hands and wrists.

Wymack just shook his head. “We can get a room for you two or we can get on the road, whatever you want.”

Neil looked away from what Abby was doing to glance at Andrew, who just shrugged; he felt bad making the Foxes up and leave when they hadn’t even spent a full day at the hotel, but he hated the thought of staying in Binghamton any longer, after everything that had happened. “I’d rather we leave.”

The man just nodded as if it made sense. “You about done here?” he asked Abby.

“Yeah, just give me a few more minutes,” Abby told him.

“Okay, I’ll go round up the others and get us checked out.”

Neil frowned a little at that. “Uhm… they’re going to want answers.” He didn’t know if he was ready for that yet, after all the talking in the last few hours.

Wymack waved that aside. “It can wait until we get back to campus, since the bus isn’t the best place for your long-awaited confessional. Now let’s get going.” He grabbed some paperwork and left the room, while Abby finished with Neil’s other hand then checked the cut on his face.

“He’s going to make a great pirate for Halloween, isn’t he?” Andrew said. Neil tried to elbow him, but Andrew blocked him with ease. As soon as Abby was done, she started packing up her things while Andrew handed Neil his pills to take, which he did now that he was done with all the FBI stuff. Then they left the room and went out to the parking lot, where they found the rest of the Foxes loading up their overnight bags onto the bus.

“Hey! Ready to hit the road?” Matt asked as he closed the storage compartment.

“Yeah,” Neil said, feeling the last two days catch up to him, especially with the pain pills starting to kick in; he went to rub at his face but forgot about his hands.

Matt gave him a concerned look. “You all right? Coach said for us to leave you guys alone until we’re back, so why don’t you get on board and get some rest? It looks like the both of you could use it.”

All Neil did was shrug, while Andrew started to herd him toward the door for the bus. Nicky called out to them as they walked past, but for the most part, everyone just waved or smiled at them as they made their way to the back of the bus.

The last two seats were left for them, but they went to the last seat and stretched out together, with Andrew against the wall and Neil resting against his chest. That way Andrew wrapped an arm around Neil’s forearms to keep him from fussing with his bandaged wrists. It didn’t take long for Neil to fall asleep thanks to the medicine and Andrew’s presence.

He drifted in and out a bit toward the end, and once or twice Andrew’s arms tightened around him in an almost painful manner, as if to make sure he was still there. At some point late in the night or towards the early morning, Wymack pulled over at a gas station so Dan, Renee and Abby could get out to fetch coffee. Neil sat up a little more, which caused Andrew to grumble, and all of a sudden felt more awake when he saw the Foxhole Court loom off in the near distance.

They pulled into the parking lot a couple of minutes later, so Neil and Andrew got up to join the others. Neil was pleased to see his bag among the gear, along with Andrew’s, but Matt picked it up before he could, and frowned as he looked at Neil’s hands. Andrew just shook his head as he picked up his bag, then they followed everyone into the stadium.

The team settled in the lounge where they grabbed their coffees and then started picking through the snacks that Wymack must have grabbed at the gas station as well, a selection of chips, donuts, energy bars and other stuff. Neil grabbed an energy bar but couldn’t open it because of his bandages, so Andrew sighed as he snatched it up and ripped it upon for him.

Kevin sat down on the other side of Neil, a bag of trail mix in his hand. “It’s good that you’re back,” he murmured in Japanese.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t think it mattered that I told the team, not when the FBI came to interview us about your father’s men.”

Neil sighed as he set the energy bar down, no longer in a mood to eat. “I know. It’s not your fault.” That seemed to reassure Kevin, at least until Andrew glared at him, probably because of them talking in Japanese.

Neil had just had a sip of his coffee when Wymack came in and sat down, which seemed to be the signal which everyone was waiting for, as they took to staring at him. He sighed and held the cup between his injured hands, the heat soaking into his sutured wounds. “I… I don’t know where to begin, really.”

“Your family,” Dan suggested. “We know just a little about them.”

Neil didn’t know what all Kevin and Nicky had told them, other than his father was Nathan Wesninski. So he told them things in broad strokes, told them that his father had been the Butcher of Baltimore and his mother Mary Hatford from the British Hatfords and what that meant, that he’d grown up in Baltimore in that awful house while his father had run a criminal organization. That his mother had enrolled him in Exy under a different name, and that he’d played as a backliner. That one day she’d decided to steal money from his father and to run away, and that had led to them being on the run for all those years until that awful day in Seattle. Then he’d crossed paths with Andrew in California, and they’d made their way to Racine, where Riko had tracked him down and he’d found out about the deal that his father had made with the Moriyamas. About what he and Andrew had decided to do after that.

About them moving to Columbia and him making the deal with the FBI, which Nicky had said something about, about him making a new deal with Ichiro in an attempt to keep him out of Riko’s hands. About everything they’d done to try to keep him away from Riko, and how Riko just kept coming back with new attempts to drag Neil off to Evermore.

Like send two of his father’s men after him the other night.

His throat was sore by the time he was done, but he got through all of that without any interruptions. The Foxes sat through all of that without saying a word and then seemed to need several minutes to take it all in, while Andrew picked up the neglected energy bar and handed it back to Neil.

He’d just forced himself to eat the bar when the questions started, about his time with his mother, about his uncle, and if he really had met Andrew in a juvenile detention center (Dan didn’t seem to get over that one).

“So wow, no wonder Riko’s been a huge asshole. He actually thinks he owns you?” Dan also didn’t seem to get past that fact, either.

“Yeah,” Neil said as he began to rub at his left wrist despite the pain, at least until Andrew reached over to grab at his hand.

“According to the Moriyamas, they do own Neil,” Kevin argued. “It’s the way things are with them.” He brushed his finger over the ‘2’ tattoo.

“You don’t ‘own’ people,” Dan snapped. When Kevin was about to say something, Andrew leaned forward to give him a glare so he just shook his head instead.

The others seemed to think about that for a little bit, while Neil did his best not to worry at his wrists again. Wymack seemed to study him for about a minute before he cleared his throat. “Not that this hasn’t been a cheerful talk up until now, but there’s a couple of things I think we need to discuss. I’ve put it off until now because of everything that happened after the game, but there was still that lovely little ‘exposé’ that hit the news on Friday with the two of you. I’m expected to meet with the board tomorrow to talk about it.”

Neil had forgotten all about that, though judging from how little Andrew’s expression changed, he’d say his boyfriend hadn’t. “But… it’s ridiculous,” Neil argued. “It’s completely untrue.”

Wymack held up his right hand. “I know, and I’m planning on saying that, me, Abby and Betsy don’t believe it at all. We’re telling the board and the media that there’s no chance of the three of us overlooking what they’re calling an ‘abusive’ or ‘damaging’ relationship right beneath our noses and are even willing to put our jobs on the line.”

That was…. “That’s too much,” Neil tried to argue.

“No, it isn’t,” Abby insisted. “We’re expected to protect all of you, it’s our jobs. If we thought something like they’re reporting on was happening, we’d step in. We’re confident that it’s not, so we’re willing to make that statement.”

Dan nodded as if agreeing with her. “None of us would let that happen. We’ll back you guys up.”

“Glad everyone’s so supportive, but there’s still going to be some flak over it and you two are officially out, as it were.” Wymack shrugged as if that last bit didn’t bother him. As for Neil… he’d never intended to keep his relationship with Andrew a secret, but he also didn’t flaunt it. Mainly because he knew Andrew was a private person. He looked over at Andrew, who just looked bored at the moment.

“I’m not answering stupid questions about what we do on dates or how we met,” Andrew said in a flat tone. “Someone’s going to get hurt.”

“Oh my god, this is a PR nightmare,” Dan gasped. “They met at a detention center, which they *broke out of*.”

“I know, isn’t it so romantic?” Nicky cooed.

“Your whole family is fucked up, just saying,” Allison told Aaron, who didn’t even try to argue, he just gave her a pained look.

“No interviews. Definitely no damn interviews,” Wymack agreed. “The only thing that might distract them from it is the fact that while they haven’t figured it out yet, Browning was right in that it’s only a matter of time until the press figure out who Neil really is. The news is out about Wesninski’s men being at the stadium, and there’s already talk about who they were after. As soon as they see you all bandaged up…. They’ll keep digging, and they’ll figure out that your past doesn’t go back very far.”

Neil leaned forward as he attempted to tug at his bangs, but couldn’t do much because of his fingers. He started when he felt Andrew’s hand on the back of his neck. “Maybe it’ll take them a while.”

“Yeah, because you’re that lucky,” Andrew told him.

“Figure out what you want us to tell them,” Wymack told him, which was his way of saying that he agreed with Andrew.

“You might as well give them the answers that they want,” Allison told him. “Then they don’t have to resort to more forceful methods or start harassing you.”

“Maybe if this isn’t Exy fans we’re talking about,” Dan disagreed. “Remember our first year? Pretty soon the other teams will be involved and it’ll be a nightmare, each time we play a game.”

Not what Neil wanted to hear – he wondered if Riko would ‘help’ things along by dropping a hint or two to the press, now that his gambit to forcibly remove Neil from the Foxes had failed. But maybe Wymack was right about there being a distraction of sorts. “Maybe we can give them something they want more than me,” he said as he glanced over at Kevin.

“Like what?” Matt asked. “Right now finding out that you’re the son of a mobster is rather hard to beat.”

Neil reached back to touch Andrew’s hand as he spoke in French. “They won’t care at all about my father, not if you tell them about yours.” He caught Kevin’s reaction out of the corner of his eyes, saw the way that Kevin’s face paled and his body became tense.

“How… when did you?”

“Jean told me,” Neil admitted.

“And he even has the proof to back it up,” Andrew added. “Proof about the great Kevin Day’s daddy. No one’s going to care about him once you finally grow a spine and speak up.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, now’s not the right time,” he insisted, while everyone else stared at them.

Andrew made a disgusted noise. “Always the excuses with you.” He gave the back of Neil’s neck another squeeze. “I think that now’s the perfect time, yes?”

When Kevin didn’t say anything, Neil let out a slow breath. “It’s decided, we’re going to give them something else to focus on. Kevin’s going to tell them about his father,” he said in English.

There was silence for about a minute and then Nicky spoke up. “Wait, you know who he is?”

“I found out a few years ago,” Kevin admitted, his voice tight with stress. “My mother wrote about it in a letter to the Mas- to Tetsuji, and I found it in his library one day and took it with me.”

“And I found it in Evermore, thanks to Jean,” Neil admitted. “And brought it back with me so Kevin could do something about it.” More or less.

“So who is it?” Dan asked.

Kevin shook his head. “I need to contact him first before I say anything.” He was pointedly not looking at Wymack as he spoke, not that Neil thought anyone was picking up on that. “He deserves some sort of forewarning.”

Andrew snorted at that, but didn’t say anything else. Meanwhile, Renee gave Neil an encouraging smile. “Is there anything we can do for you? Anything that you need?”

Other than to prevent the media from finding out about his past and to maybe ensure that Riko died a painful death in the next few hours? Not really, and Renee had already been helpful enough if she had gotten that message to his uncle. “No, it’s enough that you listened to everything and you still want me here.”

Renee continued to smile at him while Dan got up and slowly approached him; she glanced at Andrew, as if checking for his approval, before she leaned down to wrap her arms around Neil, mindful of his recent injuries, and give him a slow yet fierce hug. Despite the pain, Neil allowed it, grateful for the sense of acceptance that went along with the embrace.

“You’re where you belong, you idiot,” she told him before she let him go. “Now I don’t know about everyone else, but it’s been one hell of a long day. How about we call it a night and get some sleep, and then meet up for breakfast or lunch or whatever when we wake up, huh?”

Neil could agree to that. “All right.” His body protested a little at getting up, but it would be nice to sleep in his own bed again.

Abby came over to him and Andrew as they headed for the door. “Let me check on you tomorrow, all right? Remember what I said about being careful with your hands.”

He nodded in agreement, and followed Andrew out to the parking lot and the GS, where Nicky opened the door for him.  Grateful for the short drive back to Fox Towers, it took him a moment to realize that the lack of cars meant that the other students had already headed out for spring break… which the other Foxes should have done the day before at the least, after they got back from Binghamton. Except they had stayed behind because of Neil and Andrew.

He asked about that when they ran into Dan and the others in the lobby, but she just waved aside his concern. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk tomorrow, just get some rest.” When Neil went to argue, Andrew grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pulled him into elevator.

Once in their suite, Andrew grabbed a bottle of water and handed over some more of Neil’s pills before they got ready for bed. A shower would have been nice, but they were too tired at the moment, especially when they would have to deal with Neil’s wounds, so they just changed into some clean clothes and fell onto the bed together.

At some point tomorrow Neil would have to check his phone and talk to his uncle and… yeah. But for now, he was back home, had Andrew’s arm around him and could smell the smoke from the cigarette that his boyfriend had on the way to the dorms. The pain pill was kicking in, making his hands feel like separate parts from himself, and everything that was wrong… well, it could be dealt with after he woke up. Just then, he only wanted to go to sleep and not have to worry about things for a few hours.

“Stop thinking and go to sleep,” Andrew told him.

“Yeah,” Neil murmured as he felt himself start to drift off to sleep, comforted by the sound of Andrew’s breathing and the scent of cigarettes.

*******

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> I foresee some very, very interesting news conferences/interviews in the future. Yes indeed....
> 
> Pity Wymack.
> 
> As always, the comments and the kudos are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Now to work on Armies ch4
> 
> *******


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is really a mix of the TKM and some new stuff (so some credit to Nora). WOW, difficult to comprehend that we're getting close to the end!
> 
> *******

*******

Neil woke up late in the morning on the Monday after the Binghamton game, his arms throbbing from his wrists down and his face aching. Well, a good bit of him ached, but that was the worst of it. Andrew started awake when Neil left so he could go to the bathroom. Despite Neil telling him that he could sleep some more, he was waiting outside of the bathroom when Neil was done.

Afterward, they went into the kitchen, where Andrew fetched the meds for him since his hands were too stiff and aching to manage the bottles, then asked Neil if he was ready to take a shower. Neil hesitated for a moment before nodding, and the two of them went back to the bathroom as soon as Neil swallowed the meds.

His hands were still stiff and sore, not to mention it hurt a bit, twisting about to remove his shirt, which was something that Andrew noticed after a moment. “So helpless, you are,” Andrew sighed as he tugged off first Neil’s shirt and then his boxers, a bit impatiently but still mindful of Neil’s injuries. It was when Andrew removed his own t-shirt that Neil realized that he was standing naked in front of his boyfriend and swallowed past a throat gone dry – it had been several days since they’d done anything, and a couple since they’d really been alone. He reached out a trembling hand toward Andrew’s left shoulder, which sported a bruise, and gave it a light touch.

“From the post-game riot,” Andrew said. “I didn’t even feel it at the time.”

Neil lifted his hand to brush his fingers along the right side of his boyfriend’s face, at first the faint stubble on Andrew’s cheeks and then the bruises there. “You could have been blinded.” Andrew’s eye was still a bit bloodshot.

“Speak for yourself.” Andrew gave a gentle tap to the covered bandage on Neil’s face, which went right below his left eye. He stared at Neil for a moment and then took a step closer. “We need a shower.” There hadn’t been a chance for them to take once since Friday night – they’d gotten by on just washing off since then.

“I know,” Neil said. But once he got in the shower…. He swallowed again and attempted to tug on the waistband of Andrew’s boxer-briefs. “Yes or no?”

Andrew stared at him for several seconds before he answered. “Yes,” he breathed out before he stepped forward, his hands coming to rest on Neil’s hips even as his mouth pressed against Neil’s for a kiss that was more desperate than passionate. Neil cursed the bandages around his sore hands as he attempted to grasp onto his boyfriend’s hair, and had to settle for draping his arms over Andrew’s shoulders.

He ended up backed against the door, his back cushioned by various towels, his mouth on Andrew’s neck as Andrew drove away the pain and left a shivering pleasure in its wake, a pleasure that coiled tighter and tighter with each rough, hasty stroke of his hand around their cocks. It was fast and frantic and… and Neil gasped out Andrew’s name as he came, his head thumping against the door and hands curling as much as possible, Andrew’s mouth on *his* now exposed neck as his boyfriend drew ragged breaths and Neil’s heartbeat gradually slowed down until he felt Andrew shudder against him.

He tightened his arms a little around his boyfriend’s shoulders, just a little, as Andrew slumped against him, but loosened them about a minute later when Andrew straightened up. He got a kiss for that, a slight smile tugging at his lips for burn of stubble against his skin, then moaned at being pulled away from the door.

“Shower now,” Andrew insisted as he stepped out of his underwear. Then he seemed to remember the bandages and grabbed a pair of scissors to cut them so the wet cloth didn’t soak the stitches too much while they were in the shower stall.

Neil felt sleepy from their pre-shower activity and the meds kicking in, and would have been content returning to bed if it wasn’t for Andrew pulling him into the shower before allowing him a little space. He needed his boyfriend’s help to, well, to do everything, considering that he had to keep his injuries mostly dry; it wasn’t so bad now, having Andrew touch him like this while in the shower. Neil could close his eyes and not worry about having his hair washed, that he was basically helpless because of his hands. Though he was still grateful when it was all done and he was dried off, when he felt he could use his hands again, even if only for the most basic things.

“Thank you,” he told Andrew.

“Next time, don’t try to block a damn knife with your hands,” Andrew complained as he dried off himself.

“I was handcuffed and – not going there,” Neil told the asshole as he did his best not to clench his poor hands into fists in frustration.

Andrew had to go fetch them some clothes, and a grinning Nicky was waiting to use the bathroom when Neil left. "Feeling better?" he asked, to which Neil just ducked his head and mumbled something. They went to the kitchen where Andrew redid his bandages, Neil wincing a little the entire time - more from the sight of the stitches on his palms and a bit on his fingers and even his wrists. "That's going to make playing difficult."

The look he got from his boyfriend just then clearly indicated that he was being an idiot. "What? It's less than two weeks to our next game,” he reminded Andrew. “A game we can’t lose.”

"Worry about something other than Exy for once," he was told, and given a smack to the top of his head in addition to it, before Andrew turned away to wake up Kevin.

Nicky came into the kitchen while there was the usual loud thud and yelling from the bedroom and smiled at Neil. "Seriously, feeling better now?"

"A bit," Neil admitted. It helped, getting some rest, along with finally telling the truth to the Foxes and them not hating him or wanting him gone. He didn't want to think about the press finding out the truth about his past or dealing with the photos... but yes, it was better. "What about breakfast? Or lunch or whatever?"

Nicky held up his phone. "We need to get going, as soon as sleeping beauty is ready."

"Yeah, Andrew's on that." Neil could hear Kevin stomping toward the bathroom.

"I'll get dressed then." Nicky hesitated a moment before reaching out to tousle Neil's hair, and when Neil gave him a slight smile in response, grinned before going to change.

He heard Andrew talk to his cousin before returning to the kitchen, probably about their plans, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence while they waited for Kevin to more or less make himself presentable (less) and then they went to meet up at a local diner for what turned out to be a rather late brunch. Everyone else was already there, Aaron having ridden over with Matt, and since it was spring break, the place wasn't too busy otherwise. They pushed a couple of tables together and had a corner all to themselves.

The server stared a bit at Neil, thanks to his bruised face and the bandages, to which Matt and Dan spoke up at the same time with different excuses; Andrew and the others were used to it by now and ignored the woman's reaction, while Neil just fiddled with the hood of his sweatshirt. It was Allison leaning toward the woman and telling her as if a secret about a 'bad breakup' that earned her a narrowed look from Andrew and Neil leaning a bit more than usual against his boyfriend that got the woman to move on.

"Not funny," he told the dealer once the woman had left with their orders. Not funny at all, considering the recent news stories and all.

Allison merely shrugged. "It got her to stop staring, right? Give people what they want to hear and they leave you alone, that's what I've learned. It's what you need to learn, too." She gave him, Andrew and Kevin a pointed stare for a moment before looking at her phone.

"Anyway, back to the plans for the week," Dan cut in, voice a little higher than normal. They'd been talking about it when Neil and the others had arrived, trying to figure out if it was worth it to reschedule their flights or not. Dan was leaning toward the 'not', now that all of them were together and their plans up in the air. Neil had the suspicion that she didn't want to let him out of her sight - him or Andrew, considering what had happened and the news and all.

"What were you guys going to do?" Matt asked. "Don't tell me just hang around here and play Exy."

Neil glanced at Andrew, who was playing with a fork, his attitude one of extreme boredom. "We were going to do a road trip," he admitted, and wondered why the rest of the Foxes seemed surprised by that. "Just drive around for a few days, hit a few stops here and there." He paused as he ran the fingers of his right hand over the bandages on his left wrist. "I just... I wanted to know what it felt like to enjoy driving around, to do it for fun. My mom and I, we were always running from something." Andrew set down the fork so he could wrap his hand around Neil's left wrist instead, which made Neil sigh and leave the bandages alone.

"Wait, you mean you've never taken a vacation?" Dan asked. At his frown, she shook her head. "Never mind, forget I asked, dumb question."

Renee spoke up. "Where were you going to go?" She looked over at Andrew, who shrugged.

"We had some ideas, but nothing solid."

"They weren't going to let me pick," Kevin mumbled with obvious annoyance.

Around then, the server came over with their drinks, a guy helping her with another tray. While they were handed out, Allison held up her phone. "What do you think? A resort?"

Matt gave Neil and Andrew a considering look before shaking his head. "Can't see them there, and might not be a good idea, considering everything. What about a cabin?" Meanwhile, Neil accepted his coffee and stared at them, confused by the question.

"Hmm, that has possibilities." Allison thought about it as she set her drink down on the table. "Blue Ridge?"

Matt nodded in approval. "Haven't been there yet, but heard they're awesome. Should be quiet, too."

"Yes, which will be perfect." Allison turned toward Neil. "Well, what about you?"

"Eh?" He blinked in confusion. "What about me?"

"Yes or no?"

It was a bit odd, hearing that question from Allison, and his silence clearly exasperated her. "We're going to the mountains for the rest of our break."

"Okay, have fun," he told her.

Kevin made a groaning noise. "No, 'we', as in all of us, I think she's saying," he told Neil while Matt grinned and waved his hand around to indicate everyone at the table. While Neil blinked again, Kevin shook his head. "You know we're in the middle of training, right? I was only going along with them," he motioned toward Neil and Andrew, "because I had no choice and-"

"And you think you have one now?" Dan told him with a too-sweet smile. "You do remember who's the captain on this team, right?"

Kevin didn't appear pleased by that reminder. "Which is why you should be willing to-" He fell silent and went still for a moment, before slowly turning toward Andrew, who once again appeared utterly bored with everything... except his left hand was beneath the table, and Neil noticed that the knife was missing from beside his plate, the fork now on top of it.

Kevin glared at Andrew for a couple of seconds before he sent Neil a beseeching look, which Neil wisely ignored while he waited to see if Andrew would let go of his left wrist long enough to fix his own coffee. When his boyfriend didn't, he sighed and began to put enough sugar and milk in Andrew's coffee.

Having realized at that point that he'd been abandoned, Kevin closed his eyes and gave a slight nod of his head to indicate his surrender. Andrew withdrew the knife from beneath the table and accepted his mug from Neil while Nicky made an excited little squeal and pulled out his phone to start looking something up on it.

A small yet pleased smile curled Allison's glossy lips. "Now that's settled, let me find out what I can get." She pulled out her phone again.

"Do you think you'll be able to find anything? Dan asked. "It being last minute and all?"

"Just watch me," Allison said, as if she took finding them something to be a personal mission. While she swiped along her phone, she gave Neil an arched look, as if daring him to object; since Nicky was so excited and Andrew wasn't protesting, he didn't see any reason to not go along with everyone. "All right, then let's see what Sarah can find for us." After the phone rang a couple of times, she started talking to 'Sarah' about them needing a cabin in Blue Ridge large enough for everyone.

"Are you really fine with this?" Neil murmured to Andrew in French.

Andrew gave a slight shrug after finally letting go of his wrist. "Seems better than being stuck in a car with the other three idiots," he admitted.

He did have a point, Neil thought with a smile, while Dan teased Allison about having someone to do her travel booking for her.

"It must be so nice to have all that money," Nicky said as he leaned over the table with his chin propped up by his hands. "Some of us will never know."

"You mean most of will never know," Dan said with a shake of her head even as she knocked her elbow into Matt's side. "Except for these two." Then she looked over at Kevin. "Well, two and a half." Neil assumed she was talking about the money Kevin had from his endorsement deals.

"What about Maserati boy over there?" Allison asked with a negligent wave of her hand.

Neil found his coffee of sudden interest while Andrew picked up the knife again but just held it in his hand. Dan stared at them in surprise while Renee sipped her tea and Allison's expression became smug. "Yeah, I thought so," she said. Any other remarks were prevented by the arrival of their food.

Dan kept shooting them narrowed looks as the plates were distributed around the tables, and spoke up once the servers left. "Wait, how much money did your- ow!"

"I think that question was going to be a bit impolite," Renee chided her friend.

Having a feeling where Dan was going with it, Neil sighed. "I have... a little left over," he admitted. "Enough that I can pay for our share of the vacation," he told Allison.

She just waved her hand through the air again. "Don't worry about it, it's covered." She gave him a slight smirk. "Consider it your coming out present."

Neil had to lean against Andrew again upon hearing that. "Thank you, I think."

"No, not really," Andrew muttered as he glared at his food.

"But they'll take it anyway," Nicky said in a rush as he waved his forkful of pancakes about. "Come on, it'll be fun," he pleased with Andrew.

Andrew just gave him a blank look in return, until Neil nudged the bottle of syrup closer to him so he could drown his waffles in the sickeningly sweet stuff. Distracted by food, things quieted down for a little, though everyone grew excited when Allison received a call confirming that a cabin was waiting for their arrival, just about two hours away in the Smoky Mountains. After that, everyone started planning how soon they could leave and what they should take.

Neil finished with his simple breakfast platter and held up his bandaged left hand. "Abby wants to see me," he mentioned, while Andrew dragged his plate closer to grab the bacon, which Neil decided wasn't worth the effort or mess.

"Go ahead, it'll give us more time to pack," Dan told him. "Don't worry, I got the bill." She held up the team's p-card, which surprised him a bit, but he figured that she must have Wymack's approval and just shrugged it off.

Since he'd forgotten his bag at the stadium the night before, Nicky called Abby to see if it was fine for him to get checked already, so Andrew dropped off Nicky, Aaron and Kevin at the dorms to start packing. However, only Nicky and Aaron got out of the car.

Neil gave Kevin a curious look, but all Kevin did was shake his head, his face pale but his expression set. So Neil glanced at Andrew, who merely lit two cigarettes and passed one over to him before putting the car in gear and heading off to the stadium.

Neil touched Kevin on the arm before they got to the lounge. "Let me talk to Coach before you do, all right?" He had a feeling that the man wouldn't be in a good mood once Kevin was finished with him, and Neil had a question or two he wanted to ask before they left for a few days.

Kevin hesitated before he gave a slight nod, and when they went inside, he headed to Abby, probably for a bit of comfort and courage to firm up his resolve. Andrew gave Neil a questioning look as he hovered around the couch, but Neil nodded on his way to Wymack's office, uncaring if Andrew followed. Once there, he knocked a little, and came in as the door was opened.

Wymack was on the phone talking to someone, and hearing 'Columbus' filled Neil with an odd sense of pride - it seemed the man was rescheduling a flight to the city, which was where the striker Neil had picked lived. Once he was done, Wymack hung up the phone and nodded to Neil. "You look... well, no, still look like shit. Do me a favor and avoid the press for a few more days, all right?"

Neil winced upon hearing that. "They're still determined, are they?"

"You could say that." Wymack leaned back on his desk, his expression grim. "It's going to break any day now, from what I'm hearing. Between them catching sight of us staying in town the extra days, the rumors of you two being there with Wesninski's men... yeah, the press is asking for everything they legally can about you, kid," Wymack warned. "Enjoy the break, but we're going to have to deal with things when you get back." He nodded past Neil at Andrew. "But we'll figure it out, and we'll keep them off your back as much as possible."

"Thank you." Neil went to run his fingers through his hair and stopped because of his hands. "Why are you doing this? All the problems I bring to you, the fact that I lied about who I was and everything Riko keeps throwing at us... wouldn't it just be easier to let me go?" He'd thought about it a good bit over the weekend, while at the hospital and when the Feds were interviewing him and everything.

Wymack just gave him an even stare for several seconds. "I see someone who helped to bring this team together, someone who showed them how to stand up for themselves and fight for something instead of fighting each other. Someone who didn't quit when it got tough - at least not yet." Then he gave a quiet snort. "And you're far from the first to bring me a ton of problems, kid. Yours might be a bit... unique, but if anything, they're a change of pace." He stood up and took a cautious step toward Neil. "I don't regret signing you and I'm not letting you go. Because of you, this team is going farther than it ever has."

Neil shook his head. "It's because of Dan and Kevin."

"Dan never could have pulled everyone together without your help," Wymack insisted, his gaze flickering behind Neil for a moment. "And Kevin wouldn't have made it this far without you showing him how the hell to stand on his own feet, not really. He's got the skill, the talent, but the Moriyamas broke his spirit. He's never going to be much of anything without it, and you're giving it back to him."

That wrung a scoff out of Neil. "You're giving me too much credit."

"Am I? Even when he's complaining about you shooting off your mouth, he's still watching you, still trying to figure you out. Sooner or later, he'll catch on."

Hopefully today would be a step in that direction, Neil thought. Mindful of Kevin being out there and that Wymack probably had a flight to catch, he gave the man a slight nod. "I'll check in when we return. Maybe... maybe we can schedule something about the press when I get back." He wasn't looking forward to it, but Allison had a point about dealing with things and he refused to let people think bad stuff about Andrew for much longer.

Wymack nodded in approval. "I'll let the board know, it'll make them happy to hear that you want to get ahead of this mess." He gave Neil another lookover. "Maybe it'll calm them down a little if I tell them that you're officially the vice-captain for next year."

It felt as if someone had punched Neil in the chest. "But I didn't...." He shook his head until he felt Andrew's hand on the back of his neck. "I didn't agree, I'm not qualified or anything. What about Matt? Or Kevin?" He thought about that. "What about Matt?"

"What do you think?" It took Neil a moment to realize that Wymack was asking Andrew and not him.

"It's more work for me, but he'll be fine once he stops panicking. Which won't be until halfway through the next season, you know." Andrew sounded a bit put out by that fact.

"There you have it." Wymack moved around to the other side of his desk. "Anything else?"

Neil looked over his shoulder at his boyfriend, who appeared unconcerned about everything. "I... I guess not." He tugged at his bangs a couple of times. "I’ll do my best."

"I know you will. Now get out of here, Dan said you guys are going out of town and I want you gone before some disaster happens. Or the press tracks you down. Or both. Just *go*," he pleaded with them. "And no disasters!" he shouted as Neil walked through the door.

"No promises," Andrew shouted back, of course, his hand still on Neil's neck.

"Please don't jinx us," Neil muttered as they went into the lounge, where Kevin was sitting. Just looking at the way the striker was hunched over, the way that Kevin was avoiding to look at them, Neil knew that Kevin was about to come up with an excuse to put off telling Wymack the truth. So did Andrew, judging from the way he let go of Neil and went up to Kevin, his expression a bit too blank and arms loose by his sides.

"Don't," Neil warned his friend. "He deserves to know. Do it for him if not for yourself."

Kevin's head shot up and he began to glare for a moment... only for his expression to crumple as he gave a curt nod. Abby, who was in the room as well, gave them a curious look, to which Neil shook his head as he headed to her office; Andrew didn't follow immediately, probably to make sure that Kevin didn't chicken out again. Abby was right behind him, and Andrew showed up as she was cutting off the bandages on his right hand.

"How soon can I play?" he asked once the cuts were uncovered.

"Idiot Exy junkie," Andrew grumbled with a bit of heat, and Abby didn't chastise him.

"Not until I say so." When Neil went to complain, she gave him a stern look. "No. *No*. You don't rush healing these cuts or risk too much scar tissue, do you hear me?" She stared him down until he let out a slow breath and nodded. "Andrew, you watch him for me, all right? Don't let him do anything stupid."

"That's not asking too much, is it?" Andrew asked from his spot near the door, his tone highly sarcastic.

Abby gave him a sweet smile. "I've every faith in you." When Neil went to speak again, he got yet another stern look, and so decided it was in his best interest to just sit there quietly until she was done. Once everything was checked, cleaned and re-bandaged, she gave him a gentle hug then kissed his forehead. "Take care of yourself for once, all right?"

"I'll try," he promised her.

She wished Andrew a good time as she handed over the travel kit she'd put together for Neil, and upon seeing Wymack's closed office door and no sign of Kevin, they went out to the car where Andrew had another cigarette while Neil enjoyed leaning next to his boyfriend on the cool, clear day.

It took about twenty minutes or so before Kevin came out of the stadium, looking rather rough; Neil had a feeling that the conversation hadn’t gone well. Yeah, why wouldn’t Wymack be happy to know that Kevin had kept it from him for over a couple of years that he had a son? That Kayleigh had never told him and had chosen to leave the child to a psychopath instead?

Kevin got in the back of the car so they could leave, and when they reached Fox Towers didn’t get out of the Maserati. When Neil looked at his friend, Kevin just sat in the car with a pensive expression on his face. “Uhm, I guess I’ll break the news the others,” he offered, having no other clue of what to say.

Kevin just shrugged and remained in the car, so Neil took that as assent, especially since Andrew grabbed him by the elbow and tugged him away, in a clear sign that he wanted to get moving.

They went to their suite to fetch Nicky, then over to Matt’s for Aaron before they all went to the girls’ room, where it seemed that everyone was dropping off their luggage and whatever else was needed for the trip. The girls and Matt were busy gathering any last minute items, and Neil waited until he had everyone’s attention before he spoke up.

“Uhm, so that announcement that Kevin’s going to make? About his father?” That got everyone to shut up fast. “His dad is Coach,” he said in a rush, his right hand going for his left wrist, at least until Andrew grabbed it.

Maybe he should have waited until Dan had finished her coffee before saying that, because she spit out most of the mouthful she’d just taken upon hearing that then choked on the rest, which made Matt start pounding her on the back a bit heavy-handed after second or two. Renee and Allison appeared the most shocked he’d ever seen those two, which was saying something, while Aaron glared at Andrew as if furious at his twin for not saying something sooner.

As for Nicky, one could always count on him for speaking up first. “Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding us,” he proclaimed as he gawked at Neil and Andrew. “How the hell do you know this? When did it happen? *How* did it happen”

“You took sex-ed, just like the rest of us,” Andrew told his cousin in a bored voice. “You should know the details even if you don’t do the shit yourself.”

Nicky made a disgusted sound as he waved his hand about. “I meant how the hell did *Coach* knock up Kayleigh Day. It just… it boggles the mind!”

“She taught him Exy, you moron.”

“Apparently, it was more than just a professional relationship between them,” Aaron pointed out. “So he failed to notice that he knocked her up?”

“She told him that it wasn’t his,” Neil explained. “According to a letter she sent Tetsuji, she lied about it because she wanted him to continue on with his Exy career and have his dream of an NCAA team one day. She didn’t want him to give that up and offer to raise the child, or for him to pressure her to move to the States.”

The Foxes seemed to take that in, at least until Dan was able to speak again. “How long has Kevin known? Was that why he came here?”

Neil gave a slight shrug. “For a couple of years now.”

“A couple of years.” Oh yeah, Dan wasn’t happy about Kevin not coming clean before now. “Yet he didn’t say anything?”

Why was Neil arguing this shit for Kevin? His right hand reached out, only for Andrew to grab it by the forearm and hold onto it. “He was afraid that if he told Coach, that Wymack would try to get him out of Edgar Allen. That wouldn’t have been good, for either of them.” He eyed Andrew, who refused to let go of his arm, and reached up with his left arm to pull down the collar of his t-shirt to expose a little more of his raven tattoo. “Not good at all.”

Nicky winced at the sight of it, and he wasn’t the only one. “Yeah, they wouldn’t have let Kevin go, would they?”

“Then what about when he ran away, huh?” Dan asked, her eyes bright with anger and her cheeks flushed as well. “He’s been here a year and a half now, yet he still kept this from Coach. He had no right, dammit-“ Her voice broke down, but Neil didn’t think it was in anger now, it seemed to be more from grief as she must be thinking about Wymack just then. Out of all of them, she did idolize the man the most. “It’s not right, dammit.”

Neil wondered how it felt to care about a father-figure that much. It was such a foreign concept to him, but he could at least agree on one thing – what Kevin had done to Wymack wasn’t right. “No, it isn’t, but he knows now.”

Matt rubbed Dan’s back in a soothing gesture. “How… how did he take it? Coach?”

Andrew finally let go of Neil’s arm after a warning squeeze. “No clue, we weren’t there to see it,” he said. “But considering how the coward is hiding in the car right now, think it’s safe to say ‘not well’.”

Probably not the best thing to admit, Neil thought with a wince, considering how Dan made a pained noise as she rushed up from the couch, smacking aside her boyfriend’s attempt to reach for her in the process, and rushed out of the living area to head straight into the bedroom, where she slammed the door shut behind her. Renee got up to sit beside Matt, right in Dan’s abandoned spot, and linked her arm through his, but she looked over at Allison while she did it. The dealer stared back at her for a moment before sighing.

“She’s never going to forgive the bastard for that,” Allison remarked; she didn’t sound too upset about it, but then she’d never been the biggest fan of Kevin in the first place.

Renee shook her head. “She will, once Wymack forgives him. You’ll see.”

Neil wasn’t too sure, himself, and thought that Allison might be right. Out of all of the Foxes, Dan was the one to see Wymack as a father figure, who looked to him as more than a coach. She flat out idolized him, wanted to be just like him one day, and wouldn’t take anyone disparaging him or his methods. It probably would have been a shock to her to just find out that Kevin was his biological son, but that Kevin had hidden it like this? Yeah, not good.

Dan had forgiven a lot over the years, at least in regards to slights against the Foxes, but Neil didn't think she'd forgive much when it came to Wymack. He just shook his head and looked at Renee. "Watch out for her?"

"Of course," Renee assured him.

That matter dealt with for the time being and his wounds starting to ache, Neil and Andrew returned to their suite so they could go pack. It didn't take him long, it never did after so many years of living on the run, but they didn't return to the girls' room right away; they huddled together in the one window to share a couple of cigarettes, during which Kevin finally came in, still quiet and appearing emotionally worn, and packed as well. It wasn't until Nicky came looking for them that they finally left, Andrew carrying bags for him and Neil.

It was a little strained, the atmosphere when Dan and Kevin got together - the atmosphere around Dan, period, since she was still livid about the revelation and didn't even want anything to do with Matt at the moment. Neil felt sorry for everyone riding in the car with her and followed along behind Andrew as everyone went down to the parking lot.

The bags were put into the back of Matt's huge truck, with the exception of Andrew's, and then everyone split up between Matt's truck and Andrew's car. Once on the road, Andrew pulled over at the liquor store on the way to the interstate, where Nicky went in and came out with an unbelievable amount of alcohol. Neil was a bit worried about all of it rattling around in the trunk, but it seemed that Andrew had packed a ton of sweaters in his bag - which explained why Andrew had thrown several things in Neil’s bag.

Once back on the road, it took about two hours to reach the mountains, and they followed the directions that Matt had texted them from the main office to the cabin where they were staying. After that, it was a careful ten minutes driving along dirt roads to a massive cabin with a 'rustic' appeal on the outside. "Oh, wow, can I move here?" Nicky asked as they got out of the car.

"You'd go crazy in a week," Aaron told him. "No stores nearby and too many bugs."

"Yeah, that's only if I stepped outside and they don't deliver everything," Nicky argued. Then they got inside and he grinned. "Oh yeah, definitely want to live here!"

The inside of the cabin didn't match the exterior, not with the modern decoration, the art on the walls and plush rugs on the floor, the top of the line appliances in the kitchen and the big screen tv mounted on the wall. There were game tables in the back room as well, and a hot tub out on the huge deck running along half of the cabin, overlooking the scenic mountains. Most importantly, there were five bedrooms, which should mean plenty of sleeping room, or so Neil hoped. One was downstairs and the rest were upstairs. Two of the upstairs ones were already claimed, so Nicky declared that Neil and Andrew should get the downstairs one, just like at their home in Columbia. Since no one around at the time objected to that decision, Andrew shrugged and went into it to drop off their bags on top of the king bed.

Once they had their rooms, they went out onto the long deck, lined with rocking chairs and lanterns, and found the upperclassmen in the hot tub. Matt had a huge grin on his face and Dan seemed to be in a slightly better mood. "I want to live here, this place is so amazing."

"I know!" Nicky agreed. "I said the same thing, as long as I can stay indoors." He looked out at the wide stretch of trees. "So much... nature. And bugs. And nature."

"Imagine that," Allison snarked. "We have the cabin and the view, and the hot tub is amazing. What we need now are some drinks."

Nicky smiled at her. "Hmm, I think we can make that happen." When the upperclassmen turned to look at him, he gave them an innocent look. "What? Did you think we were stopping for snacks or something? All this time and you don't know us? I'm hurt."

"Whose fault is that? I've only been invited out once," Allison reminded them.

"Be thankful," Dan muttered.

Meanwhile, Matt appeared hopeful. "What did you bring?"

"More like what didn't we bring," Nicky told him with a sly grin.

Allison waved him off with an imperial gesture. "I got us the cabin, which means you're stuck with the drinks. There's a blender in the kitchen."

Renee spoke up for the first time since greeting them. "There's two, actually. I saw a backup one in the cabinet above the fridge." Somehow, Neil wasn't surprised that she knew just how stocked the place was already.

Pleased to be doing something and making people happy, Nicky took everyone's drink order and roped Aaron and Kevin into bringing in the alcohol, while Andrew pulled Neil into the kitchen to check it out. There was plenty of ice for the drinks, so Andrew went to grab the second blender while Neil just tried to not get in everyone's way; it wasn't like he could do much with his hands and he didn't know much about mixing drinks. Nicky and Andrew got to work on the requests while Aaron and Kevin just grabbed a bottle of vodka and started drinking at the table.

After Andrew made Renee's (no alcohol) and Nicky left with Kevin to take the drinks out on the deck, Andrew cleaned out the blenders then grabbed two tumblers out of the cabinet. One he filled with whiskey, the other some sort of flavored vodka, which he held out to Neil. After considering it for a moment, Neil accepted it; he didn't want to have too much because of the meds, but he was here with Andrew and the Foxes, was safe, and it... it had been a trying few days. He just wanted to relax. So he held onto the glass with care because of his hand, and smiled when Andrew gave it a slight 'clink' in a silent toast before they drank down the contents together. The vodka had a slight lime flavor, which made him smile again despite the burn.

"Not bad."

"Hmm." Andrew poured them both another shot, then motioned for them to step outside, a bit away from everyone else. Once they were leaning against the railing, he reached into his pocket to pull out his packet of cigarettes and lit two of them, one of which was handed to Neil.

Neil stood there, a cigarette in his hand, the smell of pine and cedar and burnt tobacco all around him, the taste of lime and vodka in his mouth, and for a moment thought about that night back in Racine, of the New Year's Eve party with Anna and Kelci. Of trading truths and hoping for the best, of having Andrew with him, of feeling safe for the first time in so long. Of life without Riko in it, without the Moriyamas... but without Nicky and Kevin and the rest of the Foxes as well. He tossed back his shot and then leaned against Andrew, against that solid, warm weight that always seemed to be there whenever he needed it, that he'd come to depend on so much, and smiled when he got a quiet 'idiot' murmured in his hair. They stood there while Neil's cigarette burned down and Andrew smoked his, while Andrew poured himself another drink, until Nicky called out to them for being anti-social and then went over a bit closer to the others so Neil at least could join in; Andrew against the railing and Neil leaning against him as the meds and vodka made him loose-limbed, as well as a little more talkative than usual.

They were able to get something to eat at eight, even if they had to walk about half a mile down to the main building, and there was plenty of food on hand for all of them. It was a good thing that they were among the few people visiting at the time, due to Neil's bandages and all the bruises the Foxes had taken after the SUA game, but the staff and the property owners were polite and didn't ask any questions.

On the way back to the cabin, Dan pulled Kevin off to talk to him, and Andrew allowed it - though he might have heard Matt warn Dan not to leave any marks on the striker. There was also the fact that the Foxes seemed to be learning in that regard and hadn't touched Kevin last weekend when they had wanted answers about Neil, or that Dan needed to do something, to confront Kevin if she was going to move past things. Either way, Neil did his best to distract Andrew once they got back to the cabin, to fetch him the remaining whiskey and the bag of candy he'd made sure to pack before they curled up on a loveseat together after Matt got a fire going. Andrew gave him a knowing look but accepted the bribery, after making Neil take a couple of sips as payment.

They ended up with Andrew half in his lap, him teasing the tips of his fingers through his boyfriend's hair while Allison regaled them about the various resorts she'd visited over the years with her parents, which of course paled in comparison to the family's many properties. Which of course led to her and Matt arguing about where the Foxes should go once the team won the championships, which made Neil a bit nervous that they weren't just having a fun debate. When they started arguing about cruises, he wondered if he should speak up and offer to help pay for the thing.

If they did come in first place, then he had the money he'd invested, the remains of the cash his mother had stolen. It was his and Andrew's... but some of it could be spent on a vacation like that, right? It shouldn't hurt, and he felt that he owed something to the Foxes for supporting him, for putting up with everything that Riko had thrown at the team in an effort to get at him and Andrew. If the Foxes won, then he was staying with the team and he could indulge a little, just once.

If the Foxes didn't win... well, Andrew could do what he wanted with the money.

He continued to sit there and listen to their plans become more elaborate the longer they drank, and eventually Dan and Kevin showed up, looking much like they had earlier in the day, which was once more upset and worn out but no new bruises. Without being asked, Nicky went into the kitchen to fetch some more bottles while Dan went to curl up with Matt, practically in his lap, while Kevin found an empty rocking chair a bit away from everyone else. Andrew lifted his head enough to check out the striker and then settled back against Neil as if satisfied, and the two seemed determined to catch up to everyone in regards to drinking.

By the time everyone went to bed, only Neil, Andrew and Renee appeared steady on their feet. Neil watched the majority of the Foxes make their way up the stairs, but remained on the first floor since that was where he was sleeping with Andrew. He was about to go into the bedroom with his boyfriend, when Allison leaned a bit precariously over the railing to shout at them to ‘keep the noise down’ during the night, then chided Matt and Dan as well when they pulled her back to safety.

“Such a fucking pain,” Andrew muttered as him and Neil retreated to their bedroom, the sanctuary of the room seeming that much more ideal after spending a good bit of the day with their rambunctious teammates. Neil smiled at his boyfriend as he sat down on the bed, and watched how Andrew locked the door behind them before wandering around the room as if verifying that it was safe.

“Hey,” he said when Andrew finally came over to the bed, his hands reaching out to tug on the hem of Andrew’s long-sleeved t-shirt. “You all right?”

Andrew gave him a considering look for that question. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Neil let out a slow breath. “I mean… yes or no tonight?” He knew Andrew had been drinking since they’d gotten to the cabin, and that sometimes meant ‘no’. That sometimes Andrew didn’t want to push things when there might be an issue with… well, when there might be issues.

Things were quiet for a moment, and then Andrew reached down to pick up Neil’s right bandaged right hand. “And if it’s a yes?” He asked the question in a light, conversational tone, but his expression was blank.

It was difficult to not blush or… well, to speak without embarrassing himself at the moment, but Neil did his best. “There’s… I got some things. In my bag.” Things they’d never needed before. Before… well, before. “Abby checked my blood last week and it’s clean, I know it’s not ideal, we probably should wait a few more months but-“ Oh god, this was worse than he thought. He had just imagined them going away for spring break and well, maybe moving forward a bit. Maybe Neil proving that he still trusted Andrew. And then Binghamton had happened and… yeah.

Andrew stared down at Neil as if he was speaking another language or something, and just when Neil wanted to curl up and die, or at least crawl beneath the covers and go to sleep forever, Andrew pushed Neil further back onto the bed so he could straddle Neil’s lap. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, no argument there,” Neil muttered.

“No, seriously, you are,” Andrew said, his tone just shy of furious as he buried his fingers into Neil’s hair. “You’re still obsessed about that shit?”

“It’s not ‘shit’,” Neil retorted as he glared at his boyfriend, “what if-“

“I talked to Kevin,” Andrew said as he glared back, the words derailing Neil’s frantic thoughts.

“… *what*?”

Andrew’s expression was almost smug just then. “Yes. Just enough to ask him about that prick and any meds or pills, since those fucking Ravens are tied to the hip with each other. And you know what?” Andrew paused a moment while Neil stared at him in silence, mind utterly frazzled at the moment. “Riko never took a fucking thing, not even a vitamin or a supplement, nothing to sully his precious body. And Kevin would know, considering he lived twenty-four seven with the prick. Renee said Jean confirmed it, too. No pills, no meds. Did you see him take anything? He can’t have anything to pass on to you and not be on any sort of medication, you damn idiot.”

Neil stared up at his boyfriend as he thought back to those nightmarish two weeks at the Nest, to all that time spent with Riko, in Riko’s room. Andrew was right – there hadn’t been any medication in the bathroom they’d shared together, taken at the meals where Neil had managed to choke down something to eat despite the pain and the abuse, or at any of the other time he’d been in Riko’s company. Medication for diseases Abby had tested him for required some sort of schedule, and he’d have noticed something during his time with the sadist.

“Still… I don’t…” Neil didn’t have much faith in something going right in his life, not when it mattered. And Andrew mattered so damn much. Even if the chances were slim from what Riko had done to him, he worried because Andrew meant that much. Because so far in his life, Fate hadn’t been so forgiving when it came down to things that were vital to him.

Rocking back onto his heels so his weight wasn’t on Neil’s thighs, Andrew gave Neil a considering look. “I told you not to push things, and I meant it. Think about the fact that you can stop worrying about some things now, and stop trying to push others.” He went to move off of Neil’s lap before Neil grabbed onto his forearms to keep him there.

“I’m sorry,” Neil apologized for the hold before he brushed his lips against Andrew’s. When his boyfriend returned the kiss after a moment’s hesitation, he parted his lips and allowed Andrew to dominate it for a little while, to steal his breath away until he was moaning with frustrated pleasure. As if satisfied with the reaction, Andrew slowly pulled away and stared down at Neil.

“I’m sorry,” Neil repeated, though this time shorter of breath. “But I still… yes or no?” He still wanted Andrew.

“Such a fucking idiot,” Andrew ground out, his mouth a hair’s breadth away from Neil’s. “A stubborn, fucking idiot.”

“Hmm.” Neil closed his eyes and dared to shift his fingers up into Andrew’s hair. Because he’d closed his eyes, he missed the moment when Andrew decided to tumble him onto his side, only to pull away and there to be the rustling sound of clothes being pulled off.

That made Neil open his eyes and let go of Andrew’s hair, which was good because there went the t-shirt, and he smiled as he began to remove his own clothes. Well, he tried to, but Andrew helped him because of his hands and the fact that they were suddenly shaking.

“We don’t have to do this,” Andrew insisted once they were naked on the bed, his hands stroking lightly along Neil’s bruised sides.

“We don’t,” Neil agreed. “But I want to.”  The thought of it didn’t fill him with any panic, didn’t frighten him, and he was tired of what had happened at Evermore holding them back. He just wanted to enjoy these moments with Andrew again, to get things as close to the way they’d been as possible. To not let Riko win. “So if you want to….”

Andrew stared down at him for a few seconds, his face expressionless, before he let out a shaking breath and pulled away; for a moment Neil thought that was a ‘no’, that Andrew either didn’t or that his boyfriend wasn’t going to let them ‘push’ too far that night, but it seemed it was only to go dig around in Neil’s bag for the stuff he’d brought along. When he did return, it was with the bottle of lube.

“Say something if it’s… *say* something,” Andrew ordered, his expression now stern, before he set the lube aside and leaned in for a kiss. Neil curled his fingers as much as he could in his boyfriend’s hair as Andrew’s tongue slipped inside his mouth, and made a pleased sound that got his bottom lip nipped. He retaliated by rocking his hips upward, and things escalated quickly from there.

Andrew took his time, driving Neil almost mad with his fingers and his mouth and the feel of his slight, pleased smile. With the attention and the care, but mostly the never-ending pleasure spiking inside of him as Andrew just – “Dammit,” Neil groaned as he dug his fingers in the asshole’s shoulders despite the pain. “Enough already.” His voice came out hoarse.

“Hmm?”

Amazing how one person could manage so much in one word. Or whatever. “If I could grab a knife I’d stab you right now,” Neil warned. “Enough.”

Andrew huffed a little as he shifted up enough to hover above Neil, his fingers slipping free. “So impatient.”

“And you’re a bastard,” Neil breathed out, arms draped over Andrew’s shoulders. “It’s fine,” he assured said bastard. “Really.”

Andrew gave him a searching look after that before kissing him, then pulled away a little for more lube; Neil forced himself to relax, to focus on Andrew’s face when his boyfriend settled back between his thighs. There was the familiar pressure, some discomfort, and then it was better. It was so much more than better. It was him and Andrew, was the pleasure back and growing sharper inside of him, was the feel of Andrew around and in him, the breath on his neck and fingers loose on his hair, his own arms and thighs around Andrew.

He was trembling, nerves sizzling when Andrew shifted Neil’s hips and, “fuck,” he gasped out, hands curling into fists. He gasped a few more times, the ecstasy rising high enough to drown him, while Andrew choked on a moan against his neck and shuddered against him, thrusts slowing but hand still moving along Neil’s cock, enough to push him over as well.

They just lay there for a minute or two, Neil content to remember how to breathe and enjoy the feeling of coming down from the intense emotion, until Andrew slowly pulled away. Then Neil grimaced at that sensation, along with the ache in his hands as he unclenched his fingers, and waited for Andrew to return from the bathroom; he’d need some help cleaning up. Maybe they’d leave the bandages off for the night, to air out the stitches and all.

When Andrew was done, he came over then dragged a protesting Neil off to be cleaned up (he’d gotten comfortable and was sleepy), then removed the bedspread so they could get back on the bed. Neil expected them to just go to sleep, but Andrew didn’t seem ready for that just then. Neil curled up next to his boyfriend and watched while Andrew picked up his right arm and at first lightly traced some of the tattoo left exposed above the armband, and then the new stitches around Neil’s wrist and on his palm.

“You’re a menace to yourself.”

“Thank you,” Neil said with a dry tone.

Andrew sighed for a moment, his touch almost ticklish. “Do you ever… do you wish it was you… well, just now?”

It was late and Neil would be more than happy to go to sleep just then, and that statement was rather vague. “Just now what?” he asked as he curled his hand about so he could hold onto Andrew’s fingers. “Uhm, what we just did?” Did Andrew mean the sex? “Do I wish what?”

There was a very frustrated, annoyed sound just then. “Don’t be an idiot.”

It was too late for this shit. “Sorry,” Neil grumbled as he tugged Andrew’s hand closer to his chest. “It’s just… oh,” he said when it dawned on him. “Do you mean do I wish that… I did the… you know?” God, why was he blushing just then? It wasn’t like they hadn’t been having sex for however long. It just… they didn’t usually talk about such things.

Judging from the glare Andrew gave him, he was on to something just then. “Uhm… yes?” Neil admitted. It wasn’t as if he didn’t think about it, but he was fine with how things were between them. He was fine, and he wasn’t willing to risk what they had to upset Andrew, to ‘push’ things too far.

Andrew’s expression grew closed off as he stared back at Neil, who gave him a nervous smile. “You do?”

Having a feeling that Andrew misunderstood, Neil sighed as he reached out to give his boyfriend’s right hand a tentative touch, and clasped their hands together when Andrew didn’t draw it away. “I told you, I’m fine with the way things are.” He meant that, too; he didn’t want Andrew to feel guilty or to think that Neil felt slighted. “Are you going to upset if… well, if I can’t…,” he motioned downward with a jerky motion, “with you anymore.” Why was it so difficult to speak about this?

Andrew’s expression softened as he pulled their joined hands toward his chest. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Then don’t ask me that,” Neil argued. “I told you before, you give me what you can.” If one day Andrew could give him that, then fine. If he couldn’t… then what they had was more than enough. Especially since Andrew was accepting of Neil’s limits. “And that’s more than enough.”

Things were quiet for a moment, and then Andrew used his hold on Neil’s hand to pull him closer. “That doesn’t always mean it’ll be like this,” he said.

Neil smiled at that. “Just don’t push too far,” he murmured, a bit pleased at being able to turn that phrase on his boyfriend for once.

“Idiot,” Andrew murmured.

“Mmm.” Neil smiled as he closed his eyes and finally gave in to the urge to go to sleep.

*******

Andrew woke up slowly, gradually becoming aware of the faint light creeping into the room and the odd sounds around him. There were birds chirping and wood creaking and… yeah, it wasn’t normal. But there was the faint sound of breathing off to the side, and he looked over to find Neil curled up beside him, the sheets of the bed pooled down by his lean hips, injured hands cradled between them and auburn curls falling onto that bruised yet still gorgeous face. Falling onto closed eyes, yet leaving the ‘A’ tattoo clear to be seen.

He hated how something so simple, something that should be so ordinary, twisted the inside of his chest and snatched away his breath like that. How he should be used to it after the last couple of years, after waking up to the idiot for so long… but yeah. He kept waiting for this to be a mistake, for it to be some fever dream or drug hallucination or *something*… and nothing. So far, life hadn’t snatched this one good thing away from him yet. So far. He didn’t know if Fate or whatever was just waiting for him to grow used to it, to take it for granted or what and *then* would fuck things up for him… but he wasn’t going to let that happen. Damn the Moriyamas. Damn everything. If he believed in such things he’d say that he was owed this, was owed Neil, but in the end, he just refused to give this up.

So that was why he crept out of bed as carefully as possible, murmuring when Neil stirred a little, and grabbed his phone on his way to the bathroom to relieve his full bladder. And on the way back, he took a picture of Neil bathed in sunlight, of the sheets pooled around his hips, of that fucking raven tattoo on his back and the curls falling around his face until the only part of it that was really shown was the content smile… and sent it off to Riko. Sent it off to Riko with the message ‘you’ll never see this for yourself’, because it was true. Even if Riko somehow managed to get his hands on Neil in the future – something Andrew would do everything in his power to prevent so it was a fucking big ‘if’ – he would only ever possess a pale, broken copy of the idiot. The prick would only ever have ‘Nathaniel’, would never have the fire that made Neil ‘Neil’.

Because the only way Riko could hold on to him would be to utterly break Neil. And somehow… somehow Andrew didn’t see that happening. Not with Neil lasting long afterward.

Andrew turned off his phone and tossed it onto the dresser as he crawled back onto the bed – let the prick try to use that photo against him, to try to twist that in some way. He crawled onto the bed and stretched out beside his boyfriend, and it didn’t take long before Neil stirred awake, body going still for a moment before his eyes fluttered open to assess the situation, then relaxing when he spied Andrew.

“I think you’ll have problems buying me breakfast out here,” Andrew informed him as he reached out to comb his fingers through those tangled curls.

Neil smiled at that. “I think you’re out of luck for the next few days.” He closed his eyes for a moment and made a pleased little sound, at least until Andrew hit a knot. “Damn, we have to walk for breakfast, don’t we?”

“Imagine so.” Andrew gave the stubborn curl a tug. “Doubt anyone’s going to be up for a while, though.” Not with how much they’d drank the night before, the lightweights.

“So we go without them?” Neil seemed to like that idea, and Andrew wasn’t about to complain; while he had gone along with the whole cabin idea, it didn’t mean he wanted to spend every moment with these morons.

“Yes,” he said, and after Neil rolled a little closer for a brief kiss, then they got out of bed so they could wash off and head out. Andrew helped Neil again so the water didn’t get much of a chance to soak into the stitches, and afterward put the bandages back on; it looked as if the wounds were healing up pretty good.

Renee was up as well, so she joined them for the walk down to breakfast, where Andrew handed over Neil’s meds while they enjoyed a rather nice buffet mostly to themselves. Once they (well, Andrew) stuffed themselves, they strolled back to the cabin and found faint signs of life there. While Renee put on some coffee and Neil joined Andrew out on the deck to enjoy a cigarette, Dan staggered downstairs, soon followed by Matt. Allison and Aaron were about another half an hour behind, then came a complaining Nicky right before they all headed out for breakfast, but Kevin was a lost cause until Andrew went to wake up the coward’s comatose ass an hour or so later when most everyone was about to go out hiking.

“I’ll have my phone,” Neil told him as he prepared to go out with the rest of the Foxes, save Andrew and Kevin. He hadn’t asked Andrew to go and hadn’t blinked when Andrew had shaken his head in ‘no’ when Dan did and held up a book instead. In fact, when Dan had given Andrew a dark look at his ‘lack of participation, Neil had given her a scowl in return and reminded their captain that it was everyone’s break. “And Nicky’s there.”

“Not exactly a vote of confidence,” Andrew said. “If you get mauled by a bear, I’m never letting you live this down.”

Neil smiled at that and leaned in to rest their foreheads together. “I’ll trip Aaron and run away, all right?”

Andrew considered that for a moment. “Trip Nicky instead.”

Neil laughed as he walked away, but didn’t promise anything, dammit.

Still, the idiot came back an hour or so later, just when the book was getting good and Kevin was whining about a lack of a decent internet connection, right about time for all of them to go down for lunch. While they were there, Dan went on about signing up for horse riding. Everyone – well, mostly everyone – seemed so excited about it, that they all ended up signed up for it, so after finishing their meal and going back to change, Andrew found himself dragged with the rest of the morons back near the main building where there were stables. Neil shrugged at him while Renee smiled in excitement as they began to lead out horses… until Neil blinked at the horse presented to him and realized that there was no way he’d be able to hold the reins for a couple of hours.

“Uhm….” He held up his bandaged hands to the middle-aged woman who held on to the bridle of the horse. “I don’t think this is going to work.” Then he gave an apologetic smile to Dan and the others. “Sorry.”

Already up on her own horse, Dan stared at him in growing horror. “Shit. *Shit*, I’m so sorry. We can do something else,” she offered.

“No,” Neil said with a shake of his head. “Go and have fun.”

Which was fine with Andrew, he and his idiot could just go back to the cabin… until Allison had to speak up.

She rode over, the horse she was on prancing a bit. “Just put him with his monster,” she told the woman, who appeared rather confused at the moment. “You have a pillion saddle?” When the woman gave her a tentative nod, she motioned toward Neil and Andrew. “They can ride together.”

The woman eyed Andrew and Neil for a moment before giving a more certain nod. “Yes, that’ll work.” Then she led the brown horse away while her coworkers continued to help the rest of the Foxes get mounted. Andrew gave Allison a rather displeased look for her interference, especially when the woman returned with a very large grey horse and it became clear that both he and Neil would ride the thing.

“You’re welcome,” Allison sang out once the two of them were up on the beast, with Neil clinging to Andrew’s back, his arms tight around Andrew’s waist.

“Oh god,” Neil muttered into Andrew’s shoulder. “Do you know to drive this thing?”

“We’ll find out, won’t we?” Andrew told him.

“I like how you think,” Nicky told Allison while holding out his phone to take a picture. “Smile, Neil!”

“Oh god,” Neil muttered again, while Andrew’s glare promised death to his cousin.

Still, morons aside, it was… almost fun, going along the trails. Aaron seemed to enjoy it despite himself, Kevin was less of an asshole than usual, and Neil slowly relaxed against Andrew’s back, a warm presence who murmured comments to him from time to time, a smile against his neck and arms wrapped around him as if to never let him go. Anyone else and it would have been torture, would have been too much, but it being Neil made the day bearable, made it almost special. But yeah, next spring break they were on their own.

Still, he could tell that Neil was hurting when they finished with the ride, that it was too much for his wrists and hands and the bruises littering his torso. So when they got back to the cabin and everyone talked about getting into the hot tub, Andrew pulled his idiot into their room, with Renee trailing in their wake.

Neil blinked a little at that, but Renee had a bit more experience with tending to wounds than Andrew and she had offered to check up on the healing sutures, just in case. After glancing at Andrew, Neil rolled up the sleeves to his long t-shirt and allowed Renee to undo the bandages, to look over the healing sutures then carefully clean them once she was done.

“Have you aired them out at all?”

“Last night,” Neil told her.

She nodded in approval. “I think you should do it a bit more.” She must have noticed his hesitation on that because she shook her head. “I’ll talk to them and make sure they don’t say anything,” she told him as she gave a light stroke over the newly reddened cuts along his wrists. When Neil once more glanced at Andrew, who merely shrugged since it was up to Neil – that and he’d punch anyone who gave Neil shit about the injuries – Neil let out a slow breath.

Taking his lack of an argument as a ‘yes’, Renee left the bedroom, almost silent on her feet. Meanwhile, Neil stared at the mess of his hands and wrists. “I can’t… what’s it like, to get through life without it leaving its mark on you? Without it digging in and-“ He fell silent as he shook his head.

Andrew came over and grasped Neil’s hands in his own. “Seems to me it shows that you’ve survived.”

Neil laughed a little at that, the sound off-key. “Survived what, a wood chipper?” His fingers attempted to curl inward, but Andrew prevented that.

“You survived,” Andrew told him. “That’s all that matters.” He thought of his own scars, the ones he inflicted on himself, and pushed the thought away. Sometimes the gulf between him and Neil was so great he didn’t understand how they ever met in the middle. Then he stroked his fingers along the new stitches, the new red lines on Neil’s wrists and he wondered how two people could be so alike.

“I’m tired of surviving. I just want to live,” Neil admitted. “We were so close….” He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew didn’t say anything as he carded his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair.  Yes, they’d been so close to it back in Racine, had thought they’d left everything behind. And then Riko had shown up to throw their pasts in their face, which was why Andrew wasn’t going to let the prick win. “You should know better than to bet against me,” he told his idiot. “The Ravens are going down this season, just wait and see.”

Neil was quiet for a moment, before he leaned back enough with his chin tilted up in an obvious invitation for a kiss. Andrew indulged him, fingers still tangled in those messy curls, and savored the way that Neil’s lips parted beneath his own, savored the responsiveness, the tentative touch to his shoulders and the way Neil allowed him to pull away a minute later. “Now come on, I want a drink.”

He got a weary sigh for that, but Neil followed him out of the bedroom without any verbal complaint, and it took a couple of minutes before everyone seemed to notice that he wasn’t wearing any bandages. Once that did happen… there were winces (Kevin) and a couple of blatant stares (Aaron and Allison), and outright anger (Nicky, Dan and Matt).

Kevin spoke up first, of course, his eyes latched on to Neil’s hands as Andrew handed him a tumbler full of lime flavored vodka. “Uhm, you *can* play, right?” Of course that was the coward’s main concern.

Neil sighed as he held up his left hand and flexed his fingers, while Nicky made a swatting motion toward Kevin’s head. “Yes, the tendons weren’t damaged,” he explained. “It’s going to hurt and I need Abby to sign off, but I should be able to play against the Bearcats.” At Andrew’s narrowed look, he sighed again. “Might be a problem if they get a bit rough,” he admitted with some reluctance, “but I can still use my hands.”

‘Might’. Someone was living in a fantasy world – if the Bearcats had any idea of the idiot’s injuries, a good hit or two would have him out of the game in a minute.

Fortunately, Dan was a voice of reason just then. “No fucking way,” she told him, the look of fury on her face as she stared at his hands. “If by some insane reason Abby clears you, I highly doubt Coach will and risk you for the rest of the season.” When Neil made as if to complain, she shook her head. “*No*. I can sub for you while Renee helps out Allison one more time, right?” Renee was quick to agree before the idiot could try to argue. “We’ll hold the line, all right? Trust us to do that while you heal up.”

Neil looked as if he was torn in two, which Andrew suspected was the case at the moment; he wasn’t used to accepting help, but he had to realize that if he pushed too far with his hands and they got injured in the game while still healing, then they might get fucked up and risk his career. So Andrew nudged him in the side and spoke in French. “Say ‘thank you’, you stubborn fool.”

That earned him a conflicted look for a couple of seconds, before Neil closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “Thank you,” he told Dan. “I… thank you.”

She beamed at him as if he’d given her some amazing gift. “You’re welcome, rookie,” she replied, her voice a little choked up. “We won’t let you down.”

“I know,” Neil stared down at his glass of vodka. “I trust you.”

Andrew swore that there were tears in Dan’s eyes just then, and when it looked as if she was about to hug his boyfriend, he gave her a warning look that made her take a step back. Meanwhile, Renee smiled that annoying smile of hers and reached over to give a light touch to Neil’s arm instead before going over to hug Dan, which allowed Dan to latch on to her instead.

Nicky made a sniffling sound and wiped at his eyes. “They grow up so fast, baby brothers do.”

“I’m not drunk enough for this,” Aaron mumbled as he headed toward the kitchen, followed by Kevin. While those two grabbed some alcohol, Andrew urged Neil to drink his vodka and finished his whiskey before going out for a cigarette. When they came back, Neil watched on while Andrew and Renee played billiards against Matt, Aaron and Nicky, a bemused expression on his face as he kept score for them.

“Nice to know we have options if we ever run out of money,” Neil told Andrew as he handed over a refilled glass of whiskey.

“Some of us are more than just a pretty face hoping for a rich husband,” Andrew taunted.

“Go to hell, you wee bastard,” Neil told him in a pretty decent Scottish brogue, for which he was going to pay for later even if Andrew had started it.

“Hmm, he’s feeling better, isn’t he?” Renee said with a smile when Andrew went over to her to watch Nicky fail to sink any balls during his turn.

“Unfortunately so.”

Andrew re-bandaged Neil’s hands and wrists before they went down for dinner, but they left the cut across his face alone. When they got back to the cabin, Andrew whipped up more drinks for everyone, while Neil had another shot or two, not enough to get drunk but enough so it seemed that he was joining in with everyone and relaxing a little. They once again settled in the one loveseat while the rest of the Foxes took to talking about everything and anything – except Exy for once – Neil commenting now and then, but for the most part the two of them just content to relax. For Andrew, he was comfortable with Neil leaning against him and a book he was sort of reading, with his brother and cousin and Kevin within sight and a bottle of whiskey to sip from whenever he wanted. It was a good night.

When Neil kept falling asleep, he pushed the idiot onto his feet and told him to go to bed, which Neil did after the second time. Renee and Aaron weren’t too far behind, but Andrew stayed up a little longer to make sure that Kevin didn’t drink himself into a stupor; the coward seemed to be recovering from having told Wymack the truth, but it would sink in soon enough that once they got back to campus, he’d have to face the media about that little fact. When it looked as if Kevin was going to be able to get to bed by himself, Andrew set the book and the bottle of whiskey aside and went off to his own bedroom.

Neil was fast asleep on the one side of the bed, so Andrew was as quiet as possible as he got ready for the night, stripped down to his underwear and a t-shirt, then was cautious as he lifted up the covers. Of course Neil woke up at that, but Andrew murmuring his name as he climbed into bed helped to calm him down, and Neil settled when Andrew stretched out behind him. It didn’t take either of them long to fall asleep.

It seemed moments later when a light noise startled Andrew awake, his eyes flying open as he rolled onto his back and was sitting up around the same time that Neil’s arm hit him, which startled a pained curse from his boyfriend. Andrew spared a glance back for Neil, who was now curled up around his right hand, before he went to see who the fuck was bothering them in the middle of the night. If it was Nicky, they were never finding the body.

It was Renee, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, with a rather serious expression on her face.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said before he had a chance to bitch at her for waking them up. “But I need to borrow your car. I promise to bring it back before we check out.”

Okay, that was a bit unexpected. “Light,” Andrew called out, since this required a bit of an explanation and motioned for Renee to step into the room.

There was another curse, that time not as pained, as Neil moved on the bed to turn on the nearest lamp; he sat cross-legged on the bed with his right hand still cradled against his chest, fingers curled inward, but his expression was curious. Andrew sat down next to him and gently grasped Neil’s right elbow so he could unwrap the bandages to see if any of the stitches had broken. “Give me a minute and I’ll get the keys for you.”

Renee watched for a moment in silence as if unwilling to distract Andrew, until Neil cleared his throat. “Uhm… is something wrong?”

She gave a slight nod as she tucked back a lock of hair that had fallen onto her face. “Kengo is dead.”

Andrew could feel Neil’s flinch upon hearing the words, and silently cursed himself for turning off both of their phones. Yes, they needed the break, but damn, something like that was important to know. Though to be honest, he’d rather have Ichiro in charge than Kengo, since Ichiro seemed to be behind Neil belonging to the main branch.

Still, history was full of examples of how shifts in power could turn messy.

Neil shook his head as he stared at Renee. “How did you find out? Is it Jean? Is he okay?”

That darkness flickered across Renee’s face. “No, he isn’t,” she told Neil. “It seems that Riko didn’t take the news very well and has hurt him.” At Neil’s indrawn breath, she looked at Andrew. “I’m going to get him.”

Since none of the stitches were broken, Andrew let go of Neil’s arm and got up from the bed so he could fetch his keys. “Okay.”

“But, you can’t get in there, there’s codes and everything,” Neil argued. “They won’t let you in.”

The darkness was back. “I think they will,” Renee insisted.

Neil shook his head as he started to rub along his left wrist. “They don’t allow anyone who’s not a Raven or approved by Tetsuji into the Nest,” he warned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t even ask my uncle to get you in, it’s too big of a favor.”

Andrew tossed Renee the keys so he could smack a certain idiot’s right bicep to make him stop trying to maim himself. “So you’re saying not even someone from the university can get into the Nest?”

“No.” Neil looked at his wrists and shuddered. “It’s completely locked down. There were security codes at several points to get in.”

Kevin had said that the Nest was just for the Ravens, but he hadn’t mentioned the access points. Was that new? Andrew glanced at Renee. “Isn’t that interesting?”

She considered the keys in her hand. “Hmm, it makes one think that maybe they’re trying to hide things, yes?” She stared at the keys for a moment before she looked up at Neil. “When I bring Jean out, what will happen to him?”

He made to touch his wrists again before he folded his arms across his chest. “He’s still Moriyama property.” At Renee’s displeased look, he shook his head. “Get him out of there, and I’ll reach out to Ichiro, will see if there’s a way to renegotiate Jean’s deal. I owe him that much.”

“Renegotiate for Moreau, not take on his debt,” Andrew said, wanting that to be made perfectly clear right now before a certain martyr did something highly regrettable.

Neil rolled his eyes. “Yes, renegotiate the terms of *Jean’s* contract, not mine.”

Andrew nodded once before he looked over at Renee. “Good enough?”

She smiled. “Yes, good enough. Now to just make certain that it’s not so easy for him to go back to the Ravens. I think I’ll be waking up some more people, I’m sorry to say.”

“Spread the misery,” Andrew said as he motioned her toward the door. She smiled at him as they left the bedroom and headed for the front door of the cabin. “Is he worth it?” It was a risk, snatching up one of the Moriyama’s ‘assets’.

Renee’s smile strengthened. “I think you should know the answer to that already.” When Andrew gave her a flat look in response, she shook her head. “He’s a good man, just ask Neil. He’ll be a better one when he’s free from Riko. I want him to have that chance.”

Ah, her and her stupid redemptions and second chances. “And is that all you want?”

Renee shrugged as she opened the door. “I’ll be happy if that’s it. But who knows what tomorrow will bring, yes?”

Andrew made a rude noise. “For that bit of bullshit, I expect a full tank of gas when you bring back my car, Christian girl.” Then he closed the door behind her and relocked it before going back to bed, where Neil was sitting up waiting for him.

“So-“

“Not tonight,” Andrew told him. “Just shut up and go back to sleep,” he ordered as he crawled back into bed. “Nothing we can do about it, so let’s just deal with it in the morning.”

Neil looked as if he wanted to argue, and then he huffed a little before reaching over to turn off the light. “Asshole,” he muttered, but the tone was affectionate and he pressed himself against Andrew’s back.

“Idiot,” Andrew shot back.

It wasn’t as easy to fall asleep that time, but they managed eventually. Like Andrew had said, nothing they could do about Kengo’s death, so Andrew eventually forced all the thoughts out of his head and focused on the sound of Neil’s steady breaths.

He woke up to find Neil sitting beside him on the bed, and felt some annoyance at himself over the fact that his boyfriend had managed to move about like that without waking him up. Especially when he noticed that Neil held his phone in his hands. “What is it?” Andrew asked as he rubbed at his face.

“Texts from Riko, nothing from yesterday, though.” Judging from Neil’s face, they weren’t anything good. “Confirmation from Wymack that the press figured out who… well, they tracked down.” Neil tugged at his bangs. “Yeah. Couple from Anna, she’s worried about me, an apology from Wolfe about the leak and one from my uncle. Looks like he changed his number and wants me to call him.”

“So call him,” Andrew said as he punched the pillows behind him for support and sat up as well. Not the greatest way to start the day, but might as well get it over with, yeah?

Neil hesitated for a moment before he dialed the new number. It took a couple of rings, but then a tired Stuart’s voice came over the speaker phone. “It’s about damn time, Nathaniel.”

“Sorry,” Neil told his uncle. “Things were crazy after Binghamton and then… well, we needed to get away.” He tugged on his bangs again. “Because of everything.”

Stuart was quiet for a moment. “The little prick there with you?”

“Yes, he is,” Neil admitted. “*Andrew* is. Don’t call him that.” He was frowning and his voice came out harsh. “I’m tired of everyone insulting him.”

“He’s a-“

“He saved me, back at the stadium. DiMaccio was trying to kill me,” Neil told the man while he glanced across the bed at Andrew. “He stopped that.”

There was a weary sigh over the phone. “Yeah, we got a copy of the police report. You didn’t do too bad a job yourself before he got there, but he made things with DiMaccio a bit easier.”

“So you guys finished him off?” Andrew asked, speaking up at last.

“Let’s just say thanks for the tip, it helped us get to him in time,” was all Stuart said. “And tell your friend we’re even.”

Renee would be pleased to know that. “Great. So, we hear that there’s been some excitement with the main branch, yes?”

That prompted more silence. “Do I want to know how word got out already? They’re still drafting the official press release.”

Andrew looked over at Neil, who shrugged. “That friend of ours stays in close contact with Jean Moreau. Speaking of little pricks, Riko is being a bit out of control in regards to Moriyama property.”

“Fuck,” Stuart muttered. “Look, right now there’s a lot of shite going on. The little prince is busy getting everything under control – this wasn’t unexpected, but there’s still things he has to do, an order to follow. Don’t go stirring up shite, Nathaniel. Now’s not a good time for you to be proving to him that you’re not worth the investment.”

“It’s not me,” Neil insisted. “I’m doing what I can to limit the damage that *Riko*’s thrown at me. This is all on him!” He was almost shouting there, causing Andrew to reach out to cup the back of his neck. “We’re working on a couple of things, such as having Kevin Day reveal who his father is in hopes that it’ll deflect the press away from me, from the photos Riko released and him siccing my father’s men on me.”

“Huh, not bad, I’ll pass that on. Still, try to behave a bit, yeah? No new scandals, no headaches.”

When Neil was quiet, Stuart made a sound of frustration. “What the fuck is it now?”

“That friend of ours, she’s rescuing Jean from Riko as we speak,” Neil explained. “She’s not letting him destroy a valuable Exy player any longer.” At least the idiot knew enough to spin it like that. “He’ll be at Palmetto soon enough.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Stuart muttered. “Oi! Lit- Minyard! You’re just letting this happen?”

“What do you prefer, news of Moreau dying or no longer being able to play so soon after Kengo’s death is announced and Kevin’s back in the press, or him suddenly transferring?” Andrew argued. “Pass that on to the ‘little lord’, and make sure he knows it’s Riko’s fault, that his dear brother is getting too fucking far out of control. That Neil might have been crippled, what with the shit DiMaccio did to him.” Neil flinched at that, which prompted Andrew to tighten his hand on his boyfriend’s nape.

“Look, we’ll make sure that Jean understands things, that he knows not to talk about anything that happened in the Nest,” Neil promised. “I don’t think he’ll need any convincing. But if he stays there, he’s not going to be any good to the Moriyamas for much longer.” Neil’s left hand lifted up to rub at the tattoo on the right side of his neck. “It’s… bad.”

“I think I figured it out when that asshole sent those bastards after you,” Stuart said. “All right, as long as you keep the Moriyama name out of it, it should work. I’ll talk to the little lord as soon as I can catch his ear, but you know Moreau will still be considered an asset.”

“Yes,” Neil agreed. “That’s not an issue.”

“Okay.” Then the man paused. “How are you holding up? Saw that those bastards roughed you up but it wasn’t too bad, right?”

Neil looked at his left hand for a moment, his face still bruised but starting to fade. “I’ve had worse.”

The shame of it was, the idiot had, like when he came back from Evermore. That time in Nevada had been pretty bad, too, just in the amount of stitches.

“Not exactly reassuring, kiddo,” Stuart huffed. “If you’re not going to dump the midget, make him watch your ass better.”

Neil’s face once more twisted with anger. “He watches it just fine, dammit!” Then he seemed to think about what he just said and his expression turned into one of embarrassment. “Uhm, I mean… he looks after me all right.” He went to rub at his face with his left hand then thought about it. “Just accept him already, okay?”

“Still think you can do better,” Stuart muttered. “But whatever. Minyard,” he called out. “We’ll talk later.”

“Looking forward to it,” Andrew told the limey prick. Which oddly enough, he was. Let the man try to argue that boring Carlton would have been able to look after Neil half as well back at Binghamton than Andrew had.

Neil hung up after they exchanged goodbyes then tossed his phone toward the end of the bed. “Do I want to know?” he asked as he shifted about to better look at Andrew.

“Let’s just say that your uncle and I have differing opinions on what’s good for you,” Andrew admitted.

“Huh.” Neil reached out to tug on the hem of Andrew’s t-shirt. “I think it’s clear which one of you knows me better.” There was a slight smile on his lips.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare say it’s that limey prick.”

“Well, he is my uncle. We share a name and all.” Neil’s fingers brushed against the ‘A’ tattoo on his cheek.

“You know, you still owe me from yesterday, and now it’s that much more,” Andrew stated as he shoved at Neil’s shoulder and straddled on the laughing idiot’s hips, mindful of his boyfriend’s reactions. Yet all Neil did was continue to laugh at him, a challenging gleam in those eyes of his as he looked up at Andrew.

Neil didn’t even give him a chance to ask, just said ‘yes’ as Andrew leaned in.

*******

The contentment that Neil felt after leaving the room with Andrew soon faded when he was confronted with a bunch of Foxes curious as to why Renee had vanished during the night. When all Andrew did was just shrug despite the fact that she’d left in his car, Neil sighed and explained how she’d come to them in the middle of the night asking for the keys to Andrew’s car so she could go to Evermore for Jean, how Kengo had died and Riko… Riko wasn’t taking it well. He watched Kevin the entire time he talked, and wasn’t surprised at the way his friend’s expression paled, and how Kevin went right into the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of alcohol to take with him into his room as soon as Neil finished talking.

Yeah, that went as well as he’d expected. Andrew stayed behind while the rest of them went off to breakfast, with Neil bringing some food back for his boyfriend. It was a quiet day after that, with people taking turns in the hot tub and sitting in the rocking chairs and talking. Dan and Matt went off for a hike together, but for the most part, everyone hung out around the cabin except for going out for something to eat.

Much of the remaining vacation was a bit subdued without Renee; Kevin came out of his room the next day, but they still hung out around the cabin as if no one wanted to be too far away just in case Renee returned. Andrew got Neil into the hot tub one of the days, wearing a t-shirt along with his shorts and his forearms and hands kept out of the water, and it was nice, just the two of them. Despite the tension over Kengo and what awaited them back at campus, it felt good to have a few days where they could just relax and talk (or not talk). Where it felt as if no one was watching them or judging them.

They had to go back on Sunday, though, and Renee returned mid-morning, as promised. Neil was sitting on the back deck with Andrew as they had their cigarettes, doing his best not to think about the interviews waiting for him, when he started at the sound of tires on the gravel driveway. Sharing a look with Andrew, he ground out his cigarette and headed inside, waking up Nicky along the way since his friend had fallen asleep in one of the rocking chairs. By the time the three of them got inside, Renee was there waiting for them, along with the rest of the Foxes.

“Good morning,” she wished them, a tired smile on her face.

“How is he?” Kevin asked, as always not bothering with social niceties.

Renee’s slight smile slipped away. “He’s not very good at the moment,” she admitted. “Abby’s doing her best with him. He’s at her house right now.”

Dan stared at her in shock. “Seriously? You went through with it? You kidnapped a Raven?” Neil frowned at her, because hadn’t he made it clear that was what Renee was doing?

Renee gave her friend a sympathetic look as if she understood it was a bit much to take in as she accepted the mug of coffee that Andrew had just fetched for her. “Thank you,” she murmured before she once more focused her attention on the team’s captain. “I didn’t have to do anything so drastic.” The hint of a smile returned. “Edgar Allen’s president lives on campus, so I visited him before I attempted to get into the Nest.” She glanced at Neil as she spoke.

“Really?” Allison asked, seeming somewhat impressed. “You didn’t.”

“Oh yes I did,” Renee contended. “I apologized for bothering him, and put him on the phone with Stephanie, who made it clear that he had two choices: he could settle this quietly between us or she’d get all of her industry friends involved with revealing Evermore’s violent hazing. And wouldn’t you know it, a fellow reporter with a national paper was in the area that weekend to cover the local art festival and only too happy to start looking into situation.”

Dan stared at her friend in surprise while Neil leaned against Andrew when his boyfriend came over to him. “What did the president do?”

“Hmm, well, obviously Mr. Andritch picked the choice that would affect his school the least, and wasn’t pleased when Coach Moriyama couldn’t produce Jean. So we went over to Evermore and he was quite surprised when he realized that not even *he* had access to the stadium.” Once again Renee glanced over at Neil. “He was rather flustered to realize that his codes were out of date and that only certain security personnel had the new ones. All of this was done without alerting Coach Moriyama that we were showing up, so the Ravens didn’t know about our arrival.”

Kevin made a pained sound at that.

“Oh yes, it was… quite enlightening for Mr. Andritch, I believe,” Renee said with a hint of that darkness in her, which made Dan and Matt eye her with surprise.

“It sounds like it didn’t go very well for them,” Matt said in an attempt at humor.

“The master- uhm, Coach Moriyama,” Kevin said when Andrew glared at him. “Coach Moriyama would have tried to hide things, to cover for Riko if he knew Andritch was that determined to find Jean. He would have gotten him out of there or hidden him somehow.”

Renee shook her head. “Coach Moriyama wasn’t there, he was in New York,” she explained to Kevin, who only stared at her in shock while Neil had an idea of what she was going to say next. “He went to Kengo’s funeral. Riko wasn’t invited. Why do you think I went for Jean?” she added with a bit of heat.

“Oh no,” Kevin said as he cradled his left hand against his chest.

“Finally getting the picture?” Andrew asked, his tone rather biting. It should have been clear to Kevin by now that Riko was never going to be accepted, that Ichiro would ignore him the same way that his father had.

"Mr. Andritch let me take Jean away when he saw the shape he was in," Renee explained. "I didn’t need any more threats at that point, and left him my number and promised to keep in touch while the school investigates. Abby has also promised to keep them updated on his recovery.” She paused a moment to turn toward Neil. “Unfortunately— or not— Jean is unwilling to name names or press charges. He is not happy to be in South Carolina. He has already tried leaving twice."

"To go where?" Nicky asked in evident disbelief. "Not back to Evermore. Is he crazy?" he asked as he gestured toward Neil and Kevin. “How much more does he need to be beaten up?”

"It's self-preservation," Neil tried to explain. "If Riko and Tetsuji think he's pointing fingers behind their backs, they'll kill him. Even this could be considered defiance since he left without their permission. That’s not even taking into consideration the main branch.”

Renee gave him a calm look. “But you’re taking care of that, yes?”

He sighed as he tugged on his bangs. “I talked to my uncle this morning, and he’ll pass on the message. As long as Jean does keep his mouth shut, we should be able to work out something,” he assured her.

Matt stirred at that. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘something’?”

“It’ll probably be along the lines of my own deal,” Neil explained. “Switch over Jean’s allegiance to the main branch rather than the side branch.” He looked at Kevin while he spoke. “Maybe clear up some other loose ends then, too?” Kevin had always been a nebulous thing, not quite property but a Moriyama investment all the same. If he wanted to end his ties to Tetsuji and Riko, now would be the best time, with Ichiro cleaning house and taking over. Kevin stared at him for a couple of seconds before giving a jerky nod.

“But that means he’ll still be property, right?” Dan sounded furious about the idea.

“He’s always going to be property in their eyes,” Neil told her with some exasperation. “Nothing Renee and I do will ever change that, and this isn’t a fight you want to get into, all right?” He reached up to dig his fingers into the raven’s tattoo at his neck. “I just want to get him away from Riko at this point.”

“He’s right,” Kevin choked out. “This is something that Jean’s parents did to him, that’s already been done.”

“You can’t *own* people,” Dan argued, her expression furious. “It’s not *right*.”

“If you want to get on your high horse about what’s right and wrong, there’s a hell of a long list of other things you can throw yourself at in vain, and a lot of them won’t end up with you being shot in the back of the head before the month’s out,” Andrew told her. “Even though I doubt you’ll make much of a dent in them, either.”

Dan looked as if she wanted to punch him at the moment, but Allison cleared her throat to distract her friend. “Are we checking out sometime today or what?”

“Fine,” Dan said, tone still tight with anger, as she stalked away.

Meanwhile, Renee came over to Neil. “Mr. Andritch agreed that as long as Jean and my mother remain quiet about what happened at Evermore, Edgar Allen will allow him to transfer to another school.”

Kevin appeared relieved at that. “It’s the best thing for him, but I doubt he’ll agree to it.”

Renee shot him annoyed look before turning back to Neil. “Perhaps you can talk to him and get him to consider it?”

“I’ll do my best,” Neil promised. But he agreed with Kevin in that it would be difficult. Still, Renee gave him one of her bright smiles.

As he went off to the bedroom to gather his belongings, Andrew spoke up. “I’m not taking in another Raven. One’s been too much.”

Neil shook his head. “I not sure he’ll want to stay with us, not after everything.” Sometimes a clean break was needed. “But if he does… I think he’ll be Renee’s problem, not yours.”

“No shit,” Andrew agreed as he went to the bathroom to grab their stuff. When he came back, he threw it onto the bed and then snagged the left sleeve of Neil’s shirt. “You’re not going to force him to stay with the Foxes?”

“No.” Neil gave his boyfriend a lopsided smile. “He helped me out in the Nest, and I owe him for that. I’ll do what I can with Ichiro to break him from Riko and Tetsuji, but that’s it, I swear.” He held out his left hand to Andrew, who grasped it between his own larger hands, mindful of the healing scars. “If he stays, it’ll be because of Kevin… but I don’t think he can, not really,” he admitted. “Kevin left Evermore and Jean,” he tried to explain. “It was for his own good, but I picked up some bitterness for that. Jean paid for Kevin being gone, and I’m sure he paid for it again when I left.” He felt sorry about that… but not enough to stay behind.

Andrew seemed to pick up that. “You won’t sacrifice yourself for that man. I’ll never let you do that. I’ll never forgive you for something that incredibly stupid.”

“Yeah, I know.” Neil allowed his boyfriend to pull him in closer. “Notice I haven’t lowered the percentage down to a manageable number as it is.”

“I told you, you were off the charts.” Andrew ran his fingers through Neil’s hair, his fingers stopping when they reached the back of his head. “It’s going to take at least a year or two of hard work for you to get down to a recordable number again.”

“Hmm.” Neil bowed his head so that their foreheads touched. “Maybe after the final championships, just the two of us… maybe we could get away together? Dump Kevin on Wymack and all?” They’d be celebrating the Foxes win – he didn’t want to think about any other outcome.

“I pick where we go,” Andrew said by way of agreement. “No damn Exy, no stupid tourist trap.”

Neil laughed a little. “Okay.” He leaned in for a quick kiss, then they finished getting packed and joined the others, only to find that Kevin was still packing. While Andrew carried their bags out to the Maserati, Neil went to see what was holding up their friend.

Kevin was sitting on one of the beds in the upstairs bedroom, staring at his scarred left hand. Neil leaned against the doorway for a minute and waited for the striker to speak, but Kevin was quiet. “When we get back to campus, I want you to talk to Jean,” he said at last. “You know him better, and he should listen to you.” Jean was used to listening to Kevin, since Kevin had outranked him as a Raven.

That earned him a shake of the head. “I don’t think he will, I’ve been gone for too long.”

“He will,” Neil repeated. “He still thinks of you as a Raven. He still looks up to you. Renee and I are doing the hard part, so for once in your life think of someone other than yourself and help out, why don’t you?”

Kevin jerked at that and gave Neil a wounded look. “I… I just don’t get it,” he admitted. “How can you… aren’t you afraid?” His gaze drifted to Neil’s neck, to where the black feathers and red peonies peeked out. “Riko keeps coming after you, keeps hurting you, yet you keep defying him. How can you do it?”

Neil sighed as he approached the bed and sat down on it cross-legged, and did his best not to wrap his fingers around his wrists. “Because that’s giving in to him, and I refuse to allow him that power over me. I refuse to let him control my life.” For so long, others had done that for Neil – his father and his mother, and that wasn’t going to happen anymore. “I have a life I want now, and I’m not letting go of it.”

“I don’t understand,” Kevin said as he stared down at his hand.

“Don’t you?” Neil tugged at his bangs as he tried to think of how to get through to Kevin. “You have Exy, and you want that, right?” He waited for Kevin to nod. “You have a life at Palmetto with your father. To keep that, you trust Coach and Andrew to protect that life for you, you sought them out for it. But the thing is, you’re relying on *them* for that life, and only them.” He waited for Kevin to look at him before he continued. “You went so far as to leave Riko, but you’re not going any further than that, and you don’t seem to realize that you can’t make yourself safe by only defying him a little. It’s still defiance, Kevin. So figure out if you’re all in or all out, because trying to stay safe on the middle ground leaves not only you weak, but those trying to protect you. You can’t fight effectively if you’re still trying to decide *if* you should fight.”

Kevin shook his head. “But why fight if he’s going to win in the end?”

It was like talking to a brick wall sometimes; and people said that Neil was stubborn? “Then why did you even bother leaving the Nest?” Neil demanded to know, which made Kevin flinch. “If you think it’s so useless then go back to Riko today, but if you want to remain free then stop acting like it’s hopeless, dammit. And do it before we get to Abby’s, because Jean will pick up on it as soon as he sees you.”

When Kevin didn’t say anything, Neil figured that was the end of the conversation and went downstairs, where everyone was talking about grabbing something to eat when they turned in the keys. As soon as that task was finished, they packed up the cars and walked down to the main office one last time, Renee joining them but only having some tea since she ate on the way to the cabin, and soon enough they were on their way back to campus. Kevin was quiet in the back of the car, Aaron busy texting Katelyn, while Nicky talked a bit about his upcoming classes with Neil while Andrew smoked and drove.

The Foxes stopped by Abby’s so Kevin and Neil could see Jean – more Kevin than Neil. Abby and Wymack must have just finished lunch, and while Abby appeared a bit exhausted, she was happy to see them and hugged both Neil and Kevin before she led Kevin back to talk to Jean first. Neil studied Wymack as he sat the kitchen table, and thought that the man didn’t appear anymore stressed or tired than usual. Then again, he didn’t know the man as well as the rest of the Foxes; beside him, Dan’s expression had turned serious.

“So, what’s the vote on this guy?” Wymack asked as he flicked the ashes from his cigarette into the tray in front of him.

Dan spoke up for the team. “He can stay here until he’s better, we won’t say anything, but after that it’s up to him.” In other words, the team wasn’t happy with the idea of taking on a new player, but would if Jean wanted to stay – because of Renee. On the whole, they hoped he moved on.

Wymack nodded, as if he wasn’t surprised by the decision. Then he looked over at Neil. “Josten, the board knows that you’re due back today.”

Great. “They want to talk to me.” Beside Neil, Andrew stirred and gave Wymack a cold look.

“They told me to call them as soon as you were back,” Wymack agreed. “So, are you back?” He was leaving the choice up to Neil.

For a moment Neil wanted to say ‘no’ and buy himself a little more time, but the sooner he got it over with, the better. To deal with the truth about his past and to clear the air about his relationship with Andrew. “Yeah, let’s just do this,” he said; he could talk to Jean another time.

“What about me?” Andrew spoke up.

Wymack winced as he stood up and pulled out his cell phone. “Right now they’re focused on Neil, since the reporters found out about his past and are calling him the victim. Let’s try to keep it on him for now, all right? Last thing I need is both of you mouthing off,” he declared before leaving the room to make the call to the board.

“It’s like he knows you,” Aaron mumbled, which earned him a dirty look from his brother.

Meanwhile, Abby came back from the spare bedroom before bloodshed happened, and gave all of them an apologetic look. “Sorry, but Jean can’t handle so many guests right now.”

Matt held up his hands and shook his head. “We’re just here to drop off Renee, really.”

“Ah.” Abby smiled as she sat back down at the kitchen table. “She told me the cabin was lovely.”

The upperclassmen were more than happy to catch Abby up on what had happened over their spring break, with Nicky joining in, while Aaron went back to texting on the phone and Neil waited to hear from Wymack with Andrew. It wasn’t long before Wymack came back and motioned for Neil to follow.

Andrew gave Neil a look, but he shook his head to indicate that he’d be all right and for his boyfriend to stay with Kevin before he went off with Wymack. It wasn’t long before they reached the president of Palmetto State’s house, since he lived near the front gates of the campus. Charles ‘Chuck’ Whittier was expecting them, since Wymack had called ahead, and greeted them at the door.

“Coach,” Whittier said to Wymack when the man greeted him by his first name, but was looking at Neil at the time. “Come on in.”

The house must be owned by the university, since it had a huge living room and even a conference room, though Whittier took them back to his office for the meeting. Once there, he handed over glasses of iced tea to them as if they were there for a social visit, then sat down behind his big desk and warned them that he was about to begin the call with the board right before he did something with the computer sitting on his desk. For some reason, he kept eyeing Neil, as if unsure of Neil’s reactions.

The phone on his desk rang and then announced that they were joining a call with twenty other people after Whittier gave the correct conference code. Whittier announced that he was joining the call, along with Wymack and Neil Josten – there was some hesitation when he used Neil’s name, as if uncertain that was the one he should give out. Neil just managed not to sigh.

That led to a lot of other names and titles being called out, and Neil felt himself grow tense with each one; he felt as if he was facing some sort of court since it was clear that it was more than just the board members sitting in on the call.

First they grilled him on his past, about him keeping quiet about his deal with the FBI and his father, about the potential fallout about the truth coming out (Neil found out that some reporter had made the connection between him keeping his middle name the same and felt some chagrin over that, could only imagine how much his mother would have beaten him for that but couldn’t hate himself for it in the end). Wymack had some very good arguments lined up, mainly that he had been cleared by the FBI, that he’d cooperated by the government and put himself at great risk to help convict his father’s people, that he’d kept quiet to try to protect those around him for good reason. That it had been a legal name change and it wasn’t school policy to expect players to notify them about such things.

Neil was exhausted at the end of it, and then they got to the publicity brought on by the photos that Riko had released, about his and Andrew’s relationship. The anger he felt over the topic rejuvenated him, and he had to struggle to control himself when he heard people say anything negative about Andrew or talk about their relationship in an abusive manner. He insisted that it wasn’t the case, that his boyfriend was one of the most supportive people in his life if not *the* most supportive, that after growing up in his childhood household he had a *very* good idea of an abusive relationship, better than most people thank you very much, and wouldn’t repeat his mother’s mistakes. That his remaining family and his friends wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Wymack stepped in again to argue for him, including with what he’d said back at Binghamton, that he and Abby and Betsy all agreed that the media had it wrong, that they would be among those people to raise red flags if they thought there were any warning signs in Neil and Andrew’s relationship and hadn’t seen anything at all in the almost two years they’d known Andrew and the time both young men had been on the team together. If there was a problem with the relationship, then the school needed to hire three new people because the current people in their positions deserved to be fired for failing so miserably at their jobs.

After that, the twenty so people on the call started arguing amongst themselves while Neil slumped in his chair, utterly exhausted as if he’d just spent several hours running around on court and not a couple sitting in an office talking. They talked the pros and cons of the publicity brought about by the past week, what would happened if they released Neil (which caused a major panic in Neil, since that most likely meant he would end up with the Ravens by default, which – yeah, he wasn’t going to think about that) versus standing by him. Neil found his right hand twisting around his left wrist and couldn’t stop himself, he was that anxious, using the pain to help center himself as these strangers debated his future and his life.

He wasn’t the only one struggling to listen to them, it seemed, since Wymack broke into their arguments after a few minutes. “Look,” he said, despite Whittier gesturing for him to remain quiet. When the people continued to argue, he repeated himself even louder. “Ever since you hired me, you’ve questioned every single decision I’ve made. Yet I’ve never done anything that wasn’t for the best of my players and for this team,” he insisted. “As well as for this school. Do you doubt me?”

When there was silence over the call, he leaned back in his chair and continued. “I don’t understand why you’re having any difficulties making the call here – you seen Neil play for us all season long, you know what he’s brought to the team since August. You have to realize that we wouldn’t be where we are, that we wouldn’t have gotten this far, without him. So if you could take my word on Andrew Minyard being a benefit to the team, then don’t for a second hesitate to believe me when I say that if we cut Neil now that we’re not going to advance any further than we’ve already gotten in the championship season. Right now we’re four games out from being NCAA champions, and that’s as far as we’ll get.”

He glared at Whittier, who just gave him an even look back. “We’re also about to be the only team to beat the Ravens as well as have players who will go on to the pro league and the Court. This is everything we’ve been aiming for with Palmetto State’s Exy program from the start. Taking Neil off the team would only ruin everything that we stand for, and will be the worst PR nightmare you’ve ever seen. Especially when every other NCAA team out there fights to take him off of our hands.”

Having said his peace, Wymack crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the phone as if daring the board members to disagree with them. The line was quiet for a moment, and then the argument started up for a few minutes before they finally put everything to a vote.

Neil almost didn’t believe it when they voted in favor for him to remain a Fox.

“Thank you,” Wymack said, with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice; Whittier winced at that while Neil managed a tired smile. "Now that we’ve settled Neil, there's something else I need to bring to your attention as long as I have you all with me.” He let out a slight sigh as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “You should hear this from me before you see it on the news." That got Whittier’s attention while Neil sunk down in his chair.

"What now?" one of the Trustees asked, sounding more than a little tired.

Wymack paused for a moment as if gathering some courage. "It's recently come to my attention that I have a son," he said, his tone even despite the tenseness of his broad shoulders. “I’m in the process of scheduling a paternity test, but that’s more a formality at this point so we have the paperwork.”

There was that nerve-wracking quiet on the line until someone cleared their throat and offered Wymack what sounded to be some half-hearted congratulations, as if they were uncertain where he was going with things.

Wymack took a deep breath to prepare himself for the big announcement. “Ah, my son. It’s… Kevin Day.”

Neil did a mental countdown as he waited for that to sink in, and it seemed to take a good thirty seconds or so before another voice spoke up, this time the shock easy to tell. “What?”

“He just told me last week,” Wymack was quick to point out. “Seems he was… inspired by Neil’s situation to finally tell me the truth.” He glanced at Neil before staring down a stunned Whittier. “I’m telling you this because he plans to go public this week, in part to combat the negative press surrounding Neil and before someone else leaks it out.” He leaned forward a bit in his chair. “I just want everyone to know that this will in no way impact my job as the Foxes’ coach.”

“Understood,” someone said, before yet another argument broke out; Neil was getting awfully tired of them. This time it was a lot shorter, and mainly about how the school would publically deal with the news. Finally it seemed that the damn conference was at an end when people began to drop off. When the call finally ended, Whittier did something on his computer again before looking up at Wymack.

“So, that’s some rather unexpected news.” He seemed to study the coach as he spoke.

“I’m his coach first,” Wymack insisted. If he felt that Whittier was testing him for something, either for favoritism to Kevin or that he’d known about their connection before recently, he didn’t show anything.

Whittier shook his head after a few seconds. "Speaking president to coach, that's exactly what I want to hear and I expect you to keep your word. Speaking as your friend, I'm sorry. That must have been rough, to find out like that.”

"Thank you," Wymack said after a moment, then motioned for Neil to stand up so they could leave. Whittier got to his feet as well and walked them to the door. Once they were in the car, Neil checked to see where Andrew was and asked to be dropped off at the dorm, which Wymack did. As the car pulled up in front of the Fox Towers, Wymack reached out and gave him a quick tap on the arm. “Don’t take what happened today personally,” he told Neil. “They put the school first, those guys. But they made the right decision in the end.”

Neil gave him a slight nod. “Thanks,” he said before he left, too tired to offer up the proper enthusiasm for all that Wymack had done for him that day. He just wanted to get upstairs and collapse on his bed. As it was, Andrew was waiting for him, and highly displeased with the red marks around Neil’s left wrist. He hustled Neil off to their bedroom, where he caught Neil up to date on Jean (stubborn, beat to shit) and Neil told him about the call (all that mattered was that Neil got to stay at Palmetto, and he hoped that Andrew didn’t run into any board members any time soon). They relaxed on their bed until it was time to go back to Abby’s so she could remove the stitches (Jean was asleep then), then to the stadium with Kevin, where Neil got to sit on the bench while Kevin practiced.

Come Monday, Neil regretted getting out of bed to go attend his classes; he still had enough lingering bruises and the red marks on his hands and wrists to draw attention to him. And that was without the damn news about his past and those awful photos. A few people attempted to approach him and talk, but he kept his head down and pretended not to hear them. All but running between his classes helped as well.

As soon as his last class was finished for the day, Neil was intent on getting back to the dorms as quickly as possible, before anyone caught him and tried to ask any questions, only to find an older, Asian man dressed in an expensive but casual clothes blocking his path. “You will come with me,” the man said in Japanese.

It looked as if Ichiro wanted to talk.

Neil gave a curt nod even as he pulled out his phone to warn Andrew that he might be a bit late getting back to the dorm – he let the man know what he was doing, speaking in Japanese as well, and even showed the message before he sent it so there would be no suspicion. The man nodded in approval and led him to a black sedan parked in the library parking lot, where the back door was opened for him to get in.

He tried to take all of that as a good sign.

As soon as his escort got in to the passenger seat, the car pulled out and went to the edge of the campus, driving a few minutes away to some construction site (great to get rid of a body, a part of Neil’s mind supplied) where a new dorm was being built. Another dark car was waiting for him, this time a limo, and Neil got the hint to get out and climb into the other car.

Ichiro hadn’t aged much in the last couple of years, other than to develop a touch more maturity. His suit was expensive, as befitted his rank, his hair maybe a bit shorter, but his eyes betrayed a wealth of experience. Neil bowed his head. “Lord Moriyama,” he said in Japanese.

“A vast improvement over the last time we met,” Ichiro remarked. “It’s nice to see people strive to learn and better themselves.”

Neil knew he had to be careful, even more so than the last time they talked; Ichiro held all of the power now, and he was cleaning up house, was eyeing his investments with a mind toward which ones were the best to keep and which ones weren’t. Neil had done everything he could to be among the first… but Riko had proved troublesome, which could reflect on Neil. “You told me three years ago that I was property of the main branch, so I have done everything that I could to be of value to you. To correct my ignorance.”

“Have you?” Ichiro asked as he regarded Neil with cold, dark eyes that gave nothing away. “There seems to be continuous involvement of the FBI in your life, continuous scandals. And now another Raven has gone astray from his nest.”

“I’m not the one who causes the FBI to dig into certain things,” Neil commented as he refused to look away from Ichiro’s gaze. “I don’t stir up the trouble that involves them. I ensure that your people know about it so that they can correct the situation and prevent any harm to yourself.”

Ichiro was quiet for several tense seconds and then gave a slight incline of his head. “Yet you’re still involved.”

“Not by choice,” Neil stressed. “I am property of the main branch. Someone… has chosen not to accept that.” He risked a quick touch to the right side of his neck while he spoke.

Still, Ichiro noticed it. “And if I told you right now that I’ve had enough of this nonsense, these irritants and that to make up for the loss of Moreau that you are to leave for Edgar Allen right now?”

Neil closed his eyes as his worst nightmare came true, and it took him a couple of tries before he could get the words out of his mouth. “I… I ask you that I may get a message out to my uncle before we leave.” In the end, there was nothing he could do if Ichiro made that call, other than ask Stuart to watch over Andrew and keep his boyfriend from doing anything drastic. Ask Stuart to do that for him and hope that he could somehow survive the next four plus years with some part of himself intact.

“So your uncle can attempt to save you?” Ichiro asked with a mocking smile.

“No, so he can attempt to save someone else,” Neil admitted. “Especially if you don’t want any more ‘irritants’.”

“Ah.” Ichiro stared at the left side of Neil’s face. “So you do understand your place. That is good to know.”

More than anything, Neil wanted to pull a knife and stab it into the cold bastard’s throat, but it wouldn’t get him anywhere. “I know mine,” he said, refusing to go down quietly. “But your brother doesn’t know his.” When all Ichiro did was stare at him, Neil continued. “It’s because of him that you have all of these ‘irritants’. He’s drawn the FBI’s attention with his reckless behavior, and he’s nearly cost you two assets.” Then he held up his hands. “No, three, because my father’s men would have killed me if given the chance. He is only focusing on what he wants, like a spoiled, destructive child, and not the good of the family.”

“And are you that much different, Nathaniel Wesninski?” Ichiro asked.

Neil had the grace to shrug even as he fought not to react to that name. “I want to play Exy. I want a chance at Court. I want the people I care about to be safe, and I want to be safe myself. At least two of those four things will benefit you, possibly three. I can be honest about that.”

Ichiro regarded him for a couple of seconds. “And Riko? What do those things have to do with Riko?”

A hint of the smile that Neil had learned from his father curled his lips. “I want the people I care about to be safe. I want to be safe myself. I want to play Exy. I want a chance at Court.” He held up his hands again. “Your brother is interfering with all of those, despite what he may claim, not only for me but for Kevin Day and Jean Moreau as well. It’s why Day came to Palmetto State in the first place. It’s why Moreau was removed from the Nest. We can’t be of any value to you if we’re broken.”

Ichiro seemed to consider things for a minute or two, during which Neil continued to smile, to not show any fear or uncertainty. Then the young crime lord nodded. “Tell Moreau that as of today, he reports to the main branch, the same as you and Day. Their deals are also the same as yours – eighty percent of all future earnings and endorsement deals. And I will be rather… irate if anything interferes with those deals from now on.”

“Understood,” Neil said with a deep bow of his head. “I’ll tell Moreau that he needs to find a new team as soon as he’s healed.” When Ichiro nodded, Neil almost sighed in relief in the agreement that Jean was indeed free of the Ravens.

“There has been some inquiries in your name about endorsement deals – it seems you’re popular with that temper of yours in some markets.” Ichiro gave Neil a casual once-over, while Neil blinked in surprise – how did Ichiro know that? “Be prepared to travel this summer, you and Day. The two of you can start repaying the family then.”

“Thank you,” Neil said, because he didn’t know what else to at the moment. ‘Fuck you’ would get him killed, that was obvious, while ‘are you nuts’ probably wouldn’t be much better.

Ichiro waved at him, and Neil took that to mean that the discussion was over; the car door opened a few seconds later, so he just bowed his head once more and hoped that Ichiro had taken what he’d said about Riko to heart. In the end, he’d argued successfully for Jean and Kevin, had gotten them out of the bastard’s clutches, so he had to be happy about that. If he’d planted a bug in Ichiro’s ear about how fucked up Riko was, even better.

The sedan dropped him back off near the library, and Neil texted Andrew to tell him about going over to Abby’s while he made his way to Kevin’s history class, where he waited for it to end. During that time, he fielded a few texts from Andrew and sent a couple off to Stuart to let him know that he’d met with Ichiro and things went mostly well.

Kevin appeared surprised to see him in the hallway, and wasn’t happy about being told that they were going to Abby’s to talk to Jean. He tried to argue that he had things to do.

“No,” Neil told him in Japanese. “We’re going now. I just met with Ichiro.”

That put an end to Kevin’s surly mood, and the striker followed along like a meek puppy as they headed out to the nearest parking lot, where Andrew was waiting for them, sitting on the hood of the Maserati while smoking a cigarette. He eyed Neil up and down as if to make certain that Neil was in one piece, then slid behind the wheel while Neil got into the passenger seat.

Nothing was said during the drive, since Neil didn’t want to repeat anything, but Andrew handed over the pack of cigarettes so Neil could breathe in the smoke to calm himself down. Once they got to Abby’s, the three of them went inside, where she stared at them in confusion; she’d been in the middle of making what looked to be some soup. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“No,” Neil told her. “We need to talk to Jean.”

“He’s sleeping,” she argued.

“This is important, we need to talk to him now.” Something in his voice or his expression convinced her, because she led them to the spare room and knocked the door to wake up the French backliner.

Jean stirred at the sound, and didn’t appear too happy to see the three of them. He cursed softly in French, while Neil took in the damage that Riko had inflicted – the black eyes, the swollen lips, the cut cheek and chin, the bald patches showing up so plainly in Jean’s dark hair.

“Go away,” Jean tried to argue in French as he tugged up the sheets with his bandages hands; it looked as if a couple of fingers had been broken as well.

“No, you’re going to listen to me,” Neil insisted in the same language, since he didn’t want Abby to overhear anything. “I know Andrew and Renee told you that I’d talk to Ichiro for you, and I did.”

That made Jean pause. “They were lying,” he said, his voice weak. “Why would you do that for me?”

Neil hesitated, until Andrew came up behind him and a strong arm wrapped around his waist. “Because you helped me out back in the Nest. You kept me mostly together so I could walk out of there, and now I’ve made sure that you don’t have to go back, all right?” When all Jean did was stare at him, Neil waved at him and then Kevin. “Ichiro has claimed the both of you as property of the main branch as of today. You’re not free, but you no longer belong to Riko or Tetsuji.” Kevin’s shoulders slumped upon hearing that, while Jean’s blue eyes went wide. “No more Ravens, no more Edgar Allen. You’re to find another NCAA team once you’re better, and both of you are expected to join a pro team when you graduate. Eighty percent of any current and future salary and endorsements are to be funneled to the family.”

“Ichiro owns me,” Jean said, as if trying to grasp that concept.

“You’re under his protection now.”

Jean laughed a little as he held up his bandaged hands. “It hasn’t done you much good, has it?”

“That was when Kengo was in charge,” Neil admitted. “Ichiro has clearly stated that he will not be pleased with anything impacting *his* assets.”

That made Jean shut up and go back to staring at Neil. “You’re serious about this. Holy shit, you’re serious?” Then he looked at Kevin, who held his left hand to his chest and seemed just as shaken by the news.

“Figure out where you’re going from here, both of you,” Neil told them. “Ichiro has taken you in, but don’t mistake it for an act of kindness. You prove your value to him or you’re gone, that’s the impression I get.” That said, he nudged Andrew a little to let his boyfriend know that they were done, and left the two ex-Ravens alone to deal with the sudden upheaval in their life.

Andrew waited until they were in alone in the car to talk. “Do you trust Ichiro to keep Riko away?”

Neil let out a slow breath. “I trust Ichiro to be concerned about the value we hold to him, and right now he knows that he’s not going to get much if Riko’s beating the shit out of his ‘assets’.” Then he tugged at his bangs. “But he didn’t tell me that I’m safe if the Foxes lose the championships. In fact, he even threatened to send me off to Evermore at one point in our discussion.”

Andrew’s hands clenched around the wheel. “I think the ‘little lord’ is playing games. Seems like he’s taunting his dear little brother, seeing how far out on the limb he goes. Your uncle even said it the one time, giving him just enough rope.”

“You two have the most interesting conversations when I’m not around,” Neil remarked as he rested his head against the window.

For some reason, that made Andrew’s lips twitch. “You have no idea.”

There was a story there, but Neil was willing to let it rest for the moment – they still had afternoon practice even if all Neil would do was sit on the bench again, maybe do a few simple hand exercises and laps but no holding a racquet just yet. But it was enough, him being with Andrew and the Foxes. Feeling as if he’d gotten the better of Riko for once. Soon enough he’d have to face the press about his past and deal with Riko’s latest attempt to ruin his happiness… but not just then.

“You’ve got the stupidest grin on your face, it’s pathetic,” Andrew told him.

“Hmm, maybe because I’m an idiot,” Neil remarked as they pulled into the dorm parking lot.

“You said it, not me.” Still, Andrew sounded almost amused just then, so Neil took it as a win.

******* 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to give some twists here and there, hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring. Hmm, next chapter, press conference. How can that possibly be exciting?
> 
> Not sure I'm going to make a Wednesday update for Armies - tomorrow is going to be busy, so we'll see. Bah.
> 
> As always, the comments and kudos are appreciated!


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back!!! Sorry for the wait! Good news, new chapter! Bad news, this weekend and next week will be crazy busy for me, so yeah, I'll be so happy if I get another update out at all before next weekend (maybe Armies, MAYBE). But once I get past the middle of the month, I'm hoping things get back to normal. *fingers crossed*
> 
> Not the longest chapter (and that said, know that these are still long chapters), but it seemed a good place to stop and it gets to a good place in the story.  
> *******

*******

The Foxes picked up on Neil, Kevin and Andrew missing out on a couple of their classes (Neil bet on Renee noticing it first - dammit, his teammates were being a horrid influence on him), and so pounced on him as soon as they arrived for the afternoon practice. Well, pounced as much as they could with Andrew being a glowering presence at his left shoulder, but Dan braved his boyfriend as much as she could and stood in front of him with an impatience look on her face. "Well? What happened?"

"Ichiro," Neil explained as he looked over at Renee, who wasn't smiling for once, and gave a slight nod which transformed her face into something truly beautiful. "He accepted my argument to transfer Kevin and Jean over to the main branch." Anything else he may have tried to say was lost as the Foxes let out a raucous cheer, as Nicky and Matt both hugged a still stunned Kevin at the same time and Renee was engulfed by Dan and Allison - hell, even Aaron appeared happy at the moment.

Wymack gave Neil a pleased smile and a nod in approval as he came over to give a tentative pat to his son's shoulder.

Neil ended up sitting on the bench with Wymack after doing a few laps, watching the Foxes work on their drills and then practice, and winced over the way that Kevin messed up shots like he hadn't since Neil had been back in high school. It seemed like it would take a little while for the striker to accept the fact that he was finally free of Riko and Tetsuji, of Evermore; Andrew just shook his head and remained quiet, as did Wymack. The Foxes coach even called out Dan's name when the team's captain tried to say something to Kevin once, seeming to realize that his son needed to work through a few things.

Yeah, that was odd, accepting Wymack as Kevin's dad, even after the last few weeks.

Despite Kevin's odd mood, Dan somehow convinced everyone that they needed to out together to celebrate - Neil suspected that Andrew went along because it kept Kevin out of their suite drinking. That and Andrew never passed up a chance to inflict veggies lover's pizza on Neil.

It never was quiet when the Foxes were together, and even if they couldn't speak openly about why they were celebrating - Jean was still being kept a secret and no one was stupid enough to talk about the Moriyamas in public, especially Ichiro - the rest of the team was loud and rambunctious and carried on about everything else. Except for Kevin and Andrew and Neil, that was. Kevin was still trying to process how everything in his life was different, how he truly was cut off from Evermore, and Neil knew that he had a rather unpleasant interview awaiting him, one where he had to talk about his father and attempt to settle the false rumors about him and Andrew. Also, at some point very soon, Riko would receive the news that Neil should be officially off-limits to him - at least until the championship was settled - and he didn't expect the bastard to be happy about that.

As for Andrew, he had to put up with Kevin and Neil, so he most likely was reserving his energy for the next bout of idiocy to be unleased by either of them, for Kevin's next bender or rash of cowardice, or for when Neil shot off his mouth or provoked someone else to make an attempt on his life. Oh what fun times. So while Neil understood the disappointment on Dan and Matt's faces when they glanced over at his quiet section of the table, upset at the three of them for being so remote when they'd just come back from a pretty good break where the team had gotten along... he didn't have the energy to explain that they were just drawing in to deal with everything and it wasn't anything against the rest of the Foxes. Nicky and Renee seemed to understand, since Nicky just tousled Neil's hair and handed him the slices of pizza with the least amount of veggies on them (even if it earned him a displeased look from his cousin) while Renee offered Andrew a rare midweek sparring match.

Finally the bill was settled and everyone broke up to go back to the dorm, with Neil content to sit in silence next to Andrew in the Maserati while his boyfriend drove them back, both of them with cigarettes in their hands while Nicky babbled on about his classes for the day. When they got back to their rooms, Kevin went straight for the bathroom instead of hunting down a bottle of alcohol, which was odd enough that Neil followed him to make sure he was all right, with Andrew on his heels. They stood in the doorway while Kevin stared at his reflection for several minutes, his fingers pressed beneath the '2' tattoo on his cheek. Neil found his own fingers reaching for the 'A' on his, until Andrew grasped his hand and pulled it down, his fingers warm around Neil's.

Neil hoped that Kevin was realizing that it was just a bunch of ink, was something that Riko and Tetsuji had put on him not to make him special but to limit him, to put him in a box. To keep him from ever realizing his full potential, to keep him chained to Riko - to keep him *behind* Riko. And just like Neil had done, he could ignore it, could make it anything he wanted it to be, could twist that '2' to mean something other than Riko's stupid 'Perfect Court' now that he was free of the bastard and go on to prove how he was so much better than what Riko and Tetsuji would ever had allowed him to be. Neil hadn't lied when he told the press that he believed Kevin to be the best striker out there. Now Kevin had the chance to finally prove it to the world.

After another minute or two, Kevin let out a shaky breath and pushed away from the mirror. "Take me to the court," he said, a bit of his usual confidence and authority surfacing for the first time that day since Neil had said the word 'Ichiro'. Maybe that was why Andrew humored the man and went to grab his car keys.

Kevin was the only one to gear up once they got at the court, though Neil glanced at his own locker with enough longing that Andrew had to drag him out to the home benches, muttering about 'idiots' the entire time. Neil ached to grab a racquet and go out on court, to run around and twist about as a ball was thrown to him, to feel as if no one could catch him, that he - he was tired of the pain and the aches and it all being for nothing. It never mattered, the slams and the hits and everything else when he was on court, because he had his teammates around him and Andrew in the goal, all there for him and him for them.

"Stop thinking so much," Andrew chided him as he pulled Neil down on the bench next to him. "You'll be out there soon enough, sooner if you don't push too hard.”

“But it’s right there,” Neil tried to argue, only to get a hand shoved in his face and his head turned to the side, as if Andrew was making him look away from the court. It was so very hard, especially after hearing Ichiro threaten him with going back to the Nest; everything Neil wanted was right here, and to leave it behind to end up in Riko’s hands, in Riko’s bed….

“I am not putting up with both of you idiots breaking down tonight,” Andrew warned, his voice low and displeased even as his hand felt so warm and reassuring on the back of Neil’s neck.

“Sorry,” Neil managed to stutter out as he leaned against his boyfriend. “We’re really making you work for that sainthood today, aren’t we?”

Andrew was quiet for several seconds while Kevin warmed up. “More like you still owe me a couple of favors, and I’m contemplating long and hard on what it is that you’re going to do to pay it off.” There was a hint of a very satisfied smile on Andrew’s full lips just then.

Neil blinked at that, having forgotten about the two IOU’s what with everything that had gone on lately, but before he could ask any questions, there was the sound of Kevin dumping a bunch of balls on the court so he could begin.

Distracted by the noise, Neil watched his friend practice for a little bit, once more envious of Kevin’s ability to be out on the court while he was stuck on the bench, even if he got to lean against Andrew while his boyfriend smoked a cigarette and read a book, quiet except for the occasional comment about ‘pathetic Exy junkies’.

When Kevin had gone through the bucket, he went to gather the nearest balls to him and then switched his racquet to his left hand. But instead of giving his right hand a break, like Neil had expected, he gripped the racquet in preparation for a swing and gathered up one of the balls. “Oh hell, Andrew,” Neil breathed out as he watched Kevin go ahead with something he’d never expected his friend to do again.

“Hmm?” Andrew gave him an annoyed glance as he peeked up from his book and then out on the court, where Neil was staring. Out to where Kevin was attempting to land a goal while using his left hand – the first couple wide of the mark, the next couple a bit better, and finally in the goal on the fifth.

“What the hell is he doing?” Neil asked as he got up to go over and bang on Plexiglas; if Kevin screwed up his hand, then the idiot couldn’t play. Before Neil could strike the barrier with his right fist, Andrew caught his hand and glared at him.

“One could say the same thing about you,” Andrew said with an annoyed expression, while Neil just sighed and hit the thick plastic with his elbow instead. It earned them a glare from Kevin, but he went right back to practicing with his left hand.

“Why is he doing this?”

Andrew gave Neil an incredulous look for a moment, his fingers loose around Neil’s right wrist; he used the hold to pull Neil away from the barrier then shoved him back onto the bench with a look that clearly said ‘stay’, his hand rising to brush against Neil’s left cheek before he then turned on his heel and walked away – toward the locker room. It took Neil a moment to realize that Andrew’s fingers had touched his ‘A’ tattoo, and as he attempted to figure out why the hell his boyfriend and Kevin were acting so weird that evening, Andrew came back out a few minutes later in most of his gear, his helmet tucked under his left arm and busy tugging on his gloves.

Okay, had someone slipped some sort of drug into the pizza that night? Was Neil unconscious and imagining things? “You’re going to *practice*?” Andrew *never* practiced – the most he did was work out a bit, but he never went out on court unless it was to smack down Kevin or stop a fight.

Andrew shrugged as he set his helmet down on Neil’s lap so he could finish tightening on his gloves. “Like you said, the idiot could mess up his hand. This way I can knock him out before that happens.” An almost pleased light sparked in his hazel eyes as he picked up his helmet. “You owe me even *more* now, too.”

Dammit, at this rate Neil was never going to pay off the bastard, was he? Neil groaned as Andrew shoved on his helmet then went over to yank open the door to the court without giving Kevin any warning. At least Kevin was facing the door at the moment and couldn’t miss all that white and orange, and seemed to be just as shocked by Andrew’s appearance as Neil. Judging from the way that his head turned in Neil’s direction, he also seemed to think that Neil had something to do with it, but Neil just shook his head, refusing to take the blame at the moment.

Andrew stood in front of the goal with his racquet slung over his shoulders, and Neil had the feeling that his boyfriend was taunting Kevin, was goading him on rather than trying to rein him in. Of fucking course. Neil gritted his teeth together and watched as Kevin fired several shots into the goal right past Andrew, and then actually hit the bastard on the helmet, all without Andrew moving a muscle. At least getting hit on the ‘head’ seemed to convince Andrew of something, because he finally began to take the practice seriously.

Maybe Andrew had been testing to see if Kevin was resolved to work with his left hand, if he had any real ability with it to make the practice worth his while – which the striker did. For the most part. Kevin fired off the shots and Andrew caught them at first, prevented them from going into the goal and lobbed them back at Kevin, who either gave up ground to keep the balls in his net or had to dance out of their way. It took a while for Kevin to score again, and that only made Andrew more determined. Neil winced at each scored point and worried about more than Kevin’s left hand.

Yet for all of Andrew’s uncommon fortitude, Kevin slowly gained ground; Andrew was good, was probably the best goalkeeper out there in Class I Exy. But he didn’t *try* to be the best, not like Kevin did. He didn’t push himself all the time, like Kevin did. That was what frustrated Kevin the most about Andrew, about how all that talent was just left to lay fallow most of the time, about how Andrew didn’t seem to care. Now Kevin was poking and prodding it to the fore, and Neil had to admit, it was a wondrous thing to behold.

It was what Neil dreamed of, about him and Andrew going off to the pros, about them doing their best, playing against the best, pushing themselves to their limits and seeing how far that was and knowing that they at least had tried. Of maybe one day making Court, of playing against the world’s finest. It could be incredible… but it wouldn’t really be worth anything if Andrew wasn’t there.

Things seemed to come to a head when Kevin managed to get five goals in a row past Andrew; Neil would have expected that Kevin would be pleased at his progress, but instead he dropped his racquet and stalked toward Andrew in the goal, his back stiff and demeanor one of upset. That got Neil on his feet in a moment, desperate to cut off a fight before it started, before Andrew did something to the striker, but all his boyfriend did was stand there as Kevin grabbed the front of his mask and gave it a shake, as he said something to Andrew that was too quiet for Neil to hear. It only took about a minute, during which Neil stayed by the door to the court so he didn’t interrupt the two and maybe set off something, and then Kevin let go before turning around to resume his position back on court. Andrew finally moved then, to reach out with the butt of his racquet and shoved Kevin away as if the striker wasn’t moving fast enough. Kevin stumbled from the push, but must have realized that he was trying Andrew’s patience and didn’t do anything but turn around for a moment before he went back to his own abandoned racquet and they resumed their practice.

Kevin scored more points, but Andrew seemed to cool down a bit and focus on protecting his goal, so it was a little more of an even match that time. Neil watched them go at it until Kevin finally had enough, then crept onto the court to help collect the balls while Andrew stalked off to the locker room without speaking to either of them. It was a very quiet ride back to the dorms, and when Kevin went into the kitchen to grab some ice for his hand and some alcohol, Andrew grabbed a coat then went out again – up to the roof. Neil fetched some bottled water then followed his boyfriend.

He waited until Andrew finished a cigarette to sit beside him, and didn’t ask any questions, just sipped the water until the bottle was taken from him and finished off by his boyfriend. Then Andrew sighed and shook his head. “No complaints when you help me bury his body.”

Neil smiled a little and risked leaning against the bastard. “Not until after the championship game.”

“You don’t ask for much, do you?” Still, Andrew just tugged on Neil’s bangs, which were getting a bit too long again.

“Hmm.” Neil closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of cigarette smoke and Andrew’s shampoo. “Tonight… I didn’t think he could play like that again.”

“He won’t if I break his neck.”

“He can help us win,” Neil pointed out, not bothering to open his eyes.

“He better.” Andrew didn’t sound too happy at the moment.

Neil wanted to ask if Andrew hadn’t enjoyed the practice at all, if he hadn’t found something of value in pushing his own skills like that. But he knew how contrary his boyfriend could be, so he let the matter drop, he didn’t ask what Kevin had told him or bring up how Kevin getting better could make them better, too. He was just happy that Andrew had gone out there on the court that night, whatever his reasons, and what it meant for them in the future.

Andrew lit up another cigarette as the two of them sat together, then shoved Neil toward the door while complaining about needing some sleep. Kevin was in bed already when they got back to the room, and it didn’t take long for them to follow.

The next day started off as if the previous evening’s practice hadn’t taken place, with Kevin’s arrogant personality back in place and him using his right hand for the afternoon practice. Andrew was his usual mix of laziness and borderline hostile as well for the session, so Neil just sighed and put up with the rest of the team’s complaints while working on some hand stretches. Come the evening’s practice, however, the two of them were back on the court facing off yet again, Kevin going a little slower since his left hand seemed a bit sore and Andrew quite happy to mock him the entire time.  Neil watched it all, torn between frustration over being stuck on the bench and hopeful that the Foxes stood a chance at becoming the champions that season.

The ride back to the dorms that night wasn’t as quiet, with Kevin daring to critique Andrew a bit and being told to fuck off eventually, and Neil following Andrew straight up to the roof instead of going to their suite. It was an overcast night and muggy, but he didn’t care, not when all that mattered was the feel of Andrew’s mouth and hands on him, the way that Andrew shivered and gasped in return when Neil kissed along his neck. They took their time that night, uncaring about the mess and lack of sleep, and Allison rolled her eyes when she caught sight of them when they showed up for morning practice the next day – especially Neil. He wasn’t bothered by the hickeys or the reddened skin from the faint stubble burn, not when everyone knew that he was dating Andrew, but the thunderous look from Wymack made him sigh and allow Allison to apply a bit of makeup before the press showed up for the promised interview later in the day. Meanwhile, Renee had to step in when Nicky made one too many jokes at his cousin’s expense.

Abby checked Neil’s hands and wrists while the others did their morning workout, but only removed some of the stitches. She left the ones holding closed the deepest cuts, and still told him that he had to wait a few more days to hold a racquet, that his hands needed longer to heal.

Neil had to force himself not to fidget as he sat down in front of the assembled press during what should have been the afternoon practice, with Wymack and Dan seated on either side of him – after he got through the questioning, it was expected that they’d shift gears to talk about more general things, about the Foxes on the whole.

A reporter from one of the leading Exy websites started off the questioning. “Neil – or should we call you Nathaniel - the university confirmed that you are indeed Nathaniel Wesninski, the son of Nathan Wesninski, the Butcher of Baltimore, and were involved in the recent manhunt of two of his men in Binghamton New York the night that your team played there a week and a half ago. Comment?”

Neil did his best to not show how much hearing his birth name and mention of his father affected him, his expression neutral as he spoke. “I prefer ‘Neil’, thank you – that’s my official name. There’s not much I can say about the matter in Binghamton as it’s an official investigation, but as the university has already released to you, my mother and I cooperated fully with the FBI in order to help put my father and his associates behind bars.” A slight exaggeration, but it contained enough truth that the FBI shouldn’t bother Neil about the statement. “All of that was done well before I attended Palmetto State, and I’ve worked hard to put my father’s past behind me. I’ve had nothing to do with the man for almost half my life, and I’m here to play Exy.”

Another reporter spoke up. “It’s been confirmed, yes, that your mother is dead?”

Wymack leaned forward, his expression furious. “I fail to see how that had anything to do with Exy!”

“It’s okay,” Neil said as he motioned Wymack and Dan to sit back. “Yes, almost three years ago,” he answered. “But like Coach Wymack said, that doesn’t have anything to do with Exy. Nothing about my father has anything to do with the Foxes or Exy,” he insisted. “I changed my name with the help of the FBI,” again, a slight stretching of the truth, “and moved on with my life, wanting nothing more than to make my own way on my own terms. I’m doing that here, as Neil Josten, with the help of Coach Wymack and the Foxes.” Beside him, Wymack nodded while Dan glared at the press as if daring them to argue with the statement. “Who I was before has no impact on how I play out there on the court, other than to serve as a distraction if you people let it. I have no intention of that happening on my part.”

“But it has interfered, hasn’t it?” another reporter, an older man in the front row, pointed out. “It happened at your last game, and it’s been argued that you’re injured enough to sit out the upcoming game, yes?”

Neil glanced at Wymack, who gave him a slight nod. “If the university or the Foxes felt there was an ongoing threat due to me remaining on the team, I wouldn’t be here. If *I* felt there was a threat to them, I wouldn’t be here,” Neil told the man. “All of us believe there won’t be a repeat of what happened at Binghamton.” Because Ichiro wouldn’t allow Nathan’s people to interfere with one of his ‘investments’. “And yes, I will unfortunately have to sit out this Friday’s game,” Neil admitted as he held up his still healing hands for a brief moment, “but I’ll be there for the semifinals.”

Dan grinned at that. “We’ll make him work twice as hard then since he’s getting a break this week.”

There were a few murmurs at that, probably at Neil and Dan’s confidence at them winning the upcoming game, but for the most part, it seemed that the reporters were smiling over it. Neil let out a slow breath, hopefully that the matter about his father was settled… and then the next question was fired at him. “Okay, so who your father was shouldn’t be a concern to your team or affect anything on the court,” a young woman asked as she held up a recording device. “But I think it can be argued that your relationship with a fellow teammate can, yes? Especially when there’s a question on if that relationship is healthy?”

It took a moment for Neil to accept that someone had just called out his and Andrew’s ‘relationship’ like that when Wymack once more spoke up. “I’ve already issued a statement saying that there is no way that I or the rest of the staff here would allow anything like you’re insinuating to happen. End of discussion.”

The woman refused to back down, while several other reporters raised their hands. “I understand,” she said, “but you must admit, those photos-“

“Are what someone chose to release,” Wymack argued. “I’m with these kids almost every damn day, I see a lot more than a dozen or so pictures released to the news.”

“And I live next to them,” Dan added. “Again, we know a lot better than you. It’s not a problem with the team – if anything, it’s the exact opposite.”

Neil found his voice and shook his head. “Look, I don’t want to keep bringing up my family – my old family.” He forced himself to take a deep breath as he pushed back the hair falling onto his eyes. “My mother… she was a very strong woman and she taught me a lot. One of the most important things was that if you’re in a bad situation, if you’re with someone who doesn’t respect you and treat you right?” He stared right at the one reporter. “You leave. Even if it’s just with the clothes on your back, you leave. So do you really think I’d put up with something like those photos show after what she risked for me?”

The woman shook her head, something akin to regret on her face. “No, but it needed to be clarified.

“And on that note, I’ll be clear – Andrew Minyard has never abused me,” Neil stated, his tone cold as he curled his hands up on the table front of him so he didn’t start fidgeting. “I do not feel threatened or abused in any manner by him. As Dan said, it’s the exact opposite.”

“So you are in a relationship with Andrew Minyard, your teammate?” another reporter, a man who appeared in his thirties or so, asked from the middle row.

“Uhm….” Neil blinked at that. “Yeah?” Hadn’t that been settled? Beside him, Dan shook her head while Wymack rubbed at his face.

The man smiled. “You’re willing to state that you are indeed in a romantic relationship with Andrew Minyard? Even though it’s been said that both of you are planning on going pro? Kevin Day has stated many times that both of you, you especially, are good enough to make it to Court. Not many pro players are out as of yet.”

“Ah, well, we are hoping to be recruited,” Neil answered. “And… it’s who we are.” Oh god. Why were they asking him these things? “So, uhm, about the season?”

“It must be serious, if you’re willing to out yourself like this to clear his name,” another reporter stated.

Neil looked at the man as if he was insane. “Did you not see the photos?” Had there been any doubt left about his and Andrew’s relationship at that point? “And there’s no way I’d let anyone spread those lies about Andrew – again, he’s not abusing me, he’s never abused me, and he’s not forcing me to say anything about anyone.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” the man said.

“Huh?” Neil stared at the man in confusion. What made him think that? Meanwhile, Wymack looked ready to smack his head against the table while Dan was hiding her mouth behind her hand.

“Ah, I think it’s clear that the team really stands behind each other,” Dan said after a moment’s hesitation, while Wymack winced. “I mean, we really support each other.”

“Long story short, no abusive relationship,” Wymack growled.

“*Yes*,” Neil agreed. “Could we please talk about Exy?” Weren’t they sports reporters? Why all these personal questions?

“How long have the two of you been together?”

“Yes, *Exy*!” Dan said in an obvious panic while Neil attempted to figure out how the hell Exy equaled his dating history. “So, the upcoming *game*! Let’s talk about that!”

That finally seemed to shift the topic of conversation back onto the damn sport, and Neil slumped down in his chair while Wymack and Dan carried the interview after that. Once it was wrapped up, the press broke up and went to get some sound bytes from various other Foxes, and Neil prayed that Andrew was nowhere to be found.

“Kid, all I’m going to say is that if you and the midget ever break up, I seriously hope you don’t find another screwed up boyfriend to date while you’re still a Fox,” Wymack complained as he rubbed at his temples as if he had a headache. “Today was bad enough to go through, I never want to repeat it again.”

Neil just shook his head. “Can they ask stuff like that? I mean… really?”

“They can ask pretty much whatever they want – you’re putting yourself out there, after all. Now get the hell out of here while you can before they think up some other stupid shit to ask.”

He didn’t need to be told that twice, going to hide out in the lounge while the press worked their way through the rest of the Foxes, who were out on the court trying to get some sort of a practice in. Though after about an hour a somewhat frazzled Abby came in. He paused the game he was watching when she came over to him. “Don’t tell me that they interviewed you, too?”

She gave him a strained smile. “Some questions on your condition, the Foxes on a whole and just some reassurances that yes, David and I would never allow anything to negatively impact the team – we promised the school board we’d do that.” When he winced, she reached out to pat him on the shoulder. “No, we’d do it for anyone, it’s not your fault. But, ah, Andrew’s turn is coming up out there for interviews.” When he cursed and stood up, her smile strengthened. “Yes, I thought you might want to know that.”

“They’re making him give one?” Hadn’t there been enough mayhem and destruction just the other week?

“School board’s orders, I’m afraid,” Abby called out as Neil hurried to get out on the court.

Neil got out there just as Nicky’s interview finished up, and yes, it looked as if it was indeed Andrew’s turn. The expression on Andrew’s face just then was… well, it was non-existent, really; Andrew appeared almost inhuman, his emotions were so lacking, except if one knew what to look for, knew about how he had his arms folded across his chest with his fingers placed just so, with the tips at the edge of his sleeves and his chin tilted slightly down.

Fuck, but he was *pissed*.

Nicky spotted Neil and latched on to his right arm. “Oh thank god you’re here, please save me I’m too young to die in a massacre,” Nicky said in a rush, thankfully with his voice pitched low and the words in German.

Neil shushed him, but still, it got a couple of the reporters’ attention, and Andrew’s as well. Then the questioning started.

“Minyard, how do you feel about your chances against the Bearcats on Friday?”

Andrew didn’t even seem to breathe at the moment, but he still managed to speak. “We’ll win,” was all he said.

That didn’t seem to be what the reporter wanted. “Even with Josten out because of his injuries?”

“Yes.”

“But they have a much bigger line-up and they’re determined to address their previous loss.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Another reporter stepped forward. “It was reported that you were involved in the matter in Binghamton with Josten a week and a half ago, that you left the scene with him. Care to comment?” The man even had a hopeful smile on his face, the idiot.

Andrew didn’t even look at him. “No.”

“What about those photos with you and Josten? Any idea who released them and why?”

That got more than two words out of Andrew – but barely. “An asshole,” he said, “and because of just that, he’s an asshole. An immature asshole.”

The guy who asked the question leaned forward. “Do you know who released them?”

Andrew just stared back for several seconds before speaking again. “I think it’s safe to assume that anyone who would stalk two young men and do something like that is an asshole with issues. Lots and lots of issues. Maybe Daddy didn’t love them enough.”

Oh fuck, but Riko was going to go ballistic if he watched this interview, Neil thought as he rubbed at his eyes.

The reporters appeared a bit taken back by that, but one of them rallied before the others. “All right, good point. Josten spoke up for you during his interview, made it clear that your relationship is a positive one. Do you have anything to say? There’s not very many people willing to come out yet in sports and the two of you can be seen as a big step forward for a lot of people, especially young ones.”

Andrew stared past the reporters, off toward Neil; his expression remained blank but some of the anger had faded away. Trashing Riko probably had helped, though Neil knew better than to think his boyfriend would let him get away with it any time soon. “He’s an idiot. I’m doing the world a favor by not letting him roam around loose.”

That didn’t seem to be what the reporter wanted, until another one turned around for Neil’s reaction and found him smiling at Andrew, at his boyfriend’s declaration of ‘keeping’ Neil; he didn’t even care about the snapped photos for once.

“As for the rest, we’re just living our lives,” Andrew continued. “And since you’re not asking me about Exy, enough of this.” He waved off the reporters as he walked around them, coming over to Neil to latch on to his jersey and haul him back to the locker rooms.

They passed Wymack along the way, who grunted in approval. “Not bad, not bad at all. Of course you had to trash Moriyama, but I’ve given up on that front. At least you didn’t call him out by name for once.” He gave Neil a pointed look while speaking.

Andrew shrugged as they came to a stop by his locker. “I consider us done with this shit now – you got your interviews from us, and Kevin will speak up in a couple of days.” That seemed to deflate Wymack’s good mood a little.

“Yeah, fine, whatever.” For once, the man didn’t give them too much grief over running out of practice early – probably because he knew that Neil and Andrew would be back later that evening. So they used the opportunity to head back to the suite while Nicky and Kevin were stuck at the stadium for at least another hour.

Neil smiled as he went to sit down on their bed while Andrew locked the bedroom door. “So kind of you to sacrifice yourself to ensure that no one else gets stuck with me.”

Andrew just gave him a bored look as he came over to stand in front of Neil. “I wouldn’t wish you on my worst enemy, you’re so much fucking work.”

“Hmm, thank you.” Neil reached out to tug on the hem of Andrew’s black t-shirt. “I’ll try to be a bit better.”

“Better at what? Attracting more psychopaths who want to carve out that annoying tongue of yours or less?” When Neil went to answer that, Andrew covered his mouth. “Hush, I only want one word from you now.”

Neil’s smile widened as he gave his boyfriend that word then tugged Andrew down onto the bed, determined to make the most of their rare time alone.

*******

It was almost amusing, putting up with Neil’s frustration over the whole ‘no Exy’ thing because of his hands - *almost*. They left the morning practice session with Neil clearly upset over Abby’s refusal to remove all of the stitches until Friday (she deemed that the deeper cuts would need a little longer to heal), and that he’d spent most of the time on the treadmill and working legs.

Usually something that got Andrew’s boyfriend all worked up provided him some sort of satisfaction (as long as a certain prick hadn’t done the ‘working up’), but Andrew didn’t get to enjoy the moment for very long. No, he picked up right away on the lingering looks directed toward him as he went out on campus, the hushed conversations around him and whispered mentions of his name.

He’d say that people had seen the interviews from yesterday; there had been some reaction once class had started because of the damn pictures and all, but now it was official, him and Neil. The impression he got was that not everyone was all that supportive, but there were only a few muttered insults directed his way, a bunch of curious stares and surprisingly some smiles and acknowledging nods. What, because he was on a winning team people weren’t going to give him shit? Or did it help that he was dating the son from an infamous mob family?

Speaking of which, his criminal profiling class seemed a bit… ‘off’. Most of the other students in his major had learned by the first year to leave him alone, because he wasn’t going to talk to them and he wasn’t going to bother with them unless absolutely necessary. So he sat through the class all too aware of the stares and the whispering of people whom he was rather certain didn’t give much of a shit about sports or who the hell he was fucking.

Tired of the bullshit and just wanting to get something to eat for the day, maybe torment Kevin a little for lunch since the asshole was becoming a bit too smug over how many goals he’d scored the night before, Andrew got up to leave the classroom and was surprised to hear the TA call out his name. The only reason he bothered to respond was that there would be paper assignments handed out soon, and he thought the guy might want to talk about his.

“What?” he asked as he approached the grad student, an older guy in his mid-twenties who looked as if he thought geek chic was a good fashion choice.

The guy – Masters – frowned as he pushed up his wire-rimmed glasses. “Look, so it’s true, right? You and Josten.”

Somehow Andrew didn’t think this was about a paper. “What about me and Josten? That’s a rather open-ended question,” he said as he gave the guy a cold look.

Masters managed a nervous chuckle as he did something on his laptop, which sat on the table up on the small stage in front of the class. “I mean, well, you two. You’re dating, right?”

Andrew’s right hand clenched around the strap of his messenger bag. “I fail to see what this has to do this class.” He turned around to leave, only to jerk to the side when he caught Masters reaching out to him.

“Whoa!” The grad student held out his hands when Andrew spun around, just barely preventing himself from punching the asshole. “Look, it does, all right? Well, maybe not *this* class, but we can help each other out,” he said in a rush. “I’m doing my thesis on modern day hit men and being able to talk to Josten about his father would really-“

Andrew didn’t need to hear anything more than that; he picked the asshole by the front of his stupid sweater vest and slammed him down onto the table, just barely missing the laptop. As the asshole shrieked in surprise and a bit of pain, Andrew loomed over him, his left elbow shifting enough to dig into the TA’s neck.

“Listen to me,” he warned in a low, savage voice. “If I ever see you come within ten feet of Neil Josten, I’ll reenact Nathan Wesninski’s favorite method of chopping up fucking annoyances like you, do you understand?” He waited until the asshole whimpered something that sounded like ‘yes’ before he lifted him up enough to slam back down onto the table again, causing the laptop to jump a couple of inches, then let go and walked away. A few other students were still standing around and stared at him as if they couldn’t grasp what had just happened, and he gave them a disinterested look in return as he went on his way.

Unfortunately, the incident must have left some sort of mark on him, something in his tone or expression, because Kevin took one look at him when they met up for lunch and shut up about Exy and practice and anything else that might erode away at Andrew’s rather tenuous hold on his temper. Instead, he asked Andrew if he had a passport, because it seemed that a Makoto Ishikawa had sent Kevin an email about possible endorsement deals for him and Neil. Since Ishikawa apparently reported to the main branch, that meant there was no way that Kevin and Neil could turn down anything the man sent to them.

Andrew should have broken a few bones and the damn laptop before he left that classroom.

So he wasn’t in the best of moods when he arrived at the stadium, even after being given a double mocha frappuccino by his smiling, oblivious boyfriend (Kevin hadn’t broken the news to Neil yet), when he had barely gotten into his gear before Wymack was shouting out his name.

“Andrew Minyard! Get your psychotic, midget ass into my office, now!”

Neil frowned in the man’s direction while Nicky sighed, Kevin gave Andrew a disappointed look and Aaron shook his head. “Who did you kill now?”

Andrew gave his twin the finger. “More like who was it that I should have killed.”

Matt groaned upon hearing that. “Wait, give me some time to cover my ears, all right? I’m working on the whole plausible deniability thing.”

Nicky smiled at his fellow backliner. “You’re learning!”

“He shouldn’t have to learn such things,” Kevin snapped. “We’re an Exy team, not a gang!”

“And someone’s *not* learning,” Aaron muttered as he grabbed his helmet so he could leave. “Denial much?”

“Ooh, we need some fun hand signals and tattoos. I’ll get to work on them right away,” Nicky volunteered as he grabbed his gear as well and went running out of the locker room.

Meanwhile, Kevin looked as if he was about to have a heart attack or something, his face was so flushed, and Neil was still staring at Andrew with open concern. Andrew gave his boyfriend’s left shoulder a shove, pushing him toward Matt. “Get out of here, I’ll go see what bug crawled up Wymack’s ass this time.”

“But-“

“Day, I think Neil’s losing some of his stamina. Probably needs to do some extra laps around the court,” Andrew lied. But it got him the desired effect, which was Kevin hounding Neil out onto the court with Matt doing his best to run interference. That taken care of for the moment, Andrew shoved his gloves into his helmet and went to see his beloved coach.

Wymack was in full glower mode when Andrew leaned against the doorway to the man’s office. “You bellowed, oh great one?”

“One fucking week, I want one fucking week where you don’t go stirring up shit, you damn midget demon,” Wymack gritted out. “Explain to me why the hell I have one of your professors on hold, claiming that you beat up his TA and threatening to get a damn dean involved, huh?”

“Maybe because his TA was all but trying to bribe me into handing over Neil to be grilled about Nathan Wesninski so the asshole could have some extra special content for his thesis?” Andrew threw out as he tapped his helmet against the wall.

Wymack stared at him for a couple of seconds. “The fuck? Seriously?”

“His words were along the lines of ‘we can help each other out’, I do believe,” Andrew said, even though he knew exactly what they were.

“The fucker.” Wymack’s expression became even more livid. “Fine. Next time try not to break his spine in front of witnesses, all right?”

Andrew gave a slight nod, and stuck around long enough to hear Wymack start to tear into Professor Stewart for what Masters had attempted to do. That settled for the moment, he went out to join the rest of the Foxes doing laps around the court.

Neil slowed down so Andrew could catch up to him, and all it took was Andrew giving a slight shrug for the worried expression to fade from his face. When Wymack came out as well to yell at them to move their damn feet and stop acting like a bunch of pathetic worms, Kevin and Nicky seemed to cheer up as well, since it was clear that Wymack wasn’t mad at Andrew anymore.

Andrew was asked once by Neil about the whole thing when they were seated on the bench together, but when he shook his head, Neil dropped it. He knew that his boyfriend was still curious about it, but Neil respected the boundaries between them, and it helped that the matter was resolved. Still, Andrew wondered how many other people were going to want to harass Neil now that the truth was out. Kevin better not back out of his own little revelation tomorrow night.

The two of them went up on the roof after practice, where they could enjoy a cigarette in peace and quiet. They’d just finished a smoke and begun to talk about where to go to dinner, when there was the ping of a text; Neil tensed at first, until he realized that it was Andrew’s phone. He didn’t relax much at all then, probably because they both were waiting for Riko to retaliate for Andrew’s little message yesterday and what Neil had done on Monday.

So Andrew was careful as he pulled out his phone, and when he saw who had sent the message, dropped the phone in his lap. “I need to make a call,” he told Neil. “Go downstairs and I’ll be down soon.”

Neil didn’t look too happy to hear that, but he just shook his head as he stood up. “I’ll let the others know we’re doing Thai for dinner,” he said, being a sneaky bastard to choose where they were going when Andrew wouldn’t be there to deny it.

Andrew grabbed his boyfriend’s chin and gave him a quick kiss that ended with Neil getting his lower lip nipped. “Then you’re paying for it tonight.”

“Hmm. All right.” The smile he gave Andrew just then insinuated that he wouldn’t mind paying in a couple of different ways, but then he was pulling away before Andrew could do anything about it. Sneaky bastard indeed.

Sparing a few seconds to think about the possibility of that smile, Andrew forced himself to pick his phone and dialed the number of the text. “What the hell do you want?”

“And a good fucking night to you, too,” Stuart snapped. “What the hell happened to ‘talk to you soon’?”

“You have my number,” Andrew told the prick. “You can call me any time. Some of us have more important things to do than kiss the little lord’s ass.”

“Seriously, I have got to have a talk with that boy one of these days. This appallingly bad taste in men is *not* natural. Mary must have fucking dropped the kid a few dozen times on his head when he was a baby or something.”

Andrew had to count to ten before he answered, he was that pissed off – not so much about the jab to him, but mention of Neil’s abusive mother. “Is there a point to all of this, other than to bring up how much of a fucking poor job your sister did of raising her son? Because I’ve more important things to do tonight, such as make sure no one else is trying to kill my boyfriend.”

“Fucking little-“ Stuart let out a sound of pure frustration just then, which did help ease Andrew’s annoyance a bit. “Yes, there’s a point to it, and as much ‘fun’ as there is in ripping your arse a new one, let’s get to it, yeah?”

“Whatever,” Andrew muttered. “Neil’s waiting for me. You know, his *boyfriend*. The guy he fucks on a regular basis.” Anything to twist the knife a bit more.

“Not fucking helping,” Stuart snapped. “Bloody hell, I can’t decide if Mary would shoot you on sight or be planning the damn wedding.”

Most likely the first, considering what Neil had told Andrew about how his mother had done her best to beat out of him any romantic or sexual thoughts toward other people. But Stuart didn’t need to know that – well, he should know how fucked up his sister had been, but he didn’t need to know Neil’s business. “What do you want? Other than to shoot me if I step out of line, hmm?”

“Yeah, that.” Stuart let out a long breath. “I’m still planning on doing it, you know. If you fuck up. But Nathaniel was right, you did good up in New York. Shouldn’t have let him out of your sight in the first place,” he griped, but before Andrew could yell at the prick, he continued, “but those assholes didn’t give Nathaniel much choice.”

Huh, that sounded rather interesting. “How do you know?”

Stuart was quiet for several seconds. “Let’s just say that Plank won’t be a problem anymore.”

Ah, so much for the FBI tracking down the man. “Neil will be happy to know that, if I planned on passing it along.”

“Best he doesn’t know too much, in case the FBI brings him in again,” Stuart agreed. “The little lord wasn’t happy over the mess, but he was mollified over Nathaniel’s quick thinking when it came to DiMaccio.”

“You know who was really to blame for it,” Andrew pointed out.

“Yeah, and if it wasn’t for that game of yours, steps might be taken. But the little lord can’t have too much attention drawn to the family right now.” Stuart sighed again. “I’m not happy with you, I still think Nathaniel can do better. But you kept him safe, and the two of you kept the family out of it as much as you could. The little lord’s a bit impressed, which is what you both need right now.”

Andrew frowned as he tapped his right fingers against his thigh. “’Both’?”

“You’ve involved yourself too much, don’t try to deny that in the main branch taking in Nathaniel, they have to deal with you. And now there’s Day. You may not be property, Minyard, but people are figuring out that you’re a part of all this,” Stuart warned. “So here’s where you prove if you’re going to be someone they can deal with or a shitty little prick who’s not worth the effort. Just so you know? Carlton’s still interested in Nathaniel. He’s asked a couple of times if I can set up another date.”

There was such a strong rush of rage inside of Andrew that he found himself up on his feet without him even realizing it. “Just what the hell are you saying?”

For once there was no snide tone in Stuart’s voice when he answered. “You say you’re not like that bastard Wesninski. Nathaniel told me to respect you, to respect his choice in you. The little lord… eh, that’s more of a grey area, but he’s eyeing you, trying to figure you out. I could tell him that you’re a little prick, to just cut you off before you drag down two assets… but I’ll let him make up his own mind. So do your fucking job and watch out for Nathaniel, keep him safe and treat him right, or else. Because it’s not just me who’s watching you now, and there’s someone else gunning for your job.”

Andrew sneered, even though the prick couldn’t see him. “You think boring Carlton could have done what I did back in New York?”

“Maybe, maybe not. But it didn’t scare him away.” Now Stuart sounded pleased. “Now, shouldn’t you go see what my nephew is doing?”

“Go to hell,” Andrew told the man before he hung up. There was a very strong urge to throw the damn phone out over the roof, but he refused to give Stuart that satisfaction. Instead, he stood there for a minute or two while he struggled with his temper, then stomped his way back to the third floor (it was somewhat amusing to see a couple of football players twice his size scurry to get out of his way).

Once in the suite, he ignored Nicky and hauled Neil away from the fridge, grabbed the bottle of water out of his boyfriend’s hand and paused only long enough to ensure that Neil was fine with things before pinning the idiot against the fridge and kissing the breath out of him; he couldn’t ask if Neil was going to leave him for boring Carlton, if Neil had taken that bastard limey prick to task for Andrew, if… if… *if*. If so many other things. Too many things. Things Andrew didn’t want to and couldn’t think about. But he could hold Neil’s face between his hands and press against him and kiss him until Neil sighed and slumped down as if unable to stand anymore. Until Neil’s body relaxed in such an obvious way that made it clear that he was giving complete control to Andrew, that he trusted him and was letting Andrew do whatever was necessary for… for whatever Andrew needed at the moment. Because he… whatever. Because he had no problem giving that up to Andrew, in letting Andrew have whatever he needed.

And that settled the uncertainty, the fear and the anger inside of Andrew. Because he knew that such things weren’t handed over so easily, if at all. But Neil did, just for Andrew. Only ever for Andrew.

They kissed for a few more seconds, until Nicky’s whistling and catcalling brought back a spark of Andrew’s temper; he broke off the kiss even as he helped Neil stand back on his own feet. “We’re ordering in,” he informed his dazed boyfriend. “It’ll take too long to get Nicky’s blood out of my clothes so we can go out to eat.”

“Wait, what? Oh hell, but you were doing that right in front of me,” Nicky argued. “Neil, help!” he shouted right before he ran from the kitchen.

Neil sighed as he latched on to Andrew’s arm to prevent him from giving chase. “Fine, we’ll have pizza,” he offered with an unhappy look. “Nicky will spend the night hiding in Matt’s room now.”

See, it didn’t take much for Andrew to get his choice after all. “You’re still paying.”

“Fine.” Neil’s tone got a bit snappish there.

“And you’re still going to ‘pay’ some more,” Andrew argued.

“I don’t even want to know who you were talking to.” Neil shook his head before he pulled Andrew in close again for another kiss.

After a minute or two there was a rather plaintive sigh. “I just want a damn drink,” Kevin said. “Can’t you, uhm, oh hell, never mind.”

Andrew pried his left hand from Neil’s hip to give the pest the finger, and there was the sound of shuffling feet a moment later. When he heard the front door slam shut in a rather loud manner after about a minute, Andrew grinned as he broke off the kiss, earning a low moan of complaint from his boyfriend, and finally pulled Neil away from the fridge so they could enjoy the lack of roommates. The pizza could wait a little longer.

*******

Friday wasn’t a good day for Neil. He woke up tired and stressed, plagued by nightmares where he’d been stuck on court without his gear and his racquet, helpless to do anything while his team lost, helpless to do anything as Riko came up to him with a pair of shiny handcuffs to put on his wrists before leading him off to the Nest. Not even the feel of Andrew’s arm wrapped around him could help settle Neil, could banish the fear.

Yes, he had faith in his teammates, in the Foxes. But there was so damn much riding on the game. He saw the sense in him sitting out, in not risking his career, his *life*… but if was difficult, letting go when he had always been the one fighting his own battles. Him and his mother, and then him and Andrew. Now he had to put that faith in Andrew and the Foxes.

Abby looked at his hands before he went to class, and finally removed the last of the stitches. As she’d said the previous day, his hands still needed a little longer to heal before he could hold a racquet without risking any damage, that he couldn’t do anything until the following Monday, but she told him he could be out on the court then. It wasn’t soon enough, it wasn’t that night, and she knew it. Which was why she sighed and pulled him forward to give him a gentle kiss on the head. “They’ll be there for you tonight. Even I can tell how hard they’ve been practicing for this game. So don’t do anything to mess up your hands and it’ll be all right.”

“I know,” Neil said, and managed to summon up a weak smile.

The school was decked out for the game, festooned in white and orange to support the Foxes, and Neil received a lot of smiles and ‘go Foxes!’ as he went to his classes for the day. He also saw a few ‘13’ signs here and there, which confused him, since there wasn’t anyone with that number on the team, and couldn’t understand why the girls and couple of guys with them smiled and waved at him.

He was relieved when he could meet up with his boyfriend and Kevin for lunch, and did his best to eat something despite the anxiety that he was feeling. After checking his phone and seeing a message from Riko, he refused to look at it for the rest of the day, unwilling to add to the stress before the game, and was quiet as they headed to the stadium a little early, a cigarette in his hand and Andrew a comforting presence beside him in the Maserati. Binghamton’s fans were already showing up for the game, so things were getting… lively.

For some reason Nicky was in a great mood, a huge grin on his face and chuckling over something, and Allison was even pleased as they sat in the lounge while Wymack went over the Bearcats’ stats one more time. Because of the whole rioting and general bad atmosphere in New York for their last game with the team, he ordered some food in for them before the game so they didn’t have to leave the stadium, and then they began to gear up.

Dan came up to Neil before they went out onto the court, her expression on the solemn side. “You know we have it tonight, right?”

“Yes,” he told her. Despite his fears, the ball of stress in his stomach, he did. “I want to play more than anything,” he admitted. “But I still trust you.”

She broke out in a huge grin and for a moment it looked as if she was going to hug him, but then glanced over at Andrew standing behind him. “Just take it easy for once. You make a much cuter benchwarmer than your boyfriend and his brother.”

Judging from the flash of motion behind him, Neil would say that Andrew was giving their captain the finger right then, which explained why Dan laughed before she moved on.

Even though he wasn’t playing, Neil went out to do laps with everyone, and frowned when he caught sight of more of those ‘13’ signs. “Uhm… so what is it?” he asked a beaming Nicky. “I don’t get it.” It wasn’t their thirteenth game or anything. Was someone trying to jinx them? Or the Bearcats?

Nicky howled with laughter while Allison shook her head. “It’s you and Minyard,” she answered, which really didn’t explain much, Neil thought. “Your numbers put together – 10 and 3.” Beside Neil, Andrew made a sound of disgust. “It’s the fans’ way of showing their support for you two psychos.”

Wait, people were doing this for him and Andrew? Neil suddenly had to struggle to breathe. “Oh hell.” People were thinking about the two of them?

“Isn’t it *romantic*?” Nicky declared.

“It’s fucked up,” Andrew snapped. “Josten, if you pass out, I’m using your body to help block the goal.”

“See, psycho couple.” Allison nodded as she looked over at Renee.

“I think it’s sweet,” Renee said. “Though they’re adding the numbers, not putting them together.”

“Whatever, it just means they have their own little fanclub and I won another bet.” Allison smiled in joy. “Is it too soon to talk about who’s taking whose last name? Because the pot’s quite big on that one.”

Short of breath or not, Neil just managed to prevent Andrew from getting his hands on the dealer; Renee helped a little by stepping in front of her friend, and made sure to keep Allison out of Andrew’s reach for the rest of the evening.

Considering the weird signs and the Bearcats fans booing at them… Neil felt an odd set of relief to head off the court when it came time for the game to start. Even though it felt even odder to see Dan take his usual spot at the half-line, and for Kevin to hold his racquet in his right hand after so many nights of practicing with his left. Nicky gave Neil a reassuring hair-tousle as they sat out the start of the game – and Neil soon wished that his friend had given him a good belt of vodka instead.

Playing the Bearcats before had been hard enough, considering that they had a much bigger line-up and had been determined to extend their winning streak. After having lost to the Foxes and then gaining all that negative publicity with the riot? It was clear that the Bearcats were out for blood and had figured the easiest way to ensure a win was to knock out a Fox or two since they barely had enough players to qualify for the night’s game. It was easy for Binghamton to sacrifice players due to red cards since they had so many more than the Foxes, that and if they lost the night’s game, their season was over.

It still didn’t excuse the fact that Binghamton was trying to hurt Neil’s teammates, to force another Fox out of the game with an injury. Wymack was furious when he realized their strategy, Abby stoic but barely holding in her temper, and Nicky livid. Neil didn’t understand how the Foxes out on the court were keeping their own tempers under control, how no one was throwing any punches against the bastards, but somehow they took the hits and the trips and the slams. Renee did her best to keep Nicky under control, and Neil hoped that his friend wasn’t subbed out onto the court any time soon. When Renee started to get that dark gleam in her eye because of the abuse her friends were taking out on the court, Neil found himself trying to distract her by talking about Jean and if he had settled on any teams to approach yet for next year.

Despite all the foul plays, the Foxes didn’t return the abuse, they just kept on playing, kept doing their best and even turned the red cards to their advantage. For once Matt didn’t fight back, just let the Bearcat striker take a swing at him… and Dan scored a point with the resulting foul shot. Neil watched on in amazement, at how much his team had grown, at how they had learned to choose the game over fighting and shots at their pride. Even as soon as a couple of months ago, such a thing would have been impossible. If Gordon or any of the older Foxes had been out there, a huge melee would have broken out by now and red cards would be flying for both teams. But that right now was the Foxes pulling together, just as Dan had wanted.

Still, there was only so much abuse the Foxes could take and just shrug off, and they had to vent during half-time. Wymack was wise enough to skip his usual ‘worms’ talk and just highlighted what needed to be done to win the game, then Dan rallied everyone by offering for the team to get wasted once they beat the Bearcats’ asses.  The only problem was, a shortage of alcohol.

Nicky shrugged when Dan and Matt looked his way. “Uhm, we have a little, but it’s been a rough week.” He gestured toward Kevin, Andrew and Neil. “You know, what with all the excitement and all.” What with Kevin and Ichiro and the interviews, he meant. Neil didn’t appreciate being grouped in there like that since he barely drank, and Kevin didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed.

So it was a surprise when Aaron spoke up, considering how rarely he joined in any team ‘participation’. “Katelyn has some,” he offered. “Her and the Vixens. They usually keep some around for after the games. Should be enough for a decent party.” As he spoke, he gave Andrew a challenging look.

Huh, just how much progress were the twins making with Dobson, Neil had to wonder. Maybe she was as good as the others said. Not that he’d ever find out for himself.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, well aware of how the Vixen was still a touchy subject with Andrew, and then Dan gave a nervous smile. “That sounds great! It’s always fun when they join in.”

Aaron continued to stare at his brother as if daring him to say something. “That’s fine with you, right?”

Andrew just gave him a bored look in return. “Do whatever you want with your little *friend*.”

Neil winced at the jab, while Aaron seemed to realize that he’d gotten enough of a concession from his brother as he ever would. “Let me know who’s all coming, and I’ll tell Katelyn. We’ll use the basement study room again.”

Matt kept glancing back and forth between the two brothers, as if trying to figure out what just happened there. “Ah, you do know that-“

Neil stretched out his left leg to kick the backliner in the padded shin. “Drop it,” he warned. When Matt frowned at that, Nicky joined in on the shin kicking, then loudly asked about what cute nickname would be suitable for him and Erik. Niker? Erni? He liked Erni, wasn’t it adorable? Around that point, Neil had to all but sit in his boyfriend’s lap to keep Andrew seated on the bench because he recognized that particular gleam in those hazel eyes and the way that Andrew was staring at first his cousin and then his very heavy racquet.

It was around then that a rather disgusted Wymack glared at all of them, but Nicky in particular. “If you’re done being idiots, I do believe there’s a team out there waiting for you to kick their asses. So get the hell off of yours and get out on the damn court so you can send them home crying.”

“You’re my hero, Coach,” Matt declared, then yelped when Wymack smacked him on the back of his head. “Also, abusive as hell. Just saying.”

“Why do I put up with you bastards?”

“Poor life choices,” Andrew told the man, even though Neil suspected that the question had been rhetorical. “You might want to look into that, but I suspect it’s much too late.”

Yeah, that was Neil’s ever supportive boyfriend right there.

Wymack sent Nicky out for Matt for the second half, and despite him being the weaker backliner, he was eager for his chance to play against the Bearcats, as well as worked well with Andrew and Aaron. He also knew very well what it meant if the Foxes lost that night, what would happen to Neil and probably Andrew, too. So he didn’t show any of the fury and temper that had been on display for the first half, he just taunted the Bearcats with obvious glee but didn’t throw any punches, didn’t do anything to earn himself a red card. While Aaron played with more than his usual focus, played as if the game mattered to him – maybe it did, since he had someone who cared about him cheering him on. All the while, Andrew damn near shut down the goal as he watched his family’s backs.

When Renee and Matt went in for Allison and Nicky for the last part of the game, Dan and Kevin gave one final push for goals, and that was it for the Bearcats. Neil felt an odd sense of relief fill him as his friends took the lead and held it, as the Bearcats couldn’t get past Andrew, as the score held steady in the last few minutes. He still wished that he’d been out there with them, that he could have had a say in his own fate… but his team hadn’t let him down. His friends hadn’t let him down. When the final buzzer sounded, he stumbled out onto the court with Allison and Nicky while the crowd went wild, the home crowd drowning out the faint booing of the Bearcats’ fans.

He went straight to Andrew with a huge grin on his face, standing just outside the goal while his boyfriend removed first the huge gloves and then his helmet with trembling hands. Andrew gave him a blank look for a couple of seconds and then sighed as he picked up his racquet which had been leaning against the goal and lightly tapped it against Neil’s bare head. “You’re never going to be able to pay me back for all of this shit, you know.”

“I know,” Neil agreed. “But I’ll do my best. Breakfast tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Andrew agreed as he stepped out of the goal, and then frowned as a yelling Nicky approached.

“We won!”

Neil allowed himself to be grabbed for a hug by the gleeful idiot. “I think we know that,” he said as he patted Nicky on the back and then gave his friend’s left shoulder a gentle push to make Nicky let him go.

He went over to help carry Andrew’s gear over to where the rest of the Foxes were gathered; Dan took a step toward him, but didn’t grab him until Andrew sighed and gave a slight nod. After that, Neil found himself hugged by Dan and Matt, given a gentle back rub by Renee, had his hair tousled by Allison and leaned on by Kevin. After that very brief celebration, the Foxes forced themselves to line up to shake hands with the Bearcats, their expressions guarded and no pleasantries exchanged by either side, and then they fled the court with due haste. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened at Binghamton and the Foxes had barely contained their tempers during the game. The sooner the Bearcats were gone from Palmetto, the better.

Besides, there was a party everyone was eager to attend – well, mostly everyone. Once one or two things were done first, that was. While Aaron went over to the Vixens so he could join Katelyn and arrange the party, Kevin took a deep breath as if steeling himself for what was to come. It was his turn to deal with the press that night, was when he had agreed to reveal the truth about his parentage, and Neil had to wonder if the only thing keeping him going at the moment was the prospect of a party.

Neil followed, both as a show of support and in case Kevin needed to direct anything his way, and Andrew tagged along – probably to make sure that Neil didn’t get too much thrown at him and to ensure that Kevin did as he had promised. Kevin plastered on his ‘media’ personality as he stood in front of the cameras, and the questions started about the game that night.

Leaning a little against Andrew, comforted by his boyfriend’s warmth, solid weight and even the scent of drying sweat, Neil zoned out a little, the day’s stress catching up to him. He listened to Kevin talk about the night’s game, dance around a bit about the Bearcats’ dirty plays and his own ability, about the goals he’d scored and how he had regained all that former skill.

Then the reporters asked about the semi-finals, about how the Bearcats were the lowest-scoring team in the elimination round. How the Foxes had defeated them twice, yet they would be facing the remaining two teams of the Big Three in the upcoming weeks. How there was the implication that the Foxes weren’t ready for either USC or The Ravens.

"I'm looking forward to playing USC again," Kevin admitted. "This time as a Fox. I haven't spoken to Jeremy or Coach Rhemann since I transferred but their team is always amazing.” There went the USC’s biggest fanboy, Neil thought with some exasperation. “Their season, as always, was nearly flawless this year, and there’s a lot that we can learn from them.”

Beside Neil, Andrew made a gagging noise.

Even one of the reporters picked up on Kevin’s obsession with the team. “I see you’re still one of their biggest fans.” That prompted a laugh from the others around her. “What about the Ravens? You’re up against them, too. Eager to play against them again, too? We know your teammate Josten is.”

"I don't want to talk about the Ravens anymore," Kevin said, some of that fake smile fading. "Ever since my mother died it's been always been the Ravens first and foremost in my life. Well, I am not a Raven anymore.” He gestured to his Foxes’ uniform. “I never will be again.” He paused a moment to take a breath. “To be honest, I never should have been one in the first place. I should have gone to Coach Wymack the day I found out that he was my father and asked to start my freshman year at Palmetto State."

"The day—" She stared at him in shock, while around her the announcement had obviously startled the other reporters – Neil could tell that a couple of them thought that Kevin was either joking or insane. "Did you say that Coach Wymack is your father?"

"Yes, I did.” Kevin frowned at the people gathered in front of him as if he thought that they were idiots. “I found out when I was in high school, but I didn't tell him because I thought I wanted to stay at Edgar Allan.” He fell quiet again for a moment as if remembering something. “Back then I thought the only way to be a champion was to be a Raven. I bought into their lies that they would make me the best player on the court.” He lifted his scarred left hand to touch the tattoo on his cheek as he looked over at Neil. “I shouldn't have believed it; I've been wearing this number long enough to know that wasn't what they wanted for me.

"Everyone knows the Ravens are all about being the best. The best pair, best line-up, best team. They drill it into you day after day until you believe it, make you forget that in the end that 'best' means 'the best *one*'.” There was a bitter twist to Kevin’s lips as he said that. “They let you forget until other people buy into it, be it fans swaying too far the wrong way or the ERC calling them out on their schemes. Then they don't want to play that game anymore, and they skip straight to the elimination round.” Neil stirred next to Andrew, having a feeling that he knew what might be coming next. “Did you know I've never been skiing?” Kevin said in an almost contemplative voice as he looked down at his left hand. “I'd like to try it one day, though."

Kevin had said so much just then that it took a few seconds for the significance of that last remark to sink in, but Neil saw when the reporters began to pick up on it – saw and felt pride for Kevin at it, for something outside of Exy for once. Beside him, he felt Andrew tense up as if waiting for some sort of negative reaction, his boyfriend’s eyes focused on Kevin and the people around the striker.

"Tell the Ravens to be ready for us, would you?” Kevin continued as if he hadn’t let loose several verbal bombs just then. “We're ready for them." As if he’d said his fill, he gave the astonished reporters a slight nod then walked away. The one reporter who had asked him about USC stared after him as if still taking everything in, then spun back toward the camera and started rambling away about everything Kevin had just said.  As for Neil and Andrew, that was their cue to follow their friend.

“Feeling a bit of respect for him yet?” Neil asked as they headed into the locker room.

“Hmm, at the least, less disgust than usual,” Andrew admitted. “How very uncowardly-like of him.”

They found Kevin in the changing room, clutching onto one of the sinks as if his life depended on it, looking about two seconds away from throwing up. As they neared, he gave out a low moan. “We’re going to die.”

“Oh, now he’s back to normal,” Andrew commented in his bored tone of voice. “Why am I not surprised?”

Neil struggled with the urge to hit them both, but didn’t want to damage his hands. “No, we’re not,” he snapped at Kevin.

“It’ll be a close call for Neil, but I refuse to let all of my hard work be in vain,” Andrew said. “He’ll pull through somehow.”

Seriously, maybe Uncle Stuart was right about a thing or two, Neil thought as he attempted to stomp on his boyfriend’s foot, but Andrew was too quick for that.

“He can’t touch you,” Neil assured his friend. “And tonight, you showed him that he can’t affect you. Not anymore.”

Kevin lifted his head to stare at his reflection for several seconds, then looked over at Neil for a moment. He went back to studying his own reflection again, his hand lifting to hide the ‘2’ tattoo on his cheek. Neil wasn’t certain what he was looking for or studying, but after almost a minute, he gave a slight nod before he turned around to face the two of them.

“All right. We have a lot of work to do. You’re two weeks behind, Josten.”

“Tomorrow,” Andrew said before Neil could speak up and say something he might (or not) regret. “Too late to do anything tonight.”

Kevin frowned a little, but then nodded in acceptance. Feeling like he was going to be a bone of contention between the two men again, Neil stalked off to the lounge where the rest of the team was waiting while Andrew and Kevin finally went to shower.

When Dan asked him about the interview, Neil took a bit of delight in relaying how not only Kevin had revealed that Wymack was his father, but how he had insulted the Ravens and their whole ‘must win’ mentality, had basically outed Riko for breaking his hand in a round-about way, had finally committed to the Foxes and declared that he’d never be a Raven again. For *once*, it wasn’t Neil stirring up shit during an interview.

Dan stared at him in growing horror while Wymack rubbed at his face. “Just great. When I told you how it was good, you inspiring Kevin, this was *not* what I meant, dammit. I don’t need two of you mouthing off like this to the damn press!”

“Yeah, but you can take out life insurance on Kevin now, right?” Nicky pointed out with a grin. “Or at least get a few months off for family bereavement?”

Wymack glared at him while waving at the changing rooms. “All of you, get your asses and your stink out of here. I am done putting up with you for the week.”

Neil changed out in a hurry then went back out to join Wymack and Abby as they watched a recap of the game and Kevin’s interview. People were already dissecting the interview and taking sides, and while Neil wasn’t surprised that people were defending the Ravens, it was good to know that others were sticking up for Kevin, were putting together Kevin’s sudden departure from Edgar Allen and Riko sitting out those games at the end of that season, and how Edgar Allen hadn’t tried harder to keep a talented player like Kevin.

He also had to admit that he was grateful that yes, the news had been diverted from himself. Maybe that wasn’t such a nice thing, but there was a sense of relief to not hear one mention of his father’s name during the broadcast.

There were some looks of admiration sent Kevin’s way when everyone met back up in the lounge, but things quieted down so Wymack could give them one final talk before they could leave and go to the party. He glanced over them as he folded his tattooed arms across his chest. “I know, I know, there’s a party so I’ll make this quick, the breakdown of the game can wait until Monday. It might not have been your best game tonight, but it was by far your most mature. You did what you had to, you didn’t let them get to you and you won.” He gave them all a pleased smile.

“So yeah, welcome to the semi-finals, and one where you made it with what’s left of the Big Three at that – with USC and Edgar Allen.” He shook his head at Dan, who rubbed at her face. “No, don’t look like that, don’t let that scare you. I want you to be proud, to be yourselves and don’t back down. Because no one out there thought you’d ever make it this far – no one but those of us right here,” he told them all. “So don’t let anyone tell you anything different, not even yourselves, and let yourselves be proud of what you earned.” Then he grinned. “And have a hell of a time tonight because you’ve earned it.”

Beside him, Abby shook her head. “That said, be careful,” she warned them all. “Off the road and out of sight, all right? And of out trouble.” Her gaze seemed to linger on ‘the monsters’ while she said that last part.

“Yes, Mom,” Nicky joked, which really, just proved her point, Neil thought.

“We’ll stick to the dorms,” Dan promised as she shoved Nicky toward the door.

It took forever to get back to the dorms because of the stadium traffic and everyone running around celebrating their win, but they got there eventually. Matt came over to help Nicky, Aaron and Kevin carry down the alcohol, while Andrew remained in the bedroom smoking a cigarette and Neil shook his head to indicate that he was planning on skipping out on the party. Matt seemed a bit saddened by it, while Nicky gave him a slight leer. “Enjoy having the place to yourself.”

“Get out of here,” Neil told them. “And don’t let Kevin get… well, make sure he… we need him alive,” Neil said. He didn’t think there was *that* much alcohol, but who knew. He just figured that Kevin wouldn’t be sober for much longer.

That taken care of for the night, he went into the bedroom, glanced at Andrew sitting in the window, then crossed over to his dresser where he rummaged through the bottom drawer for something. Once it was in hand, he went over to offer it to his boyfriend.

Andrew gave him a slightly impressed look before he flicked the remains of the cigarette out the window. “You’ve been holding out on me?” he asked as he accepted the bottle of vodka.

“Well, you know me and my ‘medicinal’ stash,” Neil stated. “Always like to keep some on hand ‘just in case’.” Even though they had Abby now, old habits were hard to break.

“I see.” Andrew cracked open the bottle and had a couple of swallows before he got to his feet, then herded Neil toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Neil smiled as he followed his boyfriend out of the suite.

******

Andrew lit another cigarette and breathed in the smoke while Neil’s head rested against his shoulder; they should probably return back to the room at some point, but he was comfortable where he was, it was quiet and the alcohol was a pleasant buzz in his veins. Plus, no cowardly Kevin, no loud Nicky and no annoying Foxes, just a tipsy, sleepy Neil and the stars above. The campus had finally settled down an hour or so ago.

“USC,” Neil said with a slight slur to the words. “California.” He shivered a little then.

“Would think it’s better than Utah, no? Or Nevada?” As he spoke, Andrew combed his fingers through Neil’s tangled curls.

“Maybe.” Neil closed his eyes and sighed, the sound a bit pleased. “Just… don’t wanna lose there.” His British accent was back, had been for about the past half an hour or so, when he had helped Andrew finish off the bottle of vodka.

“We won’t,” Andrew assured him. If he had to make a call to the limey prick and have him take out Kevin’s man-crush at half-time or something, they wouldn’t lose. There was no way Andrew was letting Riko win, not with Kengo gone, not with Kevin finally growing a hint of a spine, not with…. Dammit, not when Andrew could imagine what things might be like, after Palmetto State.

“Already lost enough there,” Neil murmured. “Don’….” He shook his head and groaned. “Why you like drinkin’ so much?” He tilted his head a bit more onto Andrew’s shoulder and opened his eyes, his expression perilously close to a pout. “Feels odd. Muddy.” His brow became furrowed at that. “Muddly. Fuck. *Muddledsdeds*.”

“Muddled,” Andrew said for him, grateful that Nicky wasn’t around at the moment to do that cooing shit of his. “And you’re a fucking lightweight, Josten.” He followed that up with a flick to the middle of his boyfriend’s forehead, which provoked a low whine. “It’s not so bad for some of us.” He enjoyed the numbness that it brought him sometimes, the cut-off sensation from the rest of the world. Oh how he’d needed it, that sense of disassociation, and now… well, maybe he didn’t need it so much, but it still felt good, that buzz, that bit of distance. That bit of haze to help him step back a little from too sharp emotions.

Especially when he thought about Aaron being downstairs with Katelyn, all smiles and flouncing skirts and big eyes. So desperate to be normal, to buy into the ‘happy’ life of a respectable career and the pretty wife and perfect home.

Andrew grimaced as he flicked his cigarette aside, unwilling to think about certain things anymore. While he did that, Neil hummed a little and held up his right hand to stare at it.

“What are you doing now, you idiot?”

“The lines.”

Sometimes, Andrew swore that his boyfriend needed to come with some sort of instruction manual, some book to help figure out what the fuck was going on in the mess that was Neil’s poor excuse of a brain – at the very least, he was a great walking advertisement of the dangers of too many concussions. “What damn lines?”

Neil made an annoyed sound as his right hand flopped back and forth. “These lines. How do you read them now?” While Andrew was trying to figure out if Abby had slipped the idiot some pain meds earlier, Neil sighed and traced what looked to be a healing scar with his left index finger. “Uhm… one’s a heart line, and another a life line, and… shit, I don’ know. Just remember… we spent a weekend at a festival in Glastonbury one summer, jus’ hanging out. Had all these booths, all these people selling things and… one was a palm reader.”

Andrew sometimes had difficulty in believing all of the things that Neil had done, all the places he had traveled, when he himself had only lived in part of California and then Racine and South Carolina. “I didn’t take your mom to be the festival type. What, she like one of the bands or something?”

Neil was quiet for a moment as he folded the fingers of his hand against his palm then cradled it against his chest. “Not really. It was a good place for me to learn how to pick pockets since there were so many people, lotta them… well, they were easy targets, but there were also too many people for her to easily keep an eye on me. Once she was certain I had the basics down, we stuck to smaller venues.”

Why wasn’t Andrew surprised? Neil was good at picking locks, so why would Mary stop there? Real mother of the year material, she was. “And they say nobody bothers to teach the kids the classics anymore.”

“Eh?” Neil appeared puzzled by that, his thoughts easily derailed from the alcohol, which made Andrew smile just a little. The idiot picked up on that and fumbled about until he straddled Andrew’s lap. “Asshole.”

“So you tell me.” Andrew caught at Neil’s right wrist, mindful not to hold on too tight, and pulled his boyfriend’s hand in close; Neil allowed him to do that, didn’t attempt to pull away or break free. “Let’s see these fancy lines of yours.”

There were so many red lines crossing Neil’s wrist now, so much new scar tissue. Some people might mistake it for multiple attempts to kill himself if they didn’t see the marks on the other side or know the proper way to go about things, and most of them were down too far to be hidden by the arm bands. Then there were the lines on Neil’s palms and fingers, which hopefully would fade to white over time. A couple still bore the marks of the sutures that Abby had removed earlier that day, but those would fade soon enough. “Yeah, good luck getting your fortune told this way any time soon,” Andrew remarked as he stroked his thumb along Neil’s calloused and scarred palm.

“I figured that,” Neil said with a bit of disgust. “Prolly… probly jus’ be told I’m gonna be hit with a racquet soon enough.”

“Hmm, probably,” Andrew agreed as he wrapped his arms around Neil’s waist. “Nicky can be vicious like that.”

“Nicky. Right.” Neil looked as if he was trying to glare at the moment but it was coming across more as cross-eyed; oh, Andrew had to do this more often, had to get the idiot drunk when it was just the two of them.

“Hey.”

“What?” Andrew looked up at the idiot while Neil took to frowning for some reason, his bangs falling into his eyes. “What is it?”

Neil leaned in a little closer, until their foreheads touched. “Than’ you,” he breathed out. “For tonight. For winning.”

Ah, the game – Andrew should have known they’d get back to Exy at some point. “You’re welcome, I suppose. Be too much of a pain to end up stuck in a room with just Day and Nicky.”

“Asshole,” Neil muttered even as he made himself more comfortable on Andrew; idiot was lucky that he didn’t weigh too much. “Who’s gonna buy your damn breakfasts? An’ ice cream?”

“Yes, I suppose there’s a reason I keep you around,” Andrew mused aloud as he stroked his right hand up and down Neil’s back but didn’t slip it beneath his boyfriend’s shirt; there was a downside to the whole drunk thing, the British accent and amusement aside. Ah well, he could kick Kevin and Nicky out of the room tomorrow, he supposed.

“Maybe it’s *me* keepin’ you ‘round,” Neil said as he closed his eyes and settled even more on top of Andrew like some sort of long-limbed cat.

“And I’d say we reached your limit for the night.” Andrew waited for Neil go still before he gave a tug to a handful of curls. “I’m not carrying you downstairs,” he told his protesting boyfriend before shoving him off to the side, then stood up.

Neil lay sprawled out on the rooftop for a moment, his eyes closed and scarred hands clenched into fists. “I’m jus’ gonna lie here until I c’n crawl over the edge. It’s fine.”

Andrew clicked his tongue in disgust. “Some people shouldn’t drink, it makes them such drama queens.”

That earned him an obscene finger before Neil’s arm flopped back down. “Hate you so much.”

Ah, it sounded so much more amusing in that British accent. “You going to hate me up here or on that cold hard ground, or on our nice soft bed?”

And now there was that lovely whining sound. “Bed, right?” Andrew enjoyed winning in the end, at least on things that mattered to him.

It took several attempts before Neil could manage to more or less stagger to his feet and follow Andrew down the stairs; Andrew had a grip on the idiot’s shirt to make sure he didn’t fall down and break his fool neck. They eventually made their way to their bedroom, the suite empty since it looked as if Kevin and Nicky were still downstairs with the rest of the Foxes. Despite it being easiest to just dump Neil into their bed, Andrew was kind enough to help clean him up first since he’d gotten him drunk in the first place, and then they both went to bed.

He woke up to one rather displeased boyfriend (accent back to normal), Kevin passed out on the bed and once more wrapped around the stuffed fox, and Nicky complaining about them running out of coffee. Andrew threw the keys to the Nissan at his cousin while a grumpy Neil took him out to a rather late breakfast, where he did most of the eating and Neil nursed first a small pot of tea and then some coffee and a couple of pieces of toast.

“Maybe I should have just jumped for it last night,” Neil complained as he nibbled on his barely darkened bread.

“Just how long is this drama queen mode going to last? Because I’m not putting up with both you and Kevin today,” Andrew warned. When it looked as if Neil was going to throw a crust at him, he eyed his boyfriend in such a manner that Neil sighed and let it drop back onto the plate.

“Look who’s talking.”

“If you’re insinuating something about me and drama, then maybe you shouldn’t drink anymore, it’s clearly stunted your brain.”

Neil smiled at Andrew for the first time that day, not that Andrew was keeping track of anything. “Oh, it’s there, you just go for subtlety.”

“Try taking a few more hits to that head of yours,” Andrew told his boyfriend. “See if we can’t get rid of that annoying part which controls your speaking ability.”

Neil’s smile just widened behind the rim of his mug; Andrew shook his head and went back to eating his waffles.

They returned to the suite to find that Nicky was still out running errands and that Kevin was up for once, busy watching replays of last night’s interviews on his laptop as he sat on the couch. Neil was about to change so he could go for a run when there was a knock on their door; seeing that Kevin was still watching his games and that Andrew couldn’t be bothered, Neil sighed and went to answer it.

Andrew was rather displeased to notice first Wymack standing in their doorway and then a former Raven; he grabbed the back of his gaping boyfriend’s grey long-sleeved shirt and pulled Neil out of the way. “What do you want?” he asked with no pretense of politeness.

“And good morning to you, too,” Wymack said with a heavy dose of weariness. “It may surprise you, but we’re not here to see you.” He looked past Andrew into the room. “Kevin.” At the man’s back, Theodora Muldani, a former Raven backliner who had graduated to play for the Houston Sirens and even the US Court, stared on with a cold look that did nothing to hide her impatience, what with the way she kept shifting her weight. Of course she towered over Andrew and Neil, her muscular thighs were bigger than Andrew’s and her arms almost as impressive.

Upon hearing his name, Kevin didn’t even bother to look up from his laptop, his expression one of irritation at being interrupted. Andrew arched an eyebrow at that and glanced back at Thea, whose dark eyes narrowed as she stalked into the room, her fine black braids rustling down her chiseled back and long legs flashing as her shirt skirt inched up a little more, she was moving that fast. Hmm, Thea had ‘pissed off lover’ written all over her. Well, ‘normal pissed off lover’. Andrew had to put up with psychotic smiles and threats to be thrown off the roof and shit like that, but whatever.

For such a coward, Kevin certainly didn’t have much by the way of a sense of self-preservation (maybe Neil really was rubbing off on him) since he didn’t seem to pick up on Thea approaching. Nope, he just continued to keep on watching those stupid interviews, until the woman grabbed the laptop and threw it to the side. Andrew nodded in approval while Neil winced, and Wymack just stood by the door as if there was no way in hell he was getting involved.

Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but one look at the expression on his girlfriend’s face made him shut up. Meanwhile, Thea snatched up his left hand and turned it over so she could examine the scars on the back, as if she hadn’t seen them before, as if she was studying them. All the while, Kevin allowed her to do that.

Then she looked over at Andrew and Neil. “Get out,” she told them, her expression a mix of anger and pain.

Andrew just tugged Neil a little closer and gave her a bored look in return; he didn’t care if those two were fucking or not, he wasn’t leaving Kevin alone with an ex-Raven right then, not unless he knew for certain this wasn’t one of Riko’s tricks.

"Thea." Kevin had looked over at Andrew and must have seen something on his face, because he finally spoke up as he scrambled to stand up. "What are you doing here?"

Thea glared at Kevin as if he was insane, as if the answer was obvious, and managed a barely restrained, "they'll leave or I will. I won’t talk to you in… mixed company.” She looked over at Neil for a moment. “Even if he’ll be a Raven soon enough."

Andrew felt Neil jerk at that comment and nearly went over to choke the woman, except Kevin held up his hand in a pleading motion.

"We are mixed company regardless," Kevin said in a rush. "I’m not a Raven anymore."

He should have told his precious girlfriend that she wasn’t one, either, that she was a fucking Siren or whatever, but it was that damn cult rearing its head again. More brainwashing from Tetsuji, from the *Master*. Andrew wanted to smack them both and be done with it, but it wasn’t worth his time. Finding out why Thea was here? That was worth another minute or two. Maybe.

Apparently, the ‘lovely’ Thea didn’t feel like wasting much more time, either. “I’ll count to three,” she warned, her dark eyes narrowed. “One.”

"Stop it," Kevin said with growing impatience. "Just talk to me."

"Now you want to talk," Thea said with a good dose of sarcasm. "Two."

"I always wanted to talk, but it was complicated." Oh, it was almost amusing to see Kevin flounder like this, but Andrew hadn’t been kidding when he told Neil that he wasn’t in the mood for drama.

"'Complicated'," Thea echoed, with even more sarcasm than before. “'Complicated' is having to find out from a press conference that you broke your hand and left the line-up. 'Complicated' is finding out the hard way that you disconnected your phone and having to hear from Jean that you didn't want anything to do with any of us effective immediately – including me.” Judging from the pain on her face just then, Andrew would say that one had hurt a good bit. Go Kevin, master of sensitivity. “Don't you dare use 'complicated' on me. I deserve better than that.” When Kevin didn’t say anything, big surprise there, she spit out one more word. “Three."

She turned to go, but Kevin finally reacted and reached out to grab her wrist. "Jean," he said, like that somehow answered all of her accusations, and Thea’s lips twitched as if she was trying not to yell at him some more just then. Kevin shook his head and insisted, "If you're going to believe me, you need to see Jean first."

"What's left of him, anyway," Wymack said, speaking up at last. He ignored the glare Thea sent him and looked past her at Kevin. "I came so I could get her into the dorm, but she has her own ride, a rental car. Take that to Abby's and work this out." Thea hesitated a moment longer, then tugged her wrist free of Kevin's grip then gestured for him to follow; Andrew almost waved goodbye at them, but didn’t want to do anything that might delay getting the two of them the fuck out of the place. Wymack stepped aside so they could leave and watched them disappear down the hall. Once they were out of sight, Wymack turned around to face him and Neil.

“So, I figured I’d stop by in person to discuss the room assignments for next year. All six of the new recruits have signed with us, so that means more rooms and switching things around.” Wymack paused as if that meant something to Andrew and took a deep breath as if for courage. “It means enough people to go to three a room, since there’s enough for five rooms for the team.”

Ah, now Andrew understood the man’s skittishness. “And? What are you proposing?”

Wymack shrugged as he looked around the place. “Matt and Aaron are doing well as roommates, from what I hear. And Nicky’s there a lot. Seems to make sense to me to have them room together next year, then put you, Neil and Kevin next door.”

Neil shuffled a little closer to Andrew, as if uncertain of Andrew’s response. On one hand, it meant splitting up this… whatever it was. Splitting up Andrew’s family. But Aaron was already gone, and Wymack was right, Nicky seemed to spend a good bit of his time in the other room anyway, where he could socialize with the other Foxes. On the other hand, it meant a bit more privacy for Andrew and Neil… and Bee was right. He hadn’t lost Aaron, having his brother move down the hall. Something told him he wouldn’t be lucky enough to lose Nicky, either.

“Fine,” he told Wymack. “I suppose it’ll keep this one,” he tugged on Neil’s shirt, “from whining about me killing the pest over hogging the bathroom.”

“You’re a real humanitarian,” Wymack said as he shook his head. “Now with that done, I better go see if Abby needs some help. Oh, before I go,” he paused to fetch something out of his pocket, which turned out to be a spare set of keys to the court. “Kevin said to give them to you.”

Andrew caught them in his right hand then made sure to slam the door shut behind the man. When he turned around, he found Neil giving him a considering look. “What?”

“You really okay with Nicky rooming with the others?”

“Less noise and more bathroom time? Hell yes,” Andrew insisted as he went into the kitchen for something to drink; he set the keys down on the counter near the fridge.

Neil toyed with them for a moment. “So, your own set of keys. Guess things are serious now, huh?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t cheat on you too much,” Andrew drawled as he grabbed a bottle of soda.

That earned him another smile. “You and Kevin? I don’t… it’s another of those really weird images, I’ll have to admit. Do you need a stool or something to help things out?”

Andrew paused to take a sip then set the bottle aside so he could pin Neil against the counter; his boyfriend was slouched down a bit, so *their* height difference was negligible at the moment. “No, I fucking kick him in the back of the knees to knock him down, and it’s not a problem.”

“Hmm, dirty talk… though I’m not sure if I like it,” Neil murmured as his hands hovered around Andrew’s hips. Then he grimaced. “And it’s about Kevin, which… yeah, no, bad mental image time. Not what I needed.”

“That’s what you get for trying to be a smart-ass,” Andrew taunted. “Do you want me to tell you about how-“

“*No*,” Neil said as he laughed. “No! It’s Kevin! It’s like… oh hell.” He closed his eyes as he tugged at his bangs. “I can’t even imagine him with Thea. He makes it seem like Exy is his whole life.”

“And me?” Andrew asked, some of his amusement fading away.

Neil opened his eyes and smiled, the expression not as humorous as before, as his hands once more hovered around Andrew’s hips. “I don’t want to see you with anyone but… but me. Funny, no?”

“Hilarious,” Andrew breathed out as he leaned in close. “Still… suppose one should indulge idiots.”

He really should be used to how Neil’s smiles made his chest hurt by now, after all this time. At least he could take some comfort in knowing that Neil was just as affected by him in his own way, judging from the hands clutching at his hips as his mouth settled on his boyfriend’s.

Neil pulled Andrew in closer as the kiss grew more heated, and as Andrew’s hands slid beneath Neil’s shirt to stroke along his lower back. It wasn’t until Neil started tugging on the loops of his jeans that Andrew remembered that they were still in the kitchen.

More importantly, that Kevin could come back at any moment and drag them off to the damn Exy court. “Bedroom,” he insisted as he pulled away.

“And lock the door,” Neil agreed as he stumbled after Andrew.

Kevin might have Neil for the damn game - and maybe Andrew was playing along lately to ensure that the idiot wasn’t going anywhere - but Andrew got him for everything else.

******** 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> I don't think the books ever addressed Andrew's IOUs fron Neil, did they? Hmm... so yeah, he used up one of them (or sorta, seems like it would only go toward a fraction of all he did) by having Neil get a bit drunk for him one night. Not like Neil would really complain if it made him happy (and Andrew not protesting over Aaron and the Foxes having fun).
> 
> OMFG so close to the end (and yeah, I'll probably do oneshots or little updates about things moving forward, but just want to wrap up WDWG itself). Would be great if I could do it by the end of the month, but with the next week being so crazy, we shall see.
> 
> And that last little part isn't a dig against kandreil, honest (I'm a 'it's all good, we like what we like' when it comes to ships). I just think this Neil honestly would be all 'WTF, Kevin with ANYONE' type - that and his jealousy is flaring up, just a little.  
> *******


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's back! Yes, had a lot going on for a couple of weeks, but new chapter! Yes! Trying to get back to the update schedule and so far, this week looks good. Not sure what's happening this coming weekend, but things should be getting back on track more or less.
> 
> Which is good, because wow, seriously, think there's like one more official chapter (unless it runs really long) and then that's it for WDWG! Though I do want to do a couple of little follow-ups to touch base on things that happen to the boys over the summer of Neil's first year as a Fox, leading up to the next season. Then we'll see where things go from there....
> 
> Warning! There's mention (briefly, without much detail) of some past non-con things in this chapter. If you've read the previous chapters, you know what they are/were. They're touched upon here a couple of times in very short detail, but it is mentioned.  
> ******

*******

The week leading up to the USC game was off to a manic start; much like the previous week, the Foxes threw themselves into their workout and practice, energized by their win against the Bearcats and hopeful about the upcoming game. Neil was just grateful to be able to play again, to be back out on the court even if the weekend's practices with Kevin and Andrew had been downright brutal. Neither his boyfriend nor friend had shown him any mercy, so he'd winced a good bit on the treadmill and while lifting weights, but was mostly back to normal come time for the afternoon practice. Not that Matt, Aaron and Nicky had appreciated that fact, judging from the sour looks they sent his way as he let ball after ball fly past their defense, as he was determined to sharpen every bit of skill he could before Friday.

Wymack regarded him with a cool gaze when he went over to the bench for some water during a break. "You do know there's eight other people on the team, yeah? You're not out there on the court by yourself."

Neil shrugged before he sipped the water, while Andrew gave him that 'you are such an idiot, why do I even know you?' expression which made Neil want to grit his teeth together. "I'm just doing my best," he said after a moment.

"Don't kill yourself," Wymack told him. "And stop pulling that backhanded shit out there - USC is the cleanest team in the division, so it won't look good if you're tripping them or shoving your stick in their kidneys the whole damn game."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Neil said with a blank face, while Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Sure you don't," Wymack mocked. "And I'm not going to spend the night drinking rather than dwelling on the next bout of stupid shit the two of you are going to get into. Lie some more, why don't you?"

"Well-"

"That wasn't a challenge, you stubborn fool," Wymack snapped. "Just drink your water and then get out of my sight," he said as he took to rubbing his eyes. "Coaching, what the fuck was I thinking," he muttered to himself.

"You know, they say admitting it is the first step in acknowledging that you have a problem," Andrew informed the man while Neil finished his water.

Wymack's glare went up a notch. "And get your ass out on the court too, you lazy midget."

Neil didn't even attempt to dodge the hit to his helmet from Andrew's racquet as they both were basically thrown back out onto the court, and the rest of the Foxes sent them rather displeased looks at the impromptu 'game' that broke out between them, of Neil doing his best to get any balls through to Andrew's goal and Andrew firing back those balls with rather deadly precision and force.

"Are you two fighting?" Matt asked after he barely managed to jump out of the way of one of Andrew's return volleys.

"No," Kevin sighed with evident exasperation, before Neil could answer.

Matt frowned at that. "Okay...."

"Could you control your flirting while we're trying to practice?" Kevin complained as they went running after the ball, his voice a bit too loud just then. Neil winced at the comment then shook his head as he put some space between them, and gave his friend a pitying glance when the next return volley provoked a panicked yelp from the striker when Kevin barely got his racquet up in time to prevent a hit to the face guard.

"Even I knew that was coming," Nicky told Kevin with a good bit of disdain. "Are you masochistic or what?"

"Just shut up and do a better job of guarding the goal," Kevin barked at him.

Everyone was exhausted by the time the afternoon session was over, but Neil felt that something had been accomplished. That he'd spent time with his teammates and helped prepare for the coming game, that he wasn't leaving his fate in the hands of others - even if he trusted them.

Kevin appeared in a better mood now that he didn't have projectiles flying at his head and legs, and deigned to speak to Neil and Andrew again once back in their suite. He grabbed a sports drink from the fridge and went over to his desk to power on his laptop, then checked a few things while Andrew sat down in front of the television while sipping a soda and Neil rubbed some lotion that Abby had given him into his sore hands.

After a few minutes, Kevin called out to him to come over to the desk.

"What?" Neil went over, expecting to see some Exy video and was surprised to find an email up on the screen - in Japanese at that. "Uhm, what is that?"

"You have a passport, right?" Kevin asked him, then frowned. "A legal passport?"

"Yes, the Feds gave me one when they handed over all of my new documents."

Kevin nodded in what looked to be approval. "Good, because we'll be in Japan for a couple of weeks this summer, maybe South Korea and Europe as well." The smile gave way to another frown. "I'll have to request that we stay near decent Exy facilities so this doesn't impact our training."

Wait, what? "Uhm, *why* are we going to Japan and wherever?" Neil wanted to know.

He got another one of those 'you're an idiot' looks, which was getting very annoying. "Because of the endorsement deals," Kevin informed him. "For the Moriyamas. You're the third ranked striker in terms of popularity in the league, and right now we're one of the top ranked Class I Exy teams. You should have seen this coming. Ichiro won't let a possible income stream go to waste."

Neil felt a headache coming on. "But that's... that's insane.” But hadn’t Ichiro said something about it to him that day? “I can't-"

"Can't what?" Kevin asked. "Your father's men aren't a problem anymore, not now. And I told you, there's more to playing Exy than being out on a court - you need to attract sponsors, need to get people's attention if you want the pro teams to notice you."

"Oh hell," Neil mumbled as he tugged at his bangs, as he thought about going in front of cameras again, about... no. *No*."

"Oh, look, I think his mind broke," Andrew commented as he came over to stand beside Neil, his hand on the back of Neil's neck. "This is going to be so fun to watch, him on a photo shoot."

"Wha- oh god," Neil gasped as he did his best to breathe. Photos? Of him?

"So you're coming along?" Kevin asked Andrew as he ignored Neil.

"Of course - I'm not going to let some foreigner take out all of my hard work," Andrew insisted as he gave Neil's neck a quick squeeze. "Breathe before I punch you. How long does it take to get a passport?"

"Juh-japan," Neil managed to stutter through the building panic. "Fuh-flight."

"Yes, and I will make you suffer through all of it," Andrew told him with a hint of a pleased smile.

"We'll work on expediting yours," Kevin said as he started replying to the email. "It shouldn't be a problem.”

“Wonderful.” Andrew tugged Neil away from Kevin’s desk. “Going to pass out?”

“Pu-pictures? Really?” Neil fought to even out his breathing, which wasn’t easy. “Why?”

Andrew continued until they were in the kitchen, then pushed Neil against the counter. “Why indeed.” He stared at Neil, the fingers of his left hand shifting up to tangle in the hair along Neil’s nape. “Who would want your ugly face associated with their product?”

“Yeah,” Neil said. “Exactly.” Kevin he could understand – their friend was one of the best Exy players around and looked good. But him? It didn’t make sense.

And there was that damn annoying look *again*. Andrew’s fingers tightened in Neil’s hair for a moment. “You are *such* an idiot.”

“No, I’m not,” Neil muttered as he gave Andrew’s left shoulder a gentle shove. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Andrew said as he pulled Neil toward him for a kiss. Neil was more than happy enough to give up on the argument, and had just checked that it was all right to move his hands beneath Andrew’s shoulders when Kevin’s irate voice called out.

“Hey! Oh no! We still need to eat before practice, dammit! Enough of that!”

Neil broke off the kiss with a displeased whine to find his friend glaring at them from the other end of the kitchen, his hands fisted on his hips. Andrew stepped away, his expression mild but eyes gleaming and fingers twitching as if eager to pull a knife. “I’m sorry, but what was that?”

For once, Kevin didn’t back down. “Mess around later,” he insisted. “Dinner, then practice, and then you can… uhm… yeah, whatever.” He flapped his right hand in an upward motion, toward the ceiling, a hint of red creeping up his face from his neck. “Do your… just not now! We only have four more nights to practice, dammit!”

Neil sighed as he reached out to tug on the sleeve of Andrew’s black t-shirt. “Come on, let’s just get going,” he pleaded. “Italian?”

“Fine,” Andrew conceded with a bit of heat as he stared down Kevin. “Day is paying.”

Kevin accepted that with a mild shrug. “And then we practice.”

“Of course.” Judging from the faint twist to Andrew’s full lips just then… yeah, Kevin better not skimp on the protective gear that evening. Neil shared a look with his fellow striker before he ran his hands through his hair and then followed his boyfriend toward the door. Oh what fun.

Dinner was Exy talk until Andrew's butter knife vanished beneath the table and Kevin's explanation about the Trojan's defensive line came to a sputtering halt, and then it switched to Andrew going to get a passport that weekend and possible sightseeing stops for their summer 'trip' (Andrew swiped the rest of Neil's lasagna, the bastard, while he staved off another panic attack over the thought of... well, seriously, who wanted to be *his* sponsor?).

Then it was off to practice, starting with some warm-up laps and then putting on the rest of their gear, and Neil made sure to stay as far away from Kevin as possible when it came time for Andrew to return the ball; yeah, someone was still holding onto a bit of a grudge there. Still, a fired up Andrew made for an invigorating practice session, and Neil was grinning by the end of it even if all he wanted to do was to crawl into his bed and pass out. Despite the way that Kevin was cursing beneath his breath about murderous goalkeepers, Neil could tell that his friend was pleased, too.

It seemed like he'd just fallen asleep when the alarm went off the next morning, and the four of them got ready to go off to the gym, Nicky mumbling about some project he had to do for one of his classes, Kevin in full zombie mode until they hit the parking lot and Andrew not speaking to anyone, just sipping from his travel mug of coffee and smoking cigarettes while Neil drove. Things got better during the work-out session, then everyone split up to head off to their classes, with Neil and Renee walking together.

"So how is Jean doing?" Neil asked along the way.

Renee's expression turned thoughtful. "Better now that he can move around a little. He's anxious about the upcoming trip, though."

Neil shook his head. "Kevin wouldn't have brought up asking the Trojans about him if he didn't think they'd accept him as a teammate." Kevin and Wymack had discussed what teams to approach to ask about taking on the former Raven, and agreed that USC was their top pick - both because it was the farthest away from Edgar Allen and that the team's mentality... well, the Trojans wouldn't give Jean any grief or encourage any more bad habits while still allowing his talents to flourish. "He knows how important it is for Jean to get onto a good team and keep playing."

"Yes, and he knows how much he owes Jean, too," Renee said after a slight pause. "At least, he *better*." There was that flash of darkness in her eyes as she spoke, and Neil had a feeling that Kevin had best watch his back if he didn't do right by the backliner.

"It'll work out," Neil assured her. At the least, Jean was desperate to get out of Abby's house; it was as Neil had expected that Jean wasn't comfortable being around him and Kevin, around the people who had been able to escape the Nest and Riko's abuse. What Jean needed most was a fresh start, one  he couldn't find it at Palmetto State... though maybe Renee could still help him out with it after he put enough time and space between him and Edgar Allen.

They talked about, well, better things before parting ways, and Neil attended his classes before heading back to the dorms to drop off a few books and to pick up some others, intent on driving to the library to study with Dan and Matt before afternoon practice. He got into the Nissan and sat down - then stilled when he noticed the envelope propped between the back of the steering wheel and the display on the dash.

His first impulse was to jump out of the car in case anything else was tampered with, to jump out and start running... but he recognized the writing on the envelope. After living with the bastard for a couple of weeks, he knew Riko's handwriting, had seen it around the room they'd shared, on the various forms the bastard had signed off on, the game plans he'd created. So Neil doubted that the car had been rigged in any manner, at least in any physical manner, because Riko wanted him alive. Wanted him in one piece so Riko could be the one to tear him apart, to do all of the damage. But oh, there was a very real danger present all the same.

His hands trembling, Neil reached for the letter and picked it up. It felt so very heavy, even though it was mere paper, and he had difficulty opening it because of the tremors in his fingers. After fumbling for several seconds, he managed to slide out the folded paper inside.

'Stop ignoring me and answer my calls or I'll share more than just photos of you.'

Neil didn't realize that he'd stopped breathing until his vision had started to blacken, and then he dropped the slip of paper as he clutched at the steering wheel, as he struggled to breathe in while at the same time memories of him on his knees, of him pressed against the cold tiles of the shower - no. *No*. His right fist slammed into the steering wheel, and the loud blast of the horn helped to startle him out of the panic attack, helped to center him on the 'now', to remind him that he was in his car, the stupid car that Andrew had bought and then foisted on him, the car filled with the scent of burnt tobacco and coffee and sweat and Nicky’s cologne.

He hunched over the steering wheel with his fingers buried in his hair, and forced himself to breathe in and out several times, to calm down. After a minute or two he straightened up, and the crinkle of paper reminded him of the damn letter. Despite the impulse to fling the thing out the window, to crumple it up and burn it, he forced himself to fold it back up and jam it into the envelope, then shove it into the pocket of his jacket before he reached for his phone. It only took a couple of rings before Andrew answered. "What?"

"The roof," Neil told his boyfriend, equally curt. Then he hung up and got out of the car, and made his way back into Fox Tower. As soon as he was up on the roof, he searched through his pockets in hope that he still had a pack of cigarettes left from when Andrew had been gone, but didn't find anything. So he waited while sitting on the ledge, fingers tugging on his bangs and filled with a gnawing sense of dread, his phone a heavy weight in the right pocket of his jacket.

He jumped when the door opened, jeans sliding along the rough concrete of the ledge, and heard Andrew curse out his name. Despite his precarious perch, a sense of relief flooded him and he smiled as he was yanked backwards by the neck of his hoodie.

"These suicidal impulses of yours are growing rather tiresome, Josten."

"Ah, just keeping you on your toes?" He tried for a grin but somehow, his face didn't seem to want to cooperate. Andrew gave him an unimpressed look and finally let go of his hood before sitting down next to him, then pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

"Oh thank you," Neil breathed.

Andrew stilled for a moment. "That bad?"

"Yeah." Neil rubbed at his face while Andrew lit two, then passed over one.

"The prick?"

"Yeah." Neil breathed in the smoke for a couple of seconds while Andrew's expression took on that terrible blankness, then handed over the letter.

Andrew read it, his expression unchanging, and went to crumple it before he thought better of it and shoved it into his pocket. "He call you yet?"

"No," Neil admitted, "but I think they're still practicing."

"Where did you find it?"

"In the car." Neil ran his fingers through his hair and fought to keep his breathing even. "It was there... I don't know, maybe they put it in this morning? Didn't Nicky use it last night?" Someone had to be watching him, someone for Riko.

"Somehow I doubt even he could fail to notice it," Andrew agreed as he gazed out over the campus, face still that awful blank mask. "What are you going to do?"

"What else?" Neil stared down at his wrists as he struggled for some sense of composure. "You've... you've seen." He dragged in a sharp, painful burst of air. "I can't chance that it's a bluff."

"But the prick isn't supposed to be *interfering*," Andrew argued, a bit of heat creeping into his deep voice. “That’s what Ichiro said, right?”

That startled a weak laugh from Neil. "Interfering with me playing. This isn't going to keep me off of the court," he pointed out as he flicked away the cigarette, his right hand falling onto his left wrist as he curled up into himself.

"Are you sure about that?" Andrew leaned over to latch onto Neil's right wrist and stopped him from twisting his hand about around his other arm. "Leave you alone for a bit and see what shape you're in then, hmm?" Neil didn't even try to argue with that. "And what about those potential endorsement deals? Think they'll be pleased if there's a big scandal tied to your name?"

"I can't risk the blow to Riko to... I can't risk it," Neil said, his voice rough with desperation. "You know that." Stuart had told him that there was only so much trouble he could cause the main branch. And to try to drag Riko down with him like that? Oh yeah, that was trouble.

"It doesn't mean that he has to win this round hands down, either," Andrew insisted. "Just... soon enough and we'll beat his ass. This is his last desperate grasp for attention. Don’t let him fuck with you like this."

Neil smiled at that, despite the dread still filling him, despite the weight of his phone in his jacket. "Yeah."

He got glared at for his troubles. "That didn't sound too convincing, Josten."

"Yeah, okay." He dared to reach out to tangle his fingers in the hem of Andrew's sweatshirt. "We're going to beat USC and then the Ravens, and that's that. No more Riko." Oh, wasn’t that a nice thought?

"No more Riko because I'm going to cave his head in with my racquet, but whatever."

"No witnesses," Neil reminded his boyfriend as he scooted closer.

"No witnesses who *care*," Andrew shot back as he gave Neil a flat look for a few seconds, before he carded his fingers through Neil's hair and allowed Neil to rest his forehead against Andrew's shoulder. "At this point, I'm expecting a party after I off the prick."

"Hmm, I'll even buy the alcohol," Neil promised, his body relaxing for the first time since he’d found the letter.

"Who are you and what did you do with my idiot?" Andrew murmured as he tugged on Neil's hair, while Neil smiled. They remained like that for about a minute, before Andrew shoved him away. "Don't do anything stupid."

"No promises," Neil said, and smiled again when his hood was tugged over his head. "What are you going to do?"

"Call one of my least favorite people and mail him a little present," Andrew said before heading for the door. "Nothing stupid," he shouted before the door slammed shut behind him.

Neil just shook his head and sat there; he was startled again when his phone pinged to alert him about a text from Dan, asking where he was. He sent her a message to say that something had come up and that he'd meet up with her and Matt at practice.

It wasn't much longer than that when his phone rang, and despite him bracing himself for it, he still flinched and had to fight the impulse to just throw the device out into the air. Instead, he picked it up and accepted the call.

"Hello, Nathanial," Riko said in Japanese, sounding much too pleased at the moment. "I see you're deciding to be a good boy."

Neil didn't say anything, he merely sat there with his jaw clenched and the fingernails of his left hand digging into his just-healed palm as anger and disgust swelled up inside of him.

Things were quiet for a moment, and then Riko clicked his tongue. "Or maybe not. Really, Nathaniel, I thought perhaps we were past these silly games. I told you to stop ignoring me. Keep being quiet and I'll have to do something to provoke that lovely tongue of yours. Maybe a little snippet of you putting it to such good use?"

"You *bastard*," Neil snarled in Japanese. "You're in those videos, too!" He fumbled to get off of the ledge, unable to remain seated, to remain still.

"Ah, and there we go," Riko said, sounded even more pleased with himself. "There's ways around that. Some judicious cropping, a little blurring... all there needs to be is you and it made clear that a certain psychopath you seem to have become attached to isn't your partner in the film. How will those fans of yours react to that bit of news, hmm?"

“It’s videos of… of… you forced me, you sick fuck.” Neil closed his eyes as he felt a wave of sudden nausea come over him, as he struggled against the sensation of hands pushing against his shoulders, of the cold metal of a blade against his mouth, his throat and the bite of handcuffs – no, dammit, he couldn’t let Riko get back into his head. “You’d be showing the world how you’re a fucking rapist.”

“But my dear Nathaniel, you stayed here the entire time. You never tried to run away, did you?”

Because of Andrew. Because he couldn’t risk Riko trying to do something else to harm Andrew. “What the hell? You think that makes what you did to me all right?” Andrew wouldn’t get a chance at the bastard, not if Neil got a shot at him first.

“Well, there is that, and your known proclivity for certain… shall we say ‘unusual’ hobbies? Some people won’t be surprised to see videos of you down on your knees while handcuffed.”

Neil was beginning to regret not letting Andrew drive up to West Virginia and try to kill the bastard before now. He rubbed at his face and wondered if he could recover from a concussion in time for the game on Friday, he was ready to start banging his head against something hard to relieve the frustration. “You are truly a loathsome, fucked up person, you know that, right?”

“I regret that we didn’t have enough time this past winter break to work on that mouth of yours, Nathaniel. It’ll be the first thing I correct this summer.”

“It’s never going to happen,” Neil swore as he slipped a knife free, needed to feel the weight of steel in his hand right then, to remind himself that he wasn’t back in the Nest where he’d been helpless and defenseless against whatever Riko wanted to inflict upon him next.

That prompted a laugh from Riko. “Such denial. If by some outlandish miracle your pathetic little team wins this week, you’ll still have to face the Ravens. I’ll look forward to having you on your knees before me for everyone to see before I take you back to our room. Say your goodbyes before you leave, Nathaniel, because once you lose, you’re officially mine.”

Neil twisted the knife about so that the sunlight flashed over the blade’s reflective surface. “I’m never going to kneel in front of you again,” he gritted out. “Now take your delusions and fuck off.”

“Ah, we’ll see how much of that fire you still have when you’re back here, number four. With no more Jean to protect you. I look forward to having you all to myself.” Then the bastard hung up before Neil had the satisfaction of doing it.

Neil twirled the knife about, hard-pressed to not jam it into the phone for a few seconds before he let out a slow breath. Then he shoved the phone back into the pocket of his jacket and slipped the knife into the arm band before he left the roof.

Andrew was waiting for him in the stadium’s parking lot when he got there later, and handed over a cigarette without saying anything. Neil leaned against him while he breathed in the smoke, content to stand there without talking for a few minutes, and was grateful for the warm hand on the back of his neck, for Andrew’s centering presence as always.

“I don’t understand how one person can be so damn… no words,” Neil murmured as he rubbed at his eyes.

“There’s a simple solution to this whole mess,” Andrew reminded him.

“Hmm.” Neil closed his eyes for a moment and thought about it. “Bodyguards and witnesses, dammit.”

“Details,” Andrew said. “Petty details.”

That remark made Neil smile despite himself. “I’m almost afraid to see what you’d consider ‘complicated’.”

That just got him pushed away. “Get going before we have a bunch of idiots coming after us, whining about where you are.”

Neil grumbled about being made to move, but did as he’d been ordered; he was grateful that Andrew didn’t ask about the phone call, about what Riko had said to him. He supposed that it was unnecessary, that Andrew could figure it out for himself, after all the other calls and texts. So Neil did his best to put it out of his mind and focus on the afternoon’s practice, on learning what he needed about the Trojans and improving his game as much as possible. Two weeks to prepare for the second best team in Class I Exy… it wasn’t enough. It had to be enough.

What was he going to do if the Foxes lost on Friday? Would there really be Moriyama people waiting to take him to Edgar Allen right after the game? Would he not even be given a chance to finish out the semester, to spend that last little bit of time with Andrew before Riko… before Riko sunk his claws into Neil, latched on and dragged him back to that black room where he would-

Neil gasped as there was a slight pain in his hands, as he snapped back to the present to find that his racquet had been knocked out of his grip and Andrew was standing in front of him, his own massive racquet held out as if to take another swing.

“What the hell, Andrew?” Matt yelled from several feet away. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t,” Andrew said, his voice low and full of menace. “Don’t let him get in your head, it’s what he wants. Why do you think he pulled this shit now?”

“I….” Neil closed his eyes as he shook his head. “He said… if we lose…,” he tried to explain while speaking in German.

“We won’t,” Andrew told him. “What did I say? Now pick up your racquet and keep playing, unless you’re ready to give up and *let* him win.”

Part of Neil wanted to pick up the damn racquet and swing it at the asshole, to scream and… he was so tired of it all. Tired of Riko’s games and the dread and the nightmares. But when he looked at Andrew, he knew that his boyfriend had been through it all, too. Had been through his own demons, had been through the pain and the clawing, clinging memories that refused to let go. And not had only Andrew found the strength to move past it as much as he could, he’d built a new life, one he’d allowed Neil to have a place in. And now it was being threatened because of Neil, had some of the old nightmares brought back to life because of Neil.

So if he could stand there and basically tell Neil to suck it up and keep moving on, to not give in to Riko… yeah, Neil picked up his racquet and just sighed, all anger fading away. “What are you always saying about Coach and his lousy motivational speeches?” he asked as he straightened up. “Seems to me you’re not much better.”

“Oh, that’s not me trying to be motivational,” Andrew said in English as his expression became the slightest bit displeased. “You’ll know it when I am, because you’ll be in a lot of pain.” He slammed the end of his racquet into the floor as if to illustrate his point.

“If the two of you are done with your messed-up courtship or whatever, we are trying to practice here,” Wymack called out. “So Minyard, get your dwarf ass back in the goal and Josten, start lobbing some balls at his ass, all right?”

“’Courtship’? What the hell, Coach? Did Abby make you watch a romance movie with her or something?” Matt asked while Neil went running back into his previous position on the court.

“One more word out of you, Boyd, and you’ll be doing suicide drills for the rest of the afternoon. Now all of you maggots shut up and start acting like a damn Exy team for once! Before I mistake you for the damn track team and sign all of you up for a marathon next weekend.”

There was some grumbling at that, but practice more or less resumed, and Neil smiled when Andrew seemed to target him for the first few minutes of it. After that, things seemed to return to normal.

Though Kevin did ask questions during practicing at night, in Japanese while they were facing off against Andrew. “Things had been quiet lately, what happened today?”

Neil paused so he could throw the ball at the goal, twisting about as he let it fly through the air, and smiled when it got past his boyfriend. At least, until both he and Kevin were then running along the court to go fetch the damn thing. “I think you can guess what – or who – happened.”

Kevin winced at that. “How?”

Neil hesitated for a moment, but judged that they were far enough from the goal for Andrew not to hear. “Message left in the Nissan – he’s not happy about me ignoring him and threatened me so I’d stop.” He wasn’t going to tell Kevin all of the details – Renee knew the truth about what had happened at the Nest over Christmas break, as did Jean. Neil had a feeling that Nicky suspected something, just from the way he’d been careful around him, but on the whole… yeah, Neil would prefer if that was it.

Kevin appeared to mull that over while he took his shot at the goal, which went in as well and really, really seemed to piss off Andrew. Who for some reason lobbed the ball at Neil’s head; he caught it, thankfully, but the pass back at the goal wasn’t quite so smooth and Andrew managed to block it.

“He’s trying to rattle you,” Kevin said as they were once more chasing after the damn ball.

“Yeah, that’s Andrew’s take on it.”

“Then don’t let him do it,” Kevin said in a rather condescending tone as he scooped up the ball.

Neil barely, just barely, resisted the urge to trip the bastard, and snagged the ball when Andrew blocked it. He felt a bit better when he scored a goal, and then did some more running. Why the hell did he bother with a cardio workout in the morning when he did this all night?

Still, he was exhausted by the time the practice was done, enough that he was drifting off in the shower, and he had high hopes of falling into bed and not waking up until morning. He *hoped* that he didn’t wake up until morning, because with certain memories dragged to the surface as they’d been….

He thought he better understood why Andrew and the others did the cracker dust on the weekend, why they drank so much. Because if someone offered him something that would let him sleep without nightmares just then, he’d take it. Instead, he hugged Andrew’s arm as close against him as he could when he lay down in bed, and hoped that things wouldn’t be too bad that night.

It was bad. It was him, back in that room, on that bed, with the handcuffs on, with Riko above him, on top of him and – and for a moment Neil lay there as his mind struggled to catch up to where he was, to when he was, and as he drew in a slight, trembling breath he realized that he smelled cigarette smoke. Just a faint whiff of it, but it clung to the pillows, to the blankets, and all of a sudden the bed was safe, the dark room was safe, and he could relax once more, could slump against the warm body behind him.

“Idiot,” Andrew murmured against his neck; he must have been woken up by Neil’s nightmare and remained still to avoid making it worse.

“Sorry,” Neil breathed out.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Andrew told him as he pulled Neil against him.

Neil closed his eyes and let the sound of Andrew’s breathing carry him back to sleep.

The next day started off normal, and if Andrew was quiet, Neil put it down at first to the early morning and exhaustion. But he noticed how Andrew stayed apart when he came back from his weekly session with Bee, how there was tension in his shoulders and his expression was a little *too* blank. It’s been a while since Andrew had a really bad day, but Neil had a feeling that it might be one of them and shot Nicky a warning glance when his friend started to call something out to his cousin. Renee picked up on it as well, and made sure to keep Dan occupied. Between the two of them, they allowed Andrew some space to finish up the morning session, and Nicky was quick to round up Kevin and Aaron to give them a ride back to campus so Andrew could drive back alone in the Maserati. For himself, Neil jogged to his classes.

He sent Andrew a text asking if he wanted them to meet up for lunch, and didn’t take it personally when all he got back was ‘no’. He didn’t know if it was the pressure of Friday’s game, the session earlier or Riko’s latest fuckery that set it off, or all of the above. Or maybe something else entirely, but he allowed his boyfriend the needed space, just like Andrew was always there for him when he needed it. Then Neil spent his break in the suite, half his lunch forgotten after he dealt with a call from Riko and put up with about ten minutes of being taunted with Trojans’ stats and what will happen to him once the Foxes lose.

Nicky came into the suite to find Neil staring down at his phone on the table, his fingers buried in his hair to prevent them from smashing onto the thing.

“Uhm, okay, that good of a text? Don’t tell me that Andrew is bad at sexting.”

“Not really.” Neil sat up and sighed. “Just trying to convince myself of all the reasons why I can’t break the thing.”

Nicky lingered by the edge of the table for a moment before he came over to give Neil’s hair a tentative tousle. “Maybe it’s time to try something new? I mean, what have those poor phones ever done to you?”

“I’m tired of going back to the store,” Neil agreed as he shivered a little, thinking of dealing with the salespeople again. “It’s just….” He sighed again and rubbed at the side of his neck.

“Riko, huh?” Nicky scowled as he grabbed a soda from the fridge. “Someone needs to tell him that a gentleman knows the meaning of the word ‘no’.”

Neil fought hard not to flinch at that. “Yeah. He’s proving… stubborn.”

“Because he knows he’s going to lose,” Nicky said with utter conviction. “He is.” He set the soda bottle down on the table to lean closer to Neil. “We are going to beat his ass, just watch. First those over-rated Trojans, and then we’re gonna pluck us some Ravens.” Nicky snapped his fingers and grinned. “Then we are gonna party, and Andrew’s not going to be the only one to see you all drunk, mister. My time is coming!”

Despite everything, Neil found himself smiling. “All right.”

“Damn right,” Nicky insisted. Then his expression turned serious. “You think Andrew’s okay?”

“Give him some time,” Neil said as he got up to put away the rest of his lunch.

“I asked Aaron what went down this morning, but he didn’t say anything.” Nicky grimaced at that. “But I get the impression it’s not good.”

“They have a lot of stuff to work out.” Which was quite the understatement, but still the truth. Neil checked the time and went to get ready for the afternoon practice, then went off to it with Nicky. On the way, his friend continued to trash-talk Riko and the Trojans, which helped to distract him from his concern about Andrew.

Everyone got ready for practice, mindful of Andrew’s missing presence; he didn’t show up until they were almost about to head out onto court, and was slow pulling on his gear. Kevin of course took offense at that, but Neil pulled him aside. “Let it go,” he warned.

“But the game is Friday,” Kevin argued.

“I know.” Neil gave him a cold look. “I know all about the damn game and how important it is,” he said in Japanese. “And if I say let it go, *let it go*.”

Kevin gazed back for a few seconds before walking away in a huff. Across the room, Wymack gave Neil an assessing stare for a moment before leaving as well, while Andrew just ignored everything. After the laps were done and the team was assembled out on the court, Wymack had Renee go to the goal and let Andrew sit on the bench.

It wasn’t until almost the end of practice that Andrew got into the goal, and one could tell that he was lacking his usual motivation. But he blocked about half of the shots even if he was quiet, which was more than Neil expected, and Kevin kept his mouth shut even if it looked as if it cost him a lot to do it. As soon as practice was over, Andrew was off the court and in the showers, while everyone cleaned up the court. Neil wasn’t surprised to find him gone by the time he got to the changing room, and already up on the roof when he returned to the dorms – what surprised him was a text inviting him up as well.

He didn’t waste any time running up there, and found Andrew sitting on the ledge smoking a cigarette, hair still damp from the shower and expression carefully smoothed out as he stared across the campus. So Neil remained quiet as he joined his boyfriend, sitting a little apart at first until Andrew handed him a cigarette as well and then reached over to give the back of his neck a quick squeeze. Then Neil inched over little by little until they were side by side, until he could feel Andrew’s warmth, and just enjoyed his boyfriend’s presence, just sat there so Andrew knew he wasn’t alone.

At some point there was a text from Nicky asking them about dinner, so he held up his phone for Andrew to read the message. His boyfriend took the phone from him and replied back what sandwiches to get, then shoved it into Neil’s pocket as they continued to sit there in silence until it was time to go back downstairs. Andrew got up to leave, but Neil shook his head. “I’ll be down in a few minutes,” he told him, which earned him the first show of real emotion from Andrew that day, a bit of curiosity. “It won’t take long.”

Andrew shrugged and went through the door; Neil made sure that he had left before he pulled out his phone and called his uncle.

“Somehow I figured I’d be hearing from you,” Uncle Stuart said by way of greeting.

“So Andrew did call you.”

“Yeah, and as long as you’re handling this mess, I’m not sure what all I can do.” There was the sound of Stuart lighting a cigarette on the other end. “Got the letter today and I’ll pass it on to the little lord – it’s not good, the prick stepping out of line like this, to keep pushing, but you know what’s expected of you.” Then he was quiet. “Look, Nathaniel-“

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Neil said in a rush. “That’s not why I called.” He didn’t want to talk to his uncle about the videos, about what Riko had done to him. About… about any of it.

Stuart was quiet again. “All right, then what do you want?” he asked, his tone serious. “I can’t do anything about Riko, even if he more than deserves it.”

Oh god, wouldn’t that be nice? “No, not that, either,” Neil admitted, his throat tight. “It’s about Friday.”

“Yeah, California.” Stuart sniffed. “There’s people going to be there, you know. Tetsuji argued for it. He’s serious about you going to the Ravens if your team loses. I wasn’t… I wasn’t sure if you should know that or not.”

Neil fought off the sense of growing panic, of the feel of metal tightening around his wrists, of pressure around his throat, of hands pushing down on his shoulders. “I… I knew it already,” he gasped out. “Riko told me.”

“Fucking prick,” Stuart snarled. “So what do you want? Help getting away?”

He couldn’t ask that of his uncle, not now. “No, I want you there for Andrew. If we lose, I want you to keep him from doing something stupid.” From trying to keep the people from taking Neil away; Ichiro wouldn’t forgive Andrew from harming his people, from trying to defy him like that. And Neil couldn’t imagine that Andrew would let him go without one hell of a fight. Without a bloody fight.

Stuart was quiet again for almost a minute. “You want me to worry about the lit- about Minyard and not you? *Seriously*, Nathaniel?”

“We both know there’s no other way out for me,” Neil argued. “Running’s no longer an option. I let them take me and pray that Ichiro changes his mind one day.” That was all he could hope for, that Ichiro realized that Neil was worth more to the main branch than as Riko’s chew toy.

“For *fuck’s* sake, Nathaniel!”

“Just keep Andrew safe, please!” Neil asked of his uncle. “It’s… it’s only if we lose, all right?” He had to pray that the Foxes won, somehow.

“This wouldn’t be a damn problem if you just picked Carlton,” Stuart grumbled.

Neil laughed a little at that. “It’s not that simple,” he tried to explain. “And I’m not so sure about that. Riko’s… determined. So please, would you?”

“All right, stop with the begging. I’ll keep Minyard from doing something stupid if it comes down to it,” Stuart grumbled. “Fucking hell, am I going to end up with him as a damn nephew-in-law after all?”

Neil shook his head. “We sort of have to get through all of this first, don’t get ahead of us.” Not something he wanted to think about just then.

“Just win the damn game so I’m not stuck with him, all right? Good night, Nathaniel.”

“Good night, Uncle Stuart.” Neil smiled as he ended the call, feeling a little better despite everything just then. If the worst happened… at least he knew that Andrew would be safe. Furious with him, but safe. That was all that mattered.

Now to go have something to eat and then spend another evening out on the court. Neil could already feel the racquet in his hands, the hard wood beneath his feet, and couldn’t wait until then.

******

Andrew glared at the rest of the Foxes gathered near their gate while Neil stood beside him, already done with the morons’ excitement for the upcoming USC game. In fact, he was done with everything, not looking forward to being stuck on a plane for several hours, especially with his teammates and the Vixens.

Aaron was off with the cheerleaders, cozying up with Katelyn before the flight, while Neil tugged on Andrew’s sleeve. “What?” he snapped.

Neil just blinked and opened his backpack to show him something, which turned out to be several large candy bars. “Don’t tell Kevin.”

Andrew regarded him for several seconds, the solemn expression on the idiot’s face, the curls falling onto his eyes and the ‘A’ tattoo standing out in stark relief on his left cheek. “Smuggling contraband like that, Josten. Some nasty habits you have there.”

“I’ve fallen in with some very bad people,” Neil told him with a serious tone. “It’s not my fault that I don’t know any better. I’ve been led astray.”

“Oh yes, you’re perfectly innocent in all of this.” Andrew rolled his eyes at that bit of nonsense. “One day everyone is going to realize that you’re this great big compulsive liar and not to believe a word that comes out of your mouth.”

“Hmm, but I don’t lie to you,” Neil pointed out as he zipped up the bag.

Dammit, that was true. Andrew gave him a displeased look for a moment, until Nicky came over to blab about the seating arrangements and wasn’t it a shame that he wasn’t near the two of them. No, no it wasn’t, and Andrew kicked the pest away before it was announced that the plane was boarding.

Andrew ended up in the window seat with Neil next to him and Kevin at the end of their row, and powered down his phone after seeing a ‘good luck’ text from Bee. He glanced over to find Neil staring at his own phone, at some message in Japanese, and snatched it away to power down the damn thing for the idiot. “What did I tell you?”

“Not to let him in my head,” Neil said after he let out a slow breath. “I’m… I’m not. We’re going to win tonight.”

“Don’t just assume that-“ Kevin fell silent after a look from Andrew and fussed with his seatbelt.

Neil rubbed his right hand along his scarred left wrist, but before Andrew could smack him for that, he reached for his bag so he could pull out one of the candy bars and what turned out to be a Russian dictionary/phrase book.

The two of them had decided when looking over courses for the upcoming year to take a language together, one that neither of them already knew and, more importantly, that none of their other friends or family knew. One that they could use when they wanted to talk to each other and not be overheard, considering that Kevin was still living with them and there was a distinct lack of privacy around them at most times. So they’d settled on Russian… and that Neil had gotten the book was a bit of a surprise to Andrew. That he was willing to move forward on it now, before their game with USC. Andrew took that as a sign that Neil was focusing on them winning, on him being around for the next season. Or at least trying to think positive for once.

So Andrew gave Kevin a slight, satisfied grin as he tore open the candy bar then tugged Neil closer as his boyfriend flipped through the book.

“You know how bad it is to load up on sugars like that before a game,” Kevin muttered as he folded his arms over his chest.

“And you know how bad it is to have a concussion before a game so shut up. Look up how to say ‘I will kill you and enjoy doing it,’ in there,” Andrew told Neil.

“I think I got the wrong edition,” Neil said with a slight smile. “But I’m sure we can figure it out.”

“Why do you always enable him?” Kevin whined as he fetched one of his boring history books. “You just make him that much worse.”

Andrew just hummed a little as he grasped Neil’s chin to turn the idiot’s face toward the drama queen, to show off the fancy ‘A’ tattoo by way of an answer. Kevin’s face became flushed and he mumbled something to himself while holding his book up even higher, then left them alone while they looked up what the dictionary had for swear words and insults.

It worked rather well as a distraction until they got to Atlanta, where Neil dragged Andrew off to ply him with sugary coffee drinks and buy some more candy, then lunch during their layover. It was while they were waiting in line for pizza that Neil’s phone rang, making his shoulders hunch forward as he answered it. After a moment he spoke in Japanese, his face paling and eyes growing haunted.

Having enough of the whole thing, Andrew snatched the phone away from the idiot and held it to his ear, where he heard Riko’s smug voice go on for several seconds in Japanese. “Having fun?” he asked. “Are you jerking yourself off right now while you spout this crap?” Behind him in the line, some guy in a business suit gave him a nasty look.

“Ah, the mutt.” Riko sounded a little annoyed now. “You’re interrupting.”

“Funny, I was thinking that about you. We’re a bit busy, so do what everyone else does when they need to jack off, look up porn online,” Andrew told the asshole. In front of him, Neil took to rubbing at his neck tattoo and cursing in Japanese.

Riko was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke up. “What a great idea – I’ll just watch some of my favorite videos of our dear Nathaniel to hold me over until later tonight. Soon enough he’ll be here in person, and I won’t need to ‘jack off’, as you put it. I’ll be fucking him, after all,” Riko gloated while Andrew felt such an intense rush of hatred and rage just then. “I’ll be sure to send you a video of that so you’ll have something to remember him by, Doe.” Then the prick hung up.

Andrew was hard-pressed not to throw the phone onto the floor, so instead he grabbed Neil and pulled him out of the line, away from the food court. Neil didn’t protest or attempt to pull away, just followed along until they were in the men’s room. It was easy to fit the both of them in a stall since they didn’t have any luggage, just their backpacks, and Neil’s arms slipped over Andrew’s shoulders as he pushed the idiot against the door for a punishing kiss.

He wasn’t going to lose this, wasn’t going to let Neil go. Wasn’t going to let Riko ever touch Neil again, let *anyone* touch Neil as long as… as long as the idiot kept refusing to walk away. Kept buying him candy bars and mochas and breakfasts. Kept being an idiot and not realizing how-

No, he wasn’t going to lose this. Wasn’t going to lose tonight.

After about a minute or two he broke off the kiss, his fingers still tangled in Neil’s hair as he pulled away. “You’re an idiot.”

Neil smiled at that. “Yeah.”

“You just proved my point – only an idiot would agree with that.”

“Hmm.” Neil’s smile strengthened when Andrew let go of his hair and stroked his right thumb along the ‘A’ tattoo before forcing his hands away. “So, no pizza?”

Shit, they didn’t have that much time before the next flight. “Come on, move it.”

They ended up buying sandwiches from one of the stands on the way back to the gate, which partially appeased Kevin, at least until Andrew started pulling out the candy bars again. Andrew noticed Reynolds grinning about something and assumed another bet had been wagered, but didn’t bother to find out about what (Nicky would know), distracted about having to get on a damn plane again.

The flight to USC was much longer, and Kevin flirted with death a couple of times with the way he attempted to interrupt Andrew and Neil so he could go over the Trojans’ stats – him and Nicky, who almost got a fucking singalong going in their section of the plane. A *fucking* *singalong*. Andrew was ready to throw his cousin out of the damn plane. Fortunately, Neil placated him with candy bars and mini alcohol bottles that he somehow managed to swipe from the serving carts (it paid to have a boyfriend who was skilled in stealing – at least Mary had done one or two things right in raising the idiot).

They finally touched down in California, and Andrew pulled Neil into the bathroom again for a couple of minutes, just for them to stand together with their foreheads touching and his hands on the back of Neil’s neck, while Neil dealt with the memories of his mother and Andrew the ones with Drake and Cassandra. They’d both left behind their share of demons in the state, had thought that they’d never return to it… but now they were just passing through, just there to do something their new life demanded from them and they would be gone. Would leave together, just like before.

California couldn’t hurt them anymore. Nothing here could touch Andrew anymore.

So he dragged Neil off to the baggage claim area, and that time he did make Neil carry both of their bags, just for the hell of it. Nicky and Matt glared at him for it, but to hell with them. After all of the times he’d hauled Neil around because of various shit, he figured he was owed it.

The team stopped at some Mexican place for something to eat before heading off to the USC campus, which of course was festooned with red and gold, its students out en masse to celebrate the upcoming game. At least they were a more civilized bunch than Binghamton, though traffic was still a nightmare to get through. By the time the rented bus arrived at the stadium, it was about half an hour before the doors would open to the public, just enough time for them to get settled in and all.

Andrew couldn’t help but notice that there were several black, luxury SUVs parked near the stadium, their windows tinted. He turned toward Neil, who was rubbing at his left wrist as he stared down at his feet. “Care to explain?” he asked in French.

“It’s not important,” the idiot said in the same language.

“Oh? I believe we have a difference in opinion,” he argued as he brushed the fingers of his right hand along his left arm guard.

“No.” Neil shook his head, his teeth biting into his bottom lip for a moment. “They only matter if we lose, right?” He stared at Andrew, his blue eyes wide and expression beseeching. “That’s not going to happen.”

Andrew studied him for a few seconds then reached out to latch onto Neil’s right wrist. “No, it’s not. Now stop it before I break your damn fingers and make you play anyway.”

Neil laughed at that, the sound hollow but the light back in those damn eyes of his.

There were a few odd looks directed Andrew’s way as he hauled Neil out of the bus, still holding on to the idiot’s wrist and mindful of those SUVs, but everyone was quiet as they were let into the stadium with its dark red and gold color scheme (Andrew was going to have a headache by the end of the damn game – he didn’t think there was anything worse than the Foxhole Court and he’d just been proven wrong. Oh joy. Neil’s debt to him had just gone up yet another notch).

After checking out the court, everyone settled back into the visitor’s side of the stadium. They shuffled around with their bags while Wymack went off to find the Trojans’ coach, quiet until Matt spoke up. “Yeah, okay, no problem. We’ve got this.” Despite his brave words, he didn’t appear the confident asshole he normally was – in fact, the entire team, other than Kevin, appeared to be suffering a case of nerves at the moment.

Kevin seemed to be busy fanboying over the fact that he was in beloved USC territory. Andrew would be certain to bury the traitor coward in their colors.

They stared out at the stadium until the crowd was let into the seats, which was when Wymack came back and ordered them to get their asses ready. The team went into the locker room, where some obnoxious USC grunt stopped by to let them know that the stadium was sold out and various recruiters from the major leagues were out there (Neil paled a little upon hearing that, until Andrew stomped on his left foot). Since none of the Foxes were graduating that year, it wasn’t a big concern for the team just then (a certain idiot aside).

Wymack waited until the woman was finished speaking to clear his throat. “We don’t have USC’s line-up,” he said with a peeved look. “Any idea when they’re going to hand it over? Such as, before the game, like they’re supposed to?”

The woman blinked at the touch of vehemence that had been behind the question. “Ah, I’ll look into that and see what I can do,” she told him. “Anything else you need?”

“That’s about it,” Wymack replied, and as soon as she was gone from the locker room, turned to face a slightly smirking Dan. “I want you and Kevin to start thinking about what you’re going to say in the pre-game.” His eyes narrowed in an obvious warning as he glanced over at Neil. “No surprises.”

Dan’s smile faltered a little at that and then recouped as she struggled to project her usual captain-like sense of confidence and authority. “How about ‘we’re excited to be here’ and ‘we’re going to do our best’? That work for you?”

Nicky made a rude noise at the trite phrases. “Oh come *on*. How about ‘we are so gonna own these losers’? That’s so much better.”

Matt laughed at that while Wymack muttered his usual complaint about not being paid enough. “And that’s why you never get to do the interviews,” Matt pointed out.

Nicky just sniffed off the criticism. “You just don’t want to be shown up on tv by my beauty. We all know the truth.”

While most of the team laughed, they all went off to finish getting ready, mood lightened a bit thanks to Nicky. As for Neil, he focused on putting on his uniform, his expression settling into that usually annoying mulish one which let Andrew knew he was in for too much damn work ahead and potentially bloody work at that. For once he welcomed it, since it meant that the idiot wasn’t obsessing over the bullshit Riko had been trying to feed him the last few days.

Once his boyfriend was done dressing, Andrew grabbed him by the front of his jersey and pulled him in close. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned. “Play smart tonight. Don’t let him goad you into doing something you’ll regret.”

“I won’t,” Neil told him. “I’ll do what I have to do, but I won’t let him win that way.” He hesitated for a moment, an open question in his eyes, and when Andrew nodded, leaned in for a lingering kiss during which Andrew could feel some of the tension vanish from his boyfriend’s lean frame.

When they broke apart, Nicky let out a loud moan. “It’s so not fair, why are they the only ones who get a good luck kiss before the game?”

Dan grinned at a smiling Matt. “You know, he has a point.” She reached over to pull on Matt’s jersey, too, and he obliged her with a very loud, very long kiss as well while Allison clapped and Renee smiled.

Nicky grimaced once they broke apart. “Not quite what I meant.” Then he grinned over at Kevin. “But why should we stop there, yes?”

It was almost amusing to see Kevin’s eyes go that wide and his lips move for a couple of seconds before he could speak. “I… ah… uhm… I… Coach….” Then he stumbled back into a locker.

Fortunately for him, he was saved by Wymack returning to the locker room. He took one look at his flustered son, then at a predatory Nicky, at Andrew ready to smash a locker into his cousin’s face, at the laughing Foxes (save Aaron, Neil and Renee) then shook his head. “I don’t want to know what you idiots are doing. Dan and Kevin, deal with the press, *now*.”

Andrew had never seen Kevin move that fast before for anything not related to Exy or alcohol.

Everyone watched on as Kevin did his fake personality act with Dan sitting beside him and prattled on about how excited he was to be playing USC and how it should be an interesting game, so on and so forth. Andrew yawned as he rested an arm over Neil’s shoulder, mostly to keep the idiot in place (well away from the cameras). Once the pests were gone, everyone finished up and went out on the court.

There was still about half an hour until the game started, and the stadium was packed. A loud roar went up when the Foxes went out onto court, for once not the usual barrage of booing and hisses, and there was a decent segment of white and orange among the red and gold. There was even a scattering of those damn ‘13’ signs among the fans – both teams -  which Nicky was ever so pleased to point out, which made Neil groan as if in pain and Andrew smack the pest.

While Nicky whined about the abuse, another roar went up among the crowd as a tall figure in red and gold came running over to them. Kevin broke into a huge grin (all right, Andrew was beginning to wonder if Nicky might not be on to something about Kevin’s dubious sexuality) as the person turned out to the Trojans’ captain, one very irritating Jeremy Knox. Really, no one who smiled that much was to be trusted. Just look at Renee.

He was ready to play, just lacking his gloves and helmet, and beamed at all of them as if they were fellow Trojans and not the enemy, so to speak. Kevin nearly tripped over himself to go over to greet the man, who paused to shake hands with Wymack. Meanwhile, Neil edged closer to Andrew, clearly not buying into the whole ‘trust me, I am your best buddy’ aura Knox tried to radiate. Hmm, some idiots weren’t total idiots, after all.

“Coach Wymack, welcome to SoCal.” Yeah, it was official, Andrew hated the man already. “We’re excited to host you tonight.” Then Knox turned that too perfect grin on Kevin. “Kevin, you crazy fool.” Kevin actually burst into a real smile when Knox clapped him on the shoulder. “You never cease to amaze me. I know you have a thing for controversial teams, but I think I like this one better than the last.”

Kevin shrugged as he returned the gesture. “They’re mediocre at best,” that comment earned him a nasty look from Dan, “but they’re easier to get along with.” Not really, not if he kept insulting his teammates. Andrew was almost willing to allow Matt to punch the coward for that comment.

Knox seemed to pick up on the Foxes’ displeasure and had the grace to wince. "Same old Kevin, as unforgiving and obnoxious as always," he said, but his tone was more fond than upset, much like a parent used to an unruly child. "Some things never change, hm? And yet, some things do." His grin faded and he gave Kevin to a searching look. "Speaking of your last team,” he said as he glanced over at Neil and then down at Kevin’s hands, “you, uh, you created quite a stir with that thing you said two weeks ago.” He paused to wave his left hand about in the air. “About your hand, I mean, and it maybe not being an accident."

Neil shifted closer to Andrew, while Wymack went still while he watched Kevin, while he waited for his son’s reaction. Around them, the rest of the Foxes were quiet, clearly leaving it up to Kevin to say something and interested in knowing what he’d do. For the past two weeks, Kevin had avoided saying anything else to the press, in expanding on that ‘random’ comment, and of course the Ravens had denied the whole thing. For the most part, speculation had died done… but it hadn’t gone away entirely. Andrew figured people were waiting to see if the Foxes made it all the way to the finals and faced off against the Ravens, were waiting to see what happened then.

Instead of answering the question about his hand, Kevin’s expression smoothed out into one of polite interest. “So, what does the line-up for the team look like for next year? Have room for a new backliner?”

Knox was clearly confused by the sudden change of topic but allowed Kevin to lead him away from the Foxes as he explained what he meant. Renee came over to Andrew and Neil, her expression intent and body tight with tension, as Knox’s smile faded away and he took to gesturing around him while Kevin continued talking.

“Do you think he’ll accept Jean onto the team?”

Andrew scoffed at her question. “He’d be an idiot to turn down a Raven’s backliner, especially their best backliner.”

She smiled a little at that. “Well, their ex-backliner.”

“Still, he’s one of the best out there,” Neil continued while Andrew scoffed again. “Considering how many years now that the Ravens have blocked the Trojans out of the championship… Knox and Rhemann would be stupid not to jump at the chance of signing Jean. Look at how much Kevin brought to the Foxes. Even though USC is one of the best teams out there, Jean can still help them out.”

“True.” Some of the tension eased in Renee’s slight frame. “But still-“ She broke off and her smile increased when she noticed the way that Kevin was grinning just then, his expression genuine, and Knox reached over to pat him on the shoulder.

“Oh, goodie, we finally get to wash our hands of the Frenchie,” Andrew said, which made Renee shake her head and Neil smile at him. “I mean it, no more Ravens. I’m officially shutting down this little charity as of now.”

“Guess we’ll have to take in stray cats or puppies or something,” Neil murmured, which earned him a flick to the ear.

“Word quota,” Andrew warned, just as Knox held up a piece of paper for some reason. Kevin stared at it in obvious interest (the man’s phone number, maybe?), but Knox came back over and handed it to Wymack instead.

“It’s our line-up,” Knox explained while Wymack frowned at the paper. “I apologize for getting it to you so late, but we were trying to avoid as much of a backlash as possible.”

Oh, now that sounded mildly interesting.

Dan had caught that, too, as she stepped closer to her beloved coach and frowned. “Backlash?”

His face darkened for some reason, Wymack handed her the line-up while he stared at Knox as if trying to figure out a puzzle before turning back to look at Dan. As for Dan, she paled while she read down the sheet of paper, and as soon as she looked at Wymack, he nodded once before resuming his study of a suddenly serious Knox. “We don’t need your damn pity. Tell Rhemann we don’t want handouts.”

Okay, now things were more than mildly interesting, Andrew thought as he glanced over at the sheet of paper clutched in Dan’s trembling hands.

"This isn't pity," Knox said with conviction. "We're doing this for us, not you. Your success this year has us rethinking everything about how we play. We can’t help but wonder if we’re second-best because we're talented or because we have twenty-eight people on our line-up. Are we good enough as individuals to stand against you? We have to know."

Next to Andrew, Neil began to shake his head while Andrew wondered if it was possible, that slip to contain what he thought it might. Meanwhile, Kevin – blunt, uncaring Kevin – sidled up to Dan and snatched the sheet away from her so he could see what was on it for himself, while Matt hurried over to look over the coward’s shoulder.

The backliner’s brown eyes went wide after a couple of seconds, while Reynolds joined him and began tugging on his sleeve. “You’re kidding, right? This is a joke,” he said as he looked up at Knox. “This has to be a joke, there’s only nine names down to play tonight.”

Neil let out a slight wheeze, which prompted Renee to give him a concerned look and for Andrew to nudge him in the side; if that was true, then Knox had just handed them their best shot at winning tonight. At keeping Neil the hell away from Riko. Maybe Andrew could hate the irritant a little less now.

Knox held out his hands and smiled. "Two goalies, three backliners, two dealers, two strikers," he explained. "The same line-up as yours. You've made it this far with those numbers, so it's time to see how we'd fare in that situation. I'm excited," he said, and actually sounded like he was telling the truth, the moron. "None of us have ever played a full game before. Hell, most of us don't even play full halves anymore,” he admitted. “We don't have to because the numbers are always in our favor."

"And you called me a crazy fool," Kevin said, his man-crush out in full display as he stared at Knox. "You'll lose tonight if you play like this." Andrew wanted to smack the coward for sounding upset over that fact. Hell, even *Nicky* looked like he was ready to strangle the coward just then.

"Maybe," Knox agreed, although he didn’t seem worried about that fact. "Maybe not. Should be fun either way, right? I don't remember the last time I was this psyched for a game. So bring it, Foxes, and we'll bring it too." He laughed as he pumped his right fist in the air and then walked away.

“Oh hell, am I imagining this?” Neil asked in German as he ran his right hand through his hair. “Are they really doing this?”

Andrew gave him a gentle smack on the back of the head. “Yes, it’s real and don’t get lazy, dammit. We still have to win.”

“I know. It’s just… huh. No wonder they keep winning the Day Spirit award,” Neil said as he turned to look in the direction in which Knox had left.

Meanwhile, it seemed as if the rest of the Foxes were just as affected. “Oh, wow, now I feel bad about the whole earthquake thing,” Nicky said with a weak laugh. “I think I have a new favorite team.”

"That was always the crucial difference between USC and Edgar Allan," Kevin said as he handed the roster back to Dan. "That's why more Trojans make Court than Ravens do. Both teams are obsessed with being the best, but only the Trojans would risk their standings to improve. They'll play tonight with everything they've got and they'll be better for it. Next year is going to be interesting."

Hmm, did someone forget that they used to be a Raven? Still, if Kevin loved the damn team so much, he should have joined them and spared Andrew a lot of aggravation.

As it was, Kevin looked as if he was relishing that year ahead of him, of facing the Trojans next season. Fine, but they still had tonight’s game to get through. Which Wymack reminded everyone about as he cleared his throat. "Listen up, USC just gave us an open door to finals. But don't be fooled by this line-up and don't waste this chance. They'll still put up a hell of a fight and they're going to take the first half away from us,” he warned them. “You have to control the point gap so you can make a comeback in second. Understand?" He glared at them until most of the team responded back.

“Damn, are we really going to beat USC?” Dan asked, her eyes wide as she stared out over the court.

Before Andrew could throw an arm guard at her, Matt spoke up. “Hell yes, and then we’re going to kick Edgar Allen’s ass in two weeks.”

Dan smiled at that, and then grimaced. “I might throw up.”

Wymack shoved her forward. “Puke later, right now I want you to lead these lazy mongrels around for a few laps.”

Dan laughed at that and waved everyone along; Andrew gave her a flat look for her ‘confidence’ which made her stare at him in confusion. Meanwhile, the crowd continued to cheer and shout out things, while Neil shook his head as if unable to deal with the noise.

Around their fourth lap, the Trojans came out onto the court, which made the crowd become even louder, of all things, the noise almost a physical force. It took a while for all of the team to reach the court – Knox hadn’t been kidding about the size of the team, about them having more than enough players to swap out for a game. They were as bad as the Ravens, having almost thirty players on their roster.

After their laps, the Foxes returned to the locker room for some stretching and the last of their gear, where Nicky once more complained when Dan and Matt shared another kiss. When he turned toward Andrew and Neil, Andrew just stared down the pest until Nicky sighed. “You guys are no fun.”

“Oh, you want to have fun?” Andrew asked as he took a step forward.

“No, never mind! Neil!” Nicky ducked behind one of the lockers while begging for help.

Neil sighed as he fetched a candy bar from his locker. “Save the mayhem for the court, would you?” he said while he handed over the candy.

Andrew just shrugged and shoved the bar into his locker for later, then followed his boyfriend back onto the court for drills. All of the Trojans were suited up and doing the drills as well for some reason, maybe more of that ‘backlash’ thing Knox had been talking about. Andrew just suffered through the damn drills and kept an eye on Neil while also looking out for assholes in dark suits lurking about. It was around when the referee came to clear the court of all the players except the two captains that he thought he saw a familiar figure in grey hovering around the one service tunnel.

He stared at Neil as they went to fetch some water, enough to make his boyfriend shift about as if uncomfortable. “What?”

“You didn’t do anything stupid like go ahead and try to think, did you?”

Neil stared at him for a couple of seconds and then made a rude gesture. “I don’t even want to know what you mean by that.”

“Uh-huh.” Andrew splashed water at the idiot before sitting down next to him on the bench. “Seriously, there’s going to be that word quota in your future if you did.”

Neil made that low growling sound as he buried his face in his hands, and all was right in the world for a moment. Then the announcer explained to the crowd USC’s challenge that night, about their change to the line-up.

Andrew sipped his water as the crowd burst out in boos and shouts of disappointment. “I’m thinking they’re not exactly happy with their team right now.”

Neil winced. “No kidding.”

“Word quota,” Andrew reminded him, and felt his lips twitch when Neil scowled in response. “Maybe start it right now for practice.”

Meanwhile, Wymack looked around the stadium and then back at the team. “You hear that? Their own team knows that they’re as good as dead. Now get out there and win this game.”

Andrew waved goodbye to Neil as his boyfriend got up to join Kevin and the others out on court and settled in to watch the first half of the game. Despite Wymack’s cavalier words and the crowd’s vocal dismay, the Trojans put up one hell of a fight for the first half. It was easy to see why they were the second best team out there, and why they usually only lost out to the Ravens. Neil and Kevin had to fight hard for every goal they scored, while Dan and Reynolds fell back to help the defensive line.

From his spot on the bench, Andrew could tell that Neil was struggling to keep it clean, to not trip up the Trojans or knock them down; they were blocking him, were snatching the ball away whenever possible but they weren’t knocking him down or doing anything unnecessary to keep him from scoring, they were just that good. So he couldn’t use too many of his Ravens tricks and risk being yellow or red-carded, he was running himself ragged trying to find any holes in the Trojan defense whenever he or Kevin had possession of the ball.

By the time the bell sounded to end the first half of the game, the Trojans were leading by two points, seven to five, and everyone appeared exhausted. Andrew watched Neil come off of the court, shoulders slumped and hair damp with sweat, and the rest of the team didn’t look much better. What was worse was the hint of darkness in the idiot’s eyes, as if he was thinking about things that he shouldn’t just then.

Andrew gave the back of Neil’s damp neck a harsh squeeze and got a wan smile in return.

Everyone found some space on the benches in the locker room, some sprawling out and some sitting down while Abby went around checking that they were all right and handing out cups of sports drink. “Fuck,” Matt wheezed out, “what the hell just happened?”

Renee lifted her head for a moment. “I’m sorry, I should have blocked better.”

Nicky moaned as he tried to sit up and then just flopped back down on the bench. “No, it’s not you,” he said in an effort to cheer her up. “It’s our fault, not yours. It’s just… they’re so good, dammit.”

If Neil wasn’t slumped against him, Andrew would go over and kick his cousin’s ass, but figured it could wait until later. As it was, Wymack stood in the center of the room with his arms folded over his chest and grunted. “I told you, they’re brilliant. But they're also doomed,” he explained “They don't know how to pace themselves for a full game. I don't know if you could see it out there, but they were starting to slow down by the thirty-minute mark. This second half is going to kill them,” he said with a sharp grin.

"I hope so," Dan groaned as she rubbed at the small of her back while she gave a grim look at Kevin and Neil. "There’s still the point gap. Can you close it?"

"*We* are not the problem here," Kevin said in that patronizing manner of his while gesturing between Neil and himself. Nicky just lay there for the insult, but Andrew noticed how Aaron actually seemed offended by it and of course Matt scowled at the coward. "If you'll actually get the ball to us, we can do something with it."

Matt looked at Andrew. "One of these days you have to let me hit him. Seriously. One free hit."

Andrew merely gazed back at him before nudging Neil, who seemed to have fallen into a half-daze during the discussion.

When the bell rang to summon them back to the court, Andrew got up and followed Neil, prepared to take his place out on the court. Neil paused for a moment, and Andrew braced himself for another request to block the goal, to do whatever he could to save the game. Instead, Neil just offered him a tired smile and reached up to knock his right hand against Andrew’s helmet. “What?” Andrew asked.

Neil’s smile widened and he shook his head, his lips pressed together.

“Oh sure, *now* you listen to me,” Andrew shot back as he shoved the idiot toward the center line, a hint of a smile on his own lips. “Nothing stupid!” he called out as he walked away, and caught Neil waving his gloved hand at him.

The second half started out almost as strong as the first, but just like Wymack had predicted, the Trojans began to fade fast while the Foxes came into their second wind, long used to playing full games, long used to life bashing them around and needing those inner reserves. Only Andrew and the Trojans’ goalkeeper, Laila Dermott, were fresh to the court, and she couldn’t do the Trojans much good when her defense couldn’t stand up to the onslaught that Neil and Kevin were unleashing. It only took them ten minutes to break through and start scoring points again, Neil driven on by desperation and Kevin by pride, and by twenty minutes they’d evened up the score.

At that point the crowd started going wild, began screaming and yelling at their own team, but the Trojans stood behind their strategy for the night and wouldn’t change it. They could win the game if they just subbed out a couple of players, if they put in a new backliner or two, a fresh striker or dealer. But they didn’t, they had committed themselves to meeting the Foxes on an ‘even’ footing and they were sticking to it even though it was now coming back to haunt them. Andrew thought they were fools for it, huge fools… but he didn’t let down his guard in front of the goal, and he found the team a little less annoying than some others out there.

By the time the final bell rang, the Foxes had won fifteen to nine and the stands were over half-empty, with the Trojans fans having been a steady stream toward the exits for the past twenty minutes or so. Andrew watched the Trojans out on the field start to crumple now that the game was over, while the Foxes began to cheer.

As for Neil, he stood still save for removing his helmet, as if in disbelief over the Foxes having won despite having scored a good many of those fifteen points himself. Andrew glared when he saw his boyfriend help a Trojan backliner stand up, then noticed how he flinched a little when she all but draped herself on top of him. Before he could do anything, the other goalkeeper ran over to take the woman away from Neil.

A grinning Nicky came over to Andrew. “We won! Yes!” He seemed to notice where Andrew was staring and smiled. “Aw, are you jealous?”

“Shut up,” Andrew told his cousin while he watched Neil run toward him. It looked as if Dan was going to intercept him for a hug, but rethought it after a moment and tousled his sweaty curls instead. Neil smiled at her and continued onward to Andrew’s goal, where he came to a stop beside Nicky and just grinned.

“Fine, you can talk again,” Andrew said with a sigh.

“So, we won.” Neil laughed when Andrew tapped him on the head with his racquet. “We won.” There was a slight edge to his laughter, almost hysterical, and Andrew knew he was thinking about Riko’s phone calls, about those black SUVs.

“Yes, and that means we’ll face the Ravens.” Andrew allowed himself a slight smile as he thought about that, about what would happen in a couple of weeks, after the Ravens beat the Trojans. “What fun.”

Nicky looked back and forth between them then shook his head. “Come on, we just won! Be happy! Make kisses! Mwah!” He pulled Neil in close so he could plant a kiss on the side of Neil’s face before running away while laughing.

Neil just shook his head while smiling, his expression brightening when Andrew came out of the goal to stand beside him. “We won,” he repeated.

“Like I said,” Andrew reminded him as they went to join the rest of the morons and get through the whole ‘good game’ crap.

“Yes, like you said.” Neil nudged their shoulders together. “You always right?”

“You should know that by now,” Andrew huffed as he cuffed the back of his idiot’s head with a gloved hand.

“Hmm.” Neil looked out across the court, and his smile slipped a little. When Andrew glanced in that direction, he saw a slim figure in grey and sighed.

The Trojans they’d played against were exhausted and sweaty and all smiles despite their loss, and Kevin had to be shoved to get him to let go of Knox’s hand, he was gushing over the man so much (oh yeah, Nicky was definitely on to something there). Then it was back to the locker room to wash off and change; Wymack had actually sprung to put them up in a hotel for the night, due to the distance and the time change, rather than make them take the red eye back home. Andrew waited impatiently for the others to finish with their showers so he and Neil could wash off, then they rushed through theirs since everyone was anxious to get on the bus so they could find a liquor store before checking into the hotel.

Since so many of the fans had left the game early, the parking lot was surprisingly empty for once when they left the stadium. That might have been why the Moriyama assholes felt emboldened enough to step forward and block the team’s path to the bus; Andrew yanked Neil toward him in an instant and threw out his left arm to keep back Aaron, Kevin and Nicky, while Renee tugged Reynolds closer to her, eyes intent on the four burly men dressed in black suits.

“What the fuck is going on?” Wymack demanded to know as he stepped in front of Abby.

One of the men motioned toward Neil. “We’re here to talk to Josten. The rest of you can move along.”

“Fuck that,” Andrew told the man. “We won, there’s nothing here for you.”

The man ignored him as he stared at Neil and said something in Japanese that made Neil straighten up and Kevin draw in a sharp breath. Neil shook his head in response. “No, I won’t,” he snapped.

The man didn’t appear happy about that, while Dan said something to Matt about going back for security; as soon as the backliner attempted to leave, another of the men stepped forward in a clear warning for everyone to ‘behave’. Meanwhile, the other man tried again to ‘reason’ with Neil, once more speaking in Japanese, this time in a harsher tone.

Neil’s expression turned furious. “No, not unless Ichiro orders me to, dammit! Tell Riko he can go fuck himself!”

“Neil,” Kevin hissed. “Maybe now’s not-“ he yelped when Andrew kicked back and hit him in the shin, mind busy on trying to figure out the best way to take out the four assholes. Matt might be some help, and definitely Renee, but they probably had guns. Andrew had to look into that one of these days.

Just when it appeared as if the assholes were going to get handsy, a voice called out. “Listen to the kiddo, Ken.” That made the guy who had been spouting Japanese straighten up and whirl around as Stuart stepped out of the shadows of the bus. “Unless I’m missing something, Tetsuji doesn’t have a claim on him as of yet.”

The guy glared over at Stuart for a few seconds then waved back the other three assholes. “I have my orders, Hatford.”

“And I have mine,” Stuart told him with a sliver of a smile. “Last time I checked, my boss outranked yours.” When Ken didn’t say anything else, Stuart scoffed. “Now get the hell out of here, this is too public for the shite you’re trying to pull.”

Ken didn’t look happy and neither did his companions, but they disappeared after a moment’s hesitation. Meanwhile, Stuart reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes while he approached the Foxes, the flare of his lighter glowing bright in the darkness.

“And who the fuck are you?” Wymack asked as he stepped forward, as if to stop the British man.

“I’m Nathaniel’s uncle,” Stuart answered as he blew out a plume of smoke, “so I’d appreciate some time with my nephew, yeah? I’ll give him a ride to the hotel.”

“Holy shit, he’s real. He’s really real,” Dan breathed out.

“And not too bad,” Reynolds said as she tapped her nails together. “I’m seeing the bigger picture now, what with him being some sort of gangster, too. You never had a chance, huh, Josten?”

Neil sighed as he patted Andrew on the arm then stepped around him. “It’s all right, Coach. I’ll be fine with him.”

Wymack didn’t look happy with that – or when Andrew fell into step beside the idiot. “Seriously? After what just happened?”

“Watch after Kevin,” Andrew asked Renee. “We’ll be back soon enough.”

“All right, have fun with the family,” she told him with a smile.

Meanwhile, Stuart sighed. “Of course you’re coming along.” He ignored Neil’s frown and Wymack’s distrusting glower to motion toward a car parked a ways off in the parking lot. “Good game tonight. It’s not football, but not bad.”

“Thank you,” Neil said, his tone rather dry.

Yeah, whatever. Andrew tugged on the hood of Neil’s shirt to get his boyfriend’s attention. “What did that asshole say to you?”

“What do you think?” When he got a bored look for that question, Neil sighed. “That I’m going to be a Raven in a couple weeks anyway, they’re tired of my defiance and want me to come back now. That my stubbornness is only going to lead to more pain so I need to give in. The usual stuff.”

“I think someone’s worried that he’s going to lose after all,” Andrew said as he reached the Jaguar sedan that Stuart was driving.

“He’s being a ballsy prick, that’s for certain.” Stuart unlocked the car and didn’t seem surprised when Neil and Andrew got in the back together. “I can’t see how Tetsuji is letting him run around out of control like this.”

“Tetsuji’s largely to blame for creating him,” Andrew said, and Neil nodded in agreement.

“Still, he should be reining in the prick, should be keeping him from endangering the family like this,” Stuart argued as he pulled out of the stadium with some sort of destination in mind. “The way Riko’s acting… it’s beyond obsessed.” He glanced up in the rear view mirror, and Andrew had the impression he was staring at Neil. “It’s not right.”

No, it wasn’t, but a rather good summation of Riko was that he wasn’t ‘right’. Things were quiet in the car for a couple of minutes, and then Neil spoke up. “Uhm, it looks as if Jean Moreau will be joining the Trojans. Next season, I mean.”

“Hmm, that’s good,” Stuart said as he once more looked out on the road in front of him. “I guess. From what I hear, they’re a good team, should make the little lord happy, Moreau signing with them.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking.” Neil tugged on the sleeve of his grey shirt for a moment. “It’s a good fit for him.”

“Kiddo, worry about yourself for a change,” Stuart said, which Andrew agreed with 100%. “So what happens next, eh? You won tonight, who’s next?”

They talked about how it was now up to USC facing off against the Ravens, and how unlikely it was that the Trojans would win since they hadn't in the past. Somehow Andrew didn't think Riko would allow the Ravens to fall to the Trojans, even with missing Kevin and Jean, when the Foxes had beaten that team tonight, when it meant that the Ravens had another chance to face off against the 'unruly dogs'. When it meant that Riko could put Kevin in his place, could beat down Andrew and drag off Neil all in one.

Oh no, not someone so happy with the grand gestures. Not someone who had tattooed a huge fucking raven on a certain idiot as a means of marking his possession.

A possession that wasn’t and never would be his.

Stuart pulled into some small coffee shop not too far from the campus, so the three of them got out of the car and went in, where Neil and Stuart ordered black coffee and Andrew a mocha latte. Neil smiled at that and slumped against him in the booth, which Andrew allowed, especially since it made Stuart sigh in a rather aggrieved away.

"So this... 'demi-sexual' thing... you?" he asked in French, which surprised both Andrew and Neil, judging from the way Neil started a little.

"Uhm, yeah." Neil's brow furrowed as he stared at his uncle and answered back in the same language. "Where did you pick that up?"

Stuart's pale eyes flickered at Andrew for a moment. "I learn stuff. Anyway, seriously? *He's* who you latched onto?" He motioned to Andrew while he held on to his mug as if he was uncertain whether to pick it up or fling it across the table.

"*Yes*," Neil breathed out as he tugged at his bangs. "Why is that so hard for everyone to accept?" When Stuart went to speak, Neil glared at his uncle. "He's good for me. He's there for me. He...." Neil smiled at Andrew. "He makes me... I'm happy, all right?" He dropped his hand to entangle his fingers in the hem of Andrew's black t-shirt.

Stuart's expression turned into a pained grimace as he gazed at Andrew, who just looked at him with a mild expression in return. "Still think you can do better, kiddo, but it's your life."

"Yes, it is," Andrew answered for Neil, whose own expression had turned mulish just then. "So what do we do now?"

There was a pause while Stuart sipped his coffee, apparently deciding that he would rather drink it than throw it in Andrew's face. "Well, you keep watch over Nathaniel there, make sure that the prick doesn't try anything like tonight until things get properly settled out on court." Those pale eyes, eerily similar to Neil's despite the difference in color, narrowed in warning. "Do a better job this time, yeah?"

"Yet somehow I do save his ass all of the time while you... what exactly do you do again?" Andrew asked with a cold smile.

It was Stuart's turn to do the chilling smile thing. "Apparently, I'm here to save *your* ass, Minyard." Beside Andrew, Neil went stiff again. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"Uhm, okay, play nice," Neil said in a rush. "Maybe we need some snacks? Didn't that one cake look good?"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Andrew turned toward a certain idiot who was being too obvious in his need of a distraction. "What did he mean by that?"

"I'm going to get some cake," Neil said as he started to slide from the booth, only to be caught short by the back of his shirt. "Dammit!"

"Oh no, you're going to explain this to me," Andrew decided, his voice low and his entire being very displeased at the moment. "Why is your uncle here tonight?"

"Maybe there's hope for Carlton yet," Stuart quipped while he sipped his coffee, which did *not* help the situation.

Neil tried the whole wide eye, tremulous smile thing for a moment, which just got the hood pulled down over his face. "Such an asshole," he muttered as he shoved back the hood and hair that had fallen onto his face.

"Whatever, start talking."

"Look, we knew that Riko was sending some people here tonight in case we lost, right?" Neil glanced at Andrew and then scowled, his gaze falling down onto his hands, which took to twisting about; Andrew paid enough attention to them to make sure he didn't start messing with his scars again.

"Yeah." Suddenly, Andrew had a feeling where things were going. "Do *not* tell me you called the limey prick here for me." Across the table, Stuart snorted over the nickname.

Neil gave a slight shrug as his fingers wrapped around his left wrist. "In case we lost, I wanted to make sure... well, they know to watch out for you." He looked up at Andrew. "Ichiro said no 'irritants'."

Andrew pulled at Neil's right wrist to make him stop hurting himself; why did the idiot insist on doing so much damage to himself yet went so far to keep everyone else safe? "I would have stopped them, I would have-"

"You would have gotten yourself shot, you would have," Stuart said as he set his mug down. "He’s right on that one. The prick's looking for the tiniest excuse to get you out of the way, and that would do it."

Andrew thought about that for a moment, thought about having to watch Neil be hauled away while the idiot allowed it to happen, while the idiot called in yet another favor from his uncle to keep *Andrew* safe and went off to face Riko.... "Go get that damn cake," he told Neil.

His boyfriend looked at him for a moment as if searching for something, then slipped from the booth without saying a word. As soon as he was out of earshot, Andrew gave Stuart a cold look. "What is tonight going to cost him? Another date with boring Carlton?"

Stuart met Andrew's eyes and held them for a couple of seconds before looking at the table. "No - I didn't have to do anything, really. Tonight was keeping anything from affecting the main branch, which is my job, and looking after Nathaniel, which... well, which is owed, really." Grief shaded his fine-boned features for a moment.

"About time his family does something like that," Andrew sniped as he picked up his drink.

For a moment it looked as if Stuart wanted to say something, but instead he just shook his head. "Win the damn game, okay? He doesn't need to go back to the Nest." There was a flash of something dark and impressive on the man's face for a few seconds. "He can't go back to the Nest again."

"Which is why you shouldn't be getting in my way."

"You'll only end up dead if the worst happens, Nathaniel has it right," Stuart argued before his complexion turned even paler. "Oh my god, I get it now. You're just as stubborn as him." He buried his face in his hands, his fingers digging in his short, greying hair and mumbled to himself. It was then that Neil returned to the table with three plates of cake carried precariously in his hands.

"Uhm...." He gave Andrew a nervous frown. "Did you break my uncle?"

Andrew merely shrugged. "Maybe?"

Neil sighed at that and set one of the pieces down in front of his uncle, then the other two in front of Andrew. "Ah, all you all right?"

"Nothing some bourbon won't fix," Stuart said after a moment. He raised his head and stared at the cake as if uncertain about it, but risked a bite. Then he looked up and rolled his eyes to find Andrew steadily eating his way through the chocolate and buttercream concoction while Neil finished his coffee. "So, do you think you can win against the Ravens?"

Neil went for his left wrist but stopped himself in time and picked up his mug again to play with that instead. "We're going to give it our all. We have Kevin and Andrew, and Matt Boyd is really good."

Andrew stopped eating long enough to flick the idiot on the forehead. "We'll win." There wasn't any other option for them.

Stuart regarded him for several seconds then nodded and had another bite of the cake. "All I need to hear. Keep an eye on him, like I said. I don't think this will be over until the game's all done." He grew pensive as he had another bite of cake. "Maybe not even then. Some people aren't good at letting go."

Not what Andrew wanted to hear, but all he did was finish his cake while Neil turned the empty mug over and over between his hands.

Once Stuart was done with his cake as well, they got up to leave, and it didn't surprise Andrew that the man knew what hotel the Foxes were staying at that night. He looked at his phone and found a message from Renee that they were checked in and to stop at room 528 to get their keys and have a few drinks with everyone.

Stuart pulled up to the front of the hotel, and Neil gave him a brief hug when they got out of the car. “Take care of yourself, dammit,” Stuart chided him in English before letting go.

“I will,” Neil said, and Andrew exchanged a look with the man before Stuart got back into the foreign car; he would look after the idiot since Neil did such a shitty job of it.

They went into the hotel and up to the fifth floor, Neil slumped against the elevator wall despite all of the coffee; the game against the Trojans had been a tough one, and Andrew was certain that his boyfriend was exhausted. Just playing half a game had left him feeling tired, though the coffee and the cake had helped.

As soon as they knocked on the door of 528, Nicky yanked it open and greeted them loud enough to cause some complaints from the neighboring rooms. “You’re here! It’s about time!” He made as if to hug Neil, but Aaron yanked him back in time. For that reason alone, Andrew would ignore the fact that Katelyn was in the room.

While Matt, Dan and Nicky hovered around Neil and fretted over the idiot, Andrew went over to Renee for their room keys. She smiled as she handed them over. “Your bags were dropped off and everything.”

Andrew gave her a nod in thanks as he glanced over at Kevin, who was already well on his way to passing out. “He still rooming with Nicky?”

“Yes, in a suite with Wymack.” Renee grinned. “Coach said to text him when it’s time to come get them.”

Then the two should be all right for the night. Aaron should be rooming with Matt… but Andrew wasn’t going to waste any more time thinking about that, not with Katelyn here. Not when he already had to deal with a certain idiot.

With that in mind, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and went to collect his idiot, which earned some protests from Matt and Nicky.

“But you had him all to yourself for the last party,” Nicky pouted.

“Aw, man, you need to learn to share,” Matt added, which made Andrew give him a slight frown; just in what way did Boyd think he had any claim on Neil? There was *nothing* to share.

Free of the morons, they went up another floor to their own room, one with a king-sized bed. Neil groaned as he sat down on it and kicked off his sneakers while shedding his team jacket. “What time is our flight again tomorrow?”

“Ten forty-five.” Andrew checked to make sure that their bags were okay then leaned against the wall across from the bed. “So about twelve hours from now.”

“Great.” Neil groaned as he fell back onto the bed, the hem of his grey t-shirt riding up his toned stomach. Andrew refused to allow himself to be distracted. “I think I can sleep for most of it.”

The bottle of alcohol still held on his left hand, Andrew approached the bed. “Not yet.” He moved slowly as he straddled Neil’s hips, mindful of setting off a reaction. When all Neil did was stare up at him, he sank down, his weight resting against his boyfriend’s upper thighs, and then opened the bottle so he could have several swallows of the lukewarm alcohol – all the while, Neil stared up at him with those pale blue eyes. Once Andrew was done, he screwed back on the lid and set the bottle aside.

“You called your uncle.”

Neil was quiet for a moment, his hands curled up near his head. “I did,” he confessed.

Andrew leaned forward a little, his hands reaching out to settle on Neil’s scarred wrists. “I told you not to make any more deals with him.” He kept his tone even, kept it civil, but his fingers tightened around Neil’s wrists, tightened until he could feel the bones and tendons beneath the scar tissue.

Still, Neil didn’t move, didn’t attempt to break free or push him away. “I didn’t try to make a deal with him. I just asked him to come here and keep you safe.”

Dammit, was that supposed to make it *better*? “You were going to allow yourself to be led away by those assholes and expected Stuart to hold me back?”

Neil wetted his lips with a quick swipe of his tongue. “Actually, I expected him to knock you out or something. Tranquilizer or the such.”

Andrew had to close his eyes and do a fucking mental exercise he’d learned at Easthaven to control the flash of rage he felt just then. When he felt more in control a minute or two later, he let out a slow breath and opened his eyes. “Just when you’re about to get back down to a workable number, you go and fuck it all up again.”

“I….” For a moment Neil’s expression was actually contrite, and then it went all defiant. “No, I’m not sorry, dammit. We talked about this. I won’t let you get dragged down with me.”

“No, *you* talked,” Andrew clarified. “I told you not to do anything stupid. I was rather explicit about that. I told you that that we wouldn’t lose, too. That Riko would never touch you again. Do you ever fucking listen to me?”

Neil let out a quivering breath while he clenched his hands, but he didn’t try to break free. “I listen, dammit. Do you listen to me?” he asked as he lifted his head, his eyes bright and lower lip jutting out. “I won’t let you risk yourself for nothing. I won’t let you be hurt if I can help it. I’m not going to be like the others, who just take from you, dammit!”

Andrew had figured that out by now, by the way that Neil had allowed himself to be torn apart by Riko, had walked away with his father’s men rather than risk any harm to Andrew. He didn’t understand it, but he had figured it out. One day he’d find a way to counteract such stupidity. “What makes you think it’s a better thing, leaving me stuck with your uncle while that prick gets you?”

Neil laughed a little as he fell back onto the bed, the sound devoid of humor. “You’ll be alive. There’s always a chance then, right? There’s nothing if you’re dead.” He was quiet for a couple of seconds as he stared up at Andrew, his eyes bright and expression so… so damn open. “There’s nothing for me if you’re dead,” he said, the words barely audible over the hum of the room’s a/c.

Nothing was said for about a minute as they just stared at each other, and then Andrew let go of Neil’s wrists while shrugging off his own jacket. “Don’t try to stick me with the limey prick again,” was all he said before he leaned down for a kiss, his hands burying in Neil’s thick, unruly curls.

Neil moaned something that might have been a ‘yes’, but all that mattered was that his hands were light on Andrew’s shoulders at first, then tightened when the kiss deepened. Andrew ground his hips down against his boyfriend’s, ground their growing erections together, which provoked another low moan. Neil’s hands clenched on Andrew’s shoulders then tapped twice, a silent question, and Andrew nodded, allowed Neil to skim his hands down his back to grasp the hem of shirt and pull it off.

Taking advantage of them breaking apart like that, Neil shifted up a little more on the bed then removed his shirt as well and both of them the rest of their clothes, and before he could move in on Andrew’s neck, Andrew pressed his lips against the splash of red and black in on the idiot’s own and pushed him back down. His hands stroked along skin tattooed and scarred as he stretched over Neil again, as they once more rocked together.

He had Neil’s clean skin beneath his lips and teeth, Neil’s body hard and wanting beneath his own, Neil’s hands almost reverent stroking along his back and shoulders and head. He could get up and walk away right now, and other than a muttered curse of frustration, nothing would happen, nothing would be said other than something out of concern – if that. And when he closed his eyes tonight, Neil would be there when he woke up. He still wasn’t sure why that was so, but after so long, he accepted that. He wasn’t going to lose that. He wasn’t going to lose this.

Wasn’t going to lose the sight of Neil’s face as it stared up at him, those eyes darkened with desire, the ‘A’ so black on the flushed cheek, the slight smile. The trust and emotion in those damn eyes.

How good this felt, not just the pleasure roiling inside of him, the feel of their bodies sliding and grinding together, of Neil’s nails lightly trailing down his back but of that fucking trust. Of it *being* Neil.

Of how when the pleasure won over and they were done, Neil just hummed a little when Andrew dragged him off of the bed and toward the shower a minute or so later, unable to just lay there when they both were a mess. When he could feel their sweat and cum on his body and wanted it gone before he could relax properly.

Neil seemed to be over his anxiety about showers – at least as long as he was alone with Andrew – and allowed himself to be herded into it once the water was warm enough. While he washed off, Andrew allowed himself a moment to think about how they should be facing the Ravens soon enough, and how there was some revenge owed there. Riko first and foremost, but he did have a list of those who had been naughty. Might take a while to do it properly, but he could get a start on it, at least.

Seeing the scars on Neil’s body, the new ones standing out amongst the pale lines of the old… oh yes, time to get a start on that list.

“Your turn?” Neil asked as he stepped out from the running water.

“Yes,” was all Andrew said, but the finality of his tone made Neil give him an odd look.

Neil got out of the shower and fetched their bags, so Andrew had something to change into when he was done, and the two of them went out onto the balcony while Andrew smoked despite being in pajama bottoms and t-shirts (Andrew didn’t think anyone around them gave a damn. Besides, wasn’t like they were showing much). Once that was done, they turned down the a/c, shoved the duvet off the bed and then fell sleep.

They woke up early enough to grab something to eat at the hotel’s restaurant before they had to leave for the airport, where Andrew informed Neil of his ‘punishment’ for calling his uncle. His boyfriend wasn’t pleased about it, but he’d been warned. Oh yes, he’d been warned about it and about that whole ‘stupid’ thing. Time to pay up.

The rest of the Foxes came stumbling down to the lobby about ten minutes or so before they had to leave, in various conditions of readiness and misery.

“Oh my god, please tell me there’s time to get coffee. I *need* coffee,” Nicky moaned, then let out a pained cry when he saw the long line at the small café in the lobby.

Fortunately for the pain in the ass, Neil stepped forward with the coffee carriers in both hands, which prompted loud shouts of joy from his teammates. Nicky tousled his hair as Reynolds snatched at one of the carriers, and Renee gave him a lovely smile while murmuring ‘thanks’. Even Aaron appeared happy just then, Kevin too tired to care and Dan told Neil ‘you did good, Rookie’ while Matt looked as if he wanted to kiss Neil, of all things, so Andrew yanked back the idiot and gave the backliner a very narrow look.

“Oh my god, you’re an angel. A true angel of mercy,” Nicky babbled as he held his cup cradled in his hands. “I love you, baby bro!”

Neil just smiled and nodded.

“Seriously, thanks so much,” Dan said. “My head is killing me.” She appeared a bit rueful for a moment then grinned. “But it was a great party.” Then she frowned at Neil and Andrew. “Shame you two missed it.”

“Yes, a shame,” Andrew said in a flat tone of voice.

“I’m sure they had better things to do, like each other,” Aaron said with a good bit of snarkiness.

Andrew looked over at his twin for a moment. “Oh, did your *friend* have a curfew? What a pity.”

While Aaron glared at him, Renee sipped her tea and continued to smile at Neil. “Do we owe you anything for the drinks?” He just shook his head and continued to smile back.

Nicky paused in guzzling his coffee to frown at the idiot. “Hey, are you all right? You haven’t said anything yet this morning.” It was around then that Wymack and Abby joined the team.

Neil’s smile turned into a more accusatory expression as he looked over at Andrew and gave a complicated shrug/head shake combo, probably trying his best to convey ‘I’m fine’ without saying those damn words.

“It’s nothing,” Andrew explained for the idiot. “Neil’s just been put on a word quota for the day.”

“What?” Nicky squawked as he looked back and forth between the two of them, and the rest of the team gathered around closer. “A word quota?”

“Yes.” Andrew paused for a sip of his own double chocolate mocha. “In order to help him to learn to better think before he speaks and discourage stupid actions in the future, we’ve enacted a word quota today in hopes it keeps him from repeating certain actions. Isn’t that right, Neil?”

Neil flipped him the finger, eyes flashing with anger – yet he didn’t speak. Oh, one had to adore stubborn idiots who were determined to prove a point – even if Andrew suspected that Neil didn’t even know what the damn point was.

Nicky immediately complained that Andrew was being ‘mean’ – which Dan and Matt agreed with, of course – Aaron appeared bored and took out his phone to start texting, Reynolds smirked while Renee just shook her head and Kevin looked ready to slump over at any moment. Meanwhile, Abby frowned at Andrew in obvious disapproval while a slow but steady grin crept over Wymack’s face.

“*Finally*. Can you do this on game day or something? Whenever there’s press around? Why didn’t you think of this sooner, dammit!” That earned him an especially virulent look from Neil, betrayed expressions from Dan, Matt and Nicky, and a whap to his arm from Abby which made the man cry out in pain.

“What? Do you know how much grief – never mind,” Wymack said in the face of his girlfriend’s wrath.

“Everyone, get on the bus,” Abby ordered while still glaring at Wymack.

The Foxes scurried to obey – even Kevin- and Neil fell instep beside Andrew, still not saying a word. But Andrew had noticed the Russian book packed at the top of his backpack, so he had an idea what the idiot was saving his ‘quota’ for, and just met Neil’s heated gaze with an even one of his own as they sat down together in the back row.

They were headed to the airport so they could fly home, with Neil a warm presence pressed against his side. Home, and in two more weeks, the Ravens. Andrew couldn’t wait.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL, did I crack 600K yet? I'm sure it will be by the time I'm done. 
> 
> Hmm, what to do once this fic is done? Still have some prompts to fill and that urban magic fic to tackle....
> 
> Hard at work on Armies ch8, really hoping to have it out on Wednesday!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow. 46 chapters, 600k+ long. What can I say? Thank you so, SO much! I am really, really grateful for all of the amazing response I got to this (monstrosity) fic, the kudos and the comments and everything. You encouraged me to continue it, to dive into a new (for me) fandom, to feed the muse... really, I'm incredibly grateful.
> 
> So, yeah, last chapter. Sorta. I've a couple of follow up chapters I want to do (Neil and Kevin and Andrew in Japan, OMFG, I want to do that. The first summer training with the 'new' Foxes. At the very least, these are what I want to do.). I think I'm going to do these as 'side' stories, because yeah, 46 chapters people. I think some people look at this fic and go 'wtf' and I just want to mark it as 'complete' at this point. So I'll just do the side stories as 'additional'.  
> Okay, and just an FYI, Riko brings up some not so nice things in this chapter. Mentions of stuff that aren't pleasant, but they're not too graphic.  
> *******

*******

The campus still hadn’t returned to normal come the Monday after the USC game, and even Neil was starting to get a little tired of all the white and orange; he also had a minor freak-out when he saw someone walking around with a modified Foxes sweatshirt with the number ‘13’ on it, though Nicky had been smug about that all day. It was frightening, to think that people looked up to him, and for something that he… well, it wasn’t like he had no control over his feelings for Andrew, it was just… they were just *there*. Immutable. Not going away. A fact of life. So why did some people make it out like what he was doing, coming forward with that relationship (not like he really had much of a choice, after the shit Riko had pulled, but not like he had meant to hide it, either), was something worthy of so much admiration?

“It just better not mess up your chances at Court, is all I’m saying.” Kevin frowned as he paused in eating his baked chicken for lunch. “So far the reaction has been positive, but you have to keep in mind what’s important.”

Neil stared in disbelief at his friend. “So you’re saying… what exactly? Break up if it looks like we’re not going to make Court?” Not happening.

Kevin shrugged as he stabbed at another piece of chicken, not seeming to pick up on how still Andrew had gone next to him. “You’re young, I’m sure that there’s-“ His eyes went wide as he slowly turned his head toward Andrew, whose right hand was now beneath the table.

“I believe we’ve had this conversation before, and I’ve told you to drop it,” Andrew said as he reached over for one of Neil’s fries. “All right?”

“Uhm, yeah.” Kevin gave a frantic nod of his head while Neil continued to glare at him.

“And I told you, fuck the Court if that’s what it costs to get in.”

Kevin appeared ready to argue for a moment, but Andrew’s hand remained beneath the table so he quickly reconsidered. After that it was a rather quiet lunch – at least, until Andrew brought up the Trojans, and then Kevin was rather happy to babble on about the team and their captain. For some reason, that amused Andrew.

Neil waited until they were up on the roof to bring up the subject, when he stretched out with his back against the wall and had Andrew lying down with his head in Neil’s lap. “So what’s up with Kevin and the Trojans?”

Andrew’s lips curled a little around the cigarette in his mouth, and he waited a moment until he exhaled a lungful of smoke to answer. “I think someone has a crush.” When Neil gave him a curious look, fingers gently rubbing along Andrew’s scalp, he elaborated. “Thea might need to worry about losing Kevin to Jeremy.”

“Huh.” Neil wasn’t very good at figuring things like that out – he didn’t know if it was because of his own nature or what, because he only really saw Andrew as worthy of attraction. “That’s… huh.” He squinted as he mentally tried to picture it. “So tall.”

“Annoying, aren’t they?” Andrew agreed. “And the *smiling*.”

Well, just when in front of certain people for Kevin, but yes, so much smiling. That too. “Probably be on an Exy court all of the time.”

Andrew reached up to yank on a lock of Neil’s hair. “Don’t go there, junkie.”

Neil smiled down at him and rubbed a little harder for a moment. “I’ve got you to balance me out. Exy court and bed.” Never too much exertion, when it came to Andrew. Well, something like that, he thought with a slight blush.

There was a knowing gleam to his boyfriend’s eyes as smoke got blown in Neil’s face. “Someone has to smack you down from time to time.”

“Such a burden for you,” Neil murmured before leaning in for a brief kiss, the taste of nicotine on Andrew’s tongue making him hum a little in pleasure.

“You said it, not me,” Andrew said when they broke apart.

Neil just smiled and continued to massage his fingers along Andrew’s scalp until a light rain drove them back inside.

Andrew resumed his revenge against Kevin by telling Nicky what the striker had said; Neil was certain that Kevin wouldn’t bring up their relationship and Court ever again. Nicky was a wonderful person, was fun and loyal and just wanted to get along with everyone… but there were certain things that he held dear, and if you threatened to mess with those things? Oh yes, one could tell he was related to Andrew. Neil was especially impressed when Kevin went for his bottle of vodka and found it to be replaced with sugar water – in fact, all of his stash had been similarly affected (Nicky knew better than to mess with Andrew’s whiskey stash, and Kevin wouldn’t dare touch it).

“Doesn’t he know better than to question true love?” Nicky said at practice on Thursday as he glared at the striker from across the court. “It’s just bad juju.”

Neil cringed a little at the mention of the ‘l’ word. “At the least, I would think he’d know not to mess with Andrew.”

“Hmph. Well, now he knows not to mess with any of us. We may be utterly adorable, baby bro, but we’re just as fierce. Rawr.” Nicky made a clawing motion as he roared, and Neil found himself smiling despite himself.

“Hemmick? What the hell are you doing? Put your damn gear on and pick up that racket! And Josten, get your ass back to where it’s supposed to be, dammit! This is practice, not a chat session,” Wymack shouted at the two of them.

Everything seemed to be all forgiven by Friday, though, in time for the five of them to head back to Columbia, though not until after Neil and Kevin watched the Trojans lose to the Ravens. They didn’t lose by much, in fact they played their best game ever against Edgar Allen… but it was too much to hope that they could have won. Just as Neil and Andrew had suspected, it would be the Foxes facing off against the Ravens in the championship game.

Also unsurprising was how Jeremy Knox took the loss, being all smiles on the camera and refusing to badmouth the Ravens, even though the team had knocked around the Trojans with the tricks that Wymack regularly yelled at Neil about doing on the court anymore. Instead, Knox focused on how close his team had come to winning, praising his fellow teammates and looking forward to the next year.

It was probably with that in mind that he commented on how the Ravens’ line-up felt different, what with Kevin and Jean not being out there for the game. A reporter seized on it, saying what a shame it was that Jean was out with an ‘injury’ at such an important time of the year.

That made Andrew huff and Nicky moan a little – yeah, right, an ‘injury’. Jean was still laid up in Abby’s house, though she estimated that he would be able to leave for California soon. His recovery was helped, lately, by the fact that he’d found a new team to play for, by having a new home and a new goal to aim for – in being a Trojan. In making good his new arrangement with Ichiro. Neil had stopped by that Sunday to talk to him a little, just to confirm that he was indeed accepting the Trojans’ offer, and while he was happy for Jean’s fresh start… he knew both of them would be more comfortable when Jean was in California. At the least, Andrew believed that Jean could have done more back in the Nest and wanted the ex-Raven gone.

Knox smiled into the camera and nodded at the reporter who had brought up the story about Jean being out for the rest of the season with a ‘bad sprain’. “Actually, I spoke to Jean earlier in the week and yes, he’s definitely out for the rest of the year.” His smile took on a bit of a sharp edge just then. “But he’ll be back in the fall, it just won’t be in black.” Before anyone could ask him to elaborate, though Neil caught a glimpse of one or two confused looks as the cameras panned a little, Knox continued. “I can announce it now that he sent us the signed contract yesterday and it’s all official, but Jean Moreau is transferring to USC for his senior year.”

Things were quiet for several seconds, and then loud murmuring broke out, with the one reporter speaking out above the noise. “Wait, you’re telling us that Jean Moreau is leaving Edgar Allen for USC?”

Now Knox’s smile appeared pleased. “Yes, I am. We went ahead and ordered his gear this morning, and he’ll be here soon enough to try it on.” He laughed a little while looking over at someone, probably Coach Rhemann. “Which is good, because we'll have to get him some sun this summer! He's a little pale to pull off red and gold right now." Considering how the Ravens fans were going to react to the news, as well as the rest of the Exy community, Knox didn’t seem too concerned at the moment. “Since his old number is already taken within the team, he’ll have to pick a new one, but I’ll leave it to him to announce what it’ll be when he’s ready.”

Someone finally asked a question that Neil was certain a lot of people were wondering. “Can you tell us why he transferred?”

Knox’s smile tempered a little. "I can't get into all the details because it's not my place to tell his personal business, but I can say we're very excited to have him.” He stared at the cameras as if to make it clear not to push the matter. “After everything that’s happened this season and the last two games especially, I think we have a lot to learn from each other.” Then his smile returned. “Next year is going to be amazing. I think you're going to see a lot of changes across the board. We've all got to take another look at what we bring to the court."

Andrew made a noise and got up to turn off the television at that point, so they could head out to Columbia.

“So Renee’s going to lose her sweetie soon, huh?” Nicky commented as they headed out to the car.

“Not soon enough,” Andrew grumbled.

“Eh, they can always visit each other, I guess.”

“Maybe Kevin can tag along.” Andrew shot the striker a knowing look. “He can go hang out with his idol, Knox.”

Kevin frowned at that. “You could learn a lot someone like Jeremy. Things like a good work ethic, dedication, sportsmanship-“

“Can your crush be any more obvious?

“Eh?”

Nicky clicked his tongue. “It’s so sad when they’re stuck in the denial phase. It’s all right, baby,” he told Kevin. “Come into the light. There’s a big, gorgeous blond waiting for you.”

“Oh my god, I don’t know any of you,” Aaron muttered. “Can we just get to the damn club?”

Kevin stared hopelessly at Neil, who refused to involve himself (besides, he felt that Andrew and Nicky had pretty much said it all), while Andrew glared at his brother. It was on that note that they piled into the Maserati, with Neil driving them off to Columbia as Nicky pulled up ‘helpful’ sites on his phone to show a trapped Kevin in the back, Andrew smoked cigarettes and Aaron tapped out non-stop messages to Katelyn as if his sanity depended on it (it probably did).

They didn’t stay long at Sweetie’s, just stopped by so Andrew could get some ice cream and pick up some cracker dust, and then they were off to the club. Since Andrew was driving at that point, Neil went with the others into the club while Andrew parked the car, and stood at the crowded bar, only a little unnerved by the press of people; Nicky hovered near him, as did Kevin, which helped a bit.

Nicky waved at Roland, who came over after he finished an order of drinks. “Hey, good to see you guys. Congrats on the game last week.” He nodded to Neil and glanced around, as if looking for Andrew. “Everything all right?”

“Yep, we’re here to celebrate us heading off to the championships,” Nicky told him with a wide grin. While he filled the bartender in on their last game, Neil felt a familiar presence at his back and let out a breath he hadn’t been aware that he’d been holding. Andrew’s left arm wrapped loosely around his waist and chin rested on his shoulder, and Neil noticed that Roland glanced over to smile at his boyfriend.

As if Andrew’s arrival was a signal, Roland began to assemble a large tray of drinks; Neil still felt a small spike of jealousy over the bartender, but he trusted Andrew.

Seeing that Andrew was there as well, Nicky decided that he’d go off to find a table for them, and Aaron tagged along. That left Neil, Andrew and Kevin at the bar, and Roland paused in assembling their order to pour out four shots. “So, the championships, eh?” He lifted one of the shots in an evident toast. “Here’s to you winning.”

Neil didn’t want to drink too much that night, but he accepted the shot, some sort of sweet-flavored vodka. Kevin downed it with evident desperation and then stared at the tray with longing. Andrew finished his and tightened his arm around Neil as he set the empty glass down on the bar. “Thanks.”

Roland laughed a little. “Show some more enthusiasm, yeah?” Then he shook his head. “Everyone here’s really proud of the four of you. We might have to open late the night of the final game, everyone wants to watch it.”

“It’s not going to be pretty, taking on Edgar Allen,” Kevin muttered. “They’re going to be coming after us with everything they’ve got.” He gazed at Neil while he spoke.

“Kevin, just shut up and drink, all right?” Andrew said, and while he couldn’t see his boyfriend’s expression just then, Neil imagined that it wasn’t very nice, especially when Kevin flinched and Roland hurried to finish making the drinks.

Kevin went ahead of them to the table, most likely to get away from Andrew, and then Neil was helping to clear the path for his boyfriend as he headed in the direction he’d last seen the other three go off in while Andrew carried a very full tray.  As soon as it was set down on the table and Andrew added the packets of cracker dust as well, the other three descended upon the drinks as if desperate for a buzz. Neil watched on with some bemusement, and waited until Nicky, Aaron and Kevin had left for the dance floor to reach for another drink himself.

Instead of one of the lime-flavored vodka shots, he toyed with a tumbler into which Andrew had dumped some of the cracker dust. “So what’s it like?”

Andrew was quiet for several seconds while he studied Neil. “A bit of euphoria, of energy. It’s not the strongest hit, but it makes you… it makes things stronger, for a little while.” He was quiet again. “Do you want to try it?”

Neil studied the tumbler for a little longer while he thought about his phone and Riko, about the calls that would resume again tomorrow – he got a bit of a reprieve for the day because of the game. “No.” He didn’t trust drugs, not really. Didn’t like giving up control, especially after what had happened at the Nest, after Riko had injected him with stuff that had left him helpless. Drinking was bad enough, but he trusted Andrew, trusted his boyfriend to not push things too far. Other than the one night, Andrew hadn’t and Neil could always remember everything. Could feel as if he had some say in his actions even when drunk.

Besides, it was more that he’d rather have something that didn’t make him feel, that shut him down, than made him feel more. That allowed him a reprieve from his thoughts and nightmares and memories. From his anxieties and fears.

When he reached to pick up one of ‘his’ shots instead, Andrew’s larger hand wrapped around his own. “Do you need me to get you something else?” His face was blank as he asked the question, his tone almost bored as he offered to get Neil drugs because… well, probably because Neil believed he needed them. Because Andrew wouldn’t judge something like that, not this once.

Neil smiled at him. “No, I’m all right.” He wouldn’t start down that slippery slope, not after seeing its effects on Aaron and Matt, not when just another couple of weeks and… and things should be better. Should be finished, one way or another. “I’m all right,” he told himself.

Andrew continued to watch him for a few more seconds and then let go of his hand. “Do you need to have more of those tonight?”

“No.” Neil finished his shot then shook his head. “Not tonight.” He didn’t want to drink that much, just a couple so he was somewhat joining in but still had his wits about him. “I’m fine tonight.” Then he smiled at Andrew. “Just happy being here with you.”

That earned him a bland look. “Don’t get sappy on me, Josten.”

“Hmm.” Neil smiled some more. “You look so sexy in these lights. Could stare at you all night.”

“You’re officially cut off,” Andrew said as he shoved his hand in Neil’s face. “And stop staring.”

Laughing despite almost being shoved off of his chair, Neil placated himself with water after that and having his chair tugged closer to Andrew’s ‘to keep him out of trouble’, where he could lean against his boyfriend while Andrew drank. They were quiet that night, content enough with each other’s presence that they didn’t need to talk, while the others came and went a couple of times for more drinks and the occasional update about what was happening out on the dance floor. When closing time approached, Neil drove the five of them to the house, then curled up in bed with Andrew.

That Saturday got off to a wonderful start, with Neil hanging around in bed until Andrew woke up, and then the two of them enjoying each other and the privacy of their room before Neil treated Andrew to a late brunch. It was toward the end of that when the texts started to come through, first ones on Andrew’s phone that made his bland but unguarded expression go too blank and then Neil’s phone going off. He reached for it with a sense of dread and saw several waiting messages from Wymack, Abby, Nicky, Renee, Dan and even Anna. Glancing over at Andrew for a moment, he tapped on the one from Renee, trusting her to get to the point of what was wrong.

‘Riko or one of his own posted this last night’. There was a link in the message, which Neil clicked on while his stomach twisted into knots, fearing it to be a video of… from his time at the Nest.

It wasn’t that, but it wasn’t good. It was a photo taken of him at some point while changing out for practice, with the bruises and stitches and scars photo-shopped out or minimized, but the raven tattoo in stark relief on his bare back. Riko, half-undressed as well, stood next to him, his hand reaching out as if to tuck back Neil’s hair in what was probably meant to be a friendly or ambiguous gesture (it had most likely been one of the times when he’d reached for Neil’s hair to grab it and yank him forward or to shove him down, in all reality).

Neil dropped his phone onto the table and shoved his fingers into his hair as he stared at the image, as he thought about how people must be reacting to it just then. To the sight of a huge raven on a Fox, a Fox who was going up against the Ravens, who-

“Neil.”

Why was his chest so tight? Was there enough air in the diner?

“Neil!”

He needed to… to….

“*Abram*!”

Hearing *that* name, and in Andrew’s sharp voice, made Neil’s head jerk up, made him draw in a deep, sharp breath. Andrew’s light hazel eyes gazed at him, and the way that they met his own, the way they didn’t judge him, made the tightness around Neil’s chest loosen. “Yuh-yeah?”

Andrew threw some money down on the table then snatched up Neil’s phone before sliding out of his booth. Once he was standing, he came over and all but dragged Neil onto his own feet. “Come on.” He didn’t stop moving until they were out in the parking lot, until Neil was pressed against the Maserati with Andrew’s solid weight against him and warm hand around the back of his neck. “It’s more of his fucking mind games,” Andrew hissed. “He’s going to do whatever he can to tear you down because that’s how he wins – by cheap tactics. He’s not good enough to win any other way.”

Neil nodded as he struggled to breathe evenly, his hands tangled in Andrew’s t-shirt. “I hate him. I *hate* him so much. I’m not going to let him win.”

“No, you’re not.” Andrew’s hand slid around to cup Neil’s left cheek, to stroke his thumb along the ‘A’ tattoo. “He’s not going to win.”

“Just a little longer.” Neil closed his eyes and canted his head into the caress. “It’s just… I’m so tired of this. I want it to be done already.” He didn’t want to wake up each day until the game and see what new fuckery Riko had in store for him – for him and Andrew.

“Just a little longer,” Andrew assured him. “Then we figure out a way to get him alone after the game and I slit his throat.”

“I don’t….” Neil frowned. “That’s your great plan?” Really? What the hell happened to not being caught?

Andrew frowned back. “You have a problem with it?”

“Too much blood. Try something that won’t leave us a huge mess to clean up.” Neil had seen a few slit throats in his time and yeah, messy.

Andrew stared at him for a couple of seconds then pushed away. “Get in the car, we need to talk about this somewhere that’s more private.”

Neil waited until they were in the car to speak up again. “I’m just saying, a couple of well-placed blows might be better than slicing arteries. Let him bleed out internally.”

“Why does everyone think you’re the ‘cute’ one?” Andrew griped as he shook free a cigarette. “Is it the curls? The big blue eyes? Because you’re just as fucked up as me, if not more so.”

“I’m just trying to save us a lot of hassle here,” Neil muttered as he tugged at his bangs, then reached over to snatch away the cigarette. Considering how much grief Riko had caused them, so what if he was giving the man’s death some serious thought? “You’re the one who’s been talking about killing him for how long now.”

“I’ll take it under consideration, and it figures that *now* you’re all for it.”

Yeah, well, apparently everyone had their breaking point, go figure. Neil ignored the beeps of his phone while they drove back to the house, and sighed when he found Nicky sitting anxiously in the kitchen. “Yeah, we saw it.”

His friend rose up from the table and came over to tousle his hair. “It’ll be okay,” Nicky said, his expression solemn for once. “You’ll see.”

Neil wished that he had Nicky’s faith, but he just plastered on a smile and nodded before going off to the bedroom, where he checked the rest of the messages. There were warnings about the image and words of support from his friends, but Wymack pretty much wanted him back on campus as soon as possible.

So much for a nice weekend away.

Aaron went to wake up Kevin, and within an hour they were back on the road, Andrew driving since Neil was too nervous to concentrate on the road. And of all the timing, that was when Riko called, voice dripping with smugness as he spoke Neil’s old name.

“You fucking bastard,” Neil said in Japanese, which made Nicky fall quiet and Aaron stop texting. “Why should I talk to you?”

“Because, dear Nathanial, it was a picture and not a video. I’ve kept my word, I’ve only shared that lovely footage with one other person.”

Neil shoved the fingers of his left hand through his hair and tugged hard on the strands; the pain helped to center him, to allow him to think through the rage. “We’re going to kick your ass on the court.”

“Oh, you can try, you and your pathetic Foxes. Two weeks, number four. It’s official, they’ve cancelled the other semi-final game since USC lost both of theirs, and then we’ll face each other on the court. Only this time, there won’t be any fair-handed tactics to save you. Those ill-bred dogs of yours will have to deal with *all* of my team, and your uncle will stand by as I personally lead you back to the Nest.”

“I don’t care how many Ravens you have, we’ll win,” Neil told the bastard. “Kevin and I will beat you.” Behind him, Kevin made a low sound, as if in pain.

Riko laughed at that. “I’m going to enjoy that defiance, I think. It’s going to be such fun fucking it out of you. Having you struggle beneath me – you know, I enjoy seeing you try to break free of the cuffs. There’s something thrilling in how you can’t give in to the inevitable. I’ve a special set made just for you, Nathaniel. We don’t want you to hurt yourself too much, after all. That’s for me to do.”

His chest growing tight again, Neil let go of his hair so he could wrap his fingers around his right wrist, so he could convince himself that it wasn’t bound, that he was only imagining the feel of metal biting into his skin. “It’s not going to happen. It’s not-“

The phone was snatched away from him by Andrew. “You’ve used up your time with Neil today, sorry. Do something constructive, like put your affairs in order, you prick.” Then he hung up the phone and threw it into the back seat. “Turn that thing off or it’s going out the window.”

Kevin fumbled for the phone while Neil’s fingers continued to twist around his wrist, at least until Andrew yanked on his left arm. “Stop that, I’m not joking about breaking your fingers.” When Neil choked at the warning, he dragged Neil’s hand down into his lap, toward the hem of his shirt.

Latching on to the soft fabric, Neil twisted his fingers in that instead as he closed his eyes, as he felt Andrew’s warm, calloused fingers skim up his left arm and along his shoulder until they threaded through his hair for about a minute. “Whatever you do,” he told his boyfriend in a trembling voice while speaking French, “make it hurt, dammit.”

“Of course,” Andrew said back in French as well before he returned his right hand to the gear shift.

Needless to say, it was quiet the rest of the drive back to campus.

Andrew dropped off Kevin, Nicky and Aaron at Fox Tower, then he and Neil continued on to Wymack’s apartment, where the man was expecting them. He opened the door on the second knock, dressed in torn jeans and a faded rock t-shirt with a glass of what smelled to be bourbon in his left hand. Right, good sign there.

“What the fuck did you do to Riko Moriyama to give him such a-“ Wymack’s eyes went wide and he nearly dropped the glass when all of a sudden Andrew burnished a knife in his face. For himself, Neil was just grateful that the coach didn’t have any neighbors since they were still standing in the doorway.

“I don’t believe that’s how you want to start this conversation,” Andrew said, the slightest of smiles on his face yet his eyes utterly cold. “Want to try again?”

Sweat ran down Wymack’s face as he closed his eyes for a moment. “Get your asses in here so we can talk about this latest ‘surprise’.”

“Better,” Andrew agreed; he lowered the knife but didn’t put it away.

Wymack went over to the coffee table where the bottle of bourbon stood and refilled his glass, while Andrew went into the kitchen to fetch a clean one for himself. He got an evil look from their coach when he snatched away the alcohol to fill the glass, but Wymack was wise enough not to say anything. Once that was done, Andrew joined Neil on the couch while Wymack sat down in the adjacent chair. “Okay, now to state the obvious – people aren’t happy about that picture. I’ve already fielded several calls asking just where your loyalties lie, Josten.”

“Really?” Neil rubbed along the right side of his neck and debated snatching the glass away from Andrew, even though he hated bourbon. “I’m a Fox. How many times have I said that?”

“I know that, kid, and I told them that they’re idiots. But they see you with a big-ass raven tattoo, standing next to *the* Raven, during a time when you practiced with the team. They hear about how you’re just with the Foxes because of Kevin, and how you’ll be with the Ravens officially starting this summer.”

Neil pressed his left leg against Andrew’s, needing that bit of contact just then. “I’m not joining them, dammit.” He couldn’t join them.

“Again, I know. We’re going to win.” Now Wymack’s expression was one of pity, at least for a moment. “We’re going to beat them when we face off in two weeks. I just heard from the ERC, and that’s when we’ll play the Ravens. There won’t be another semifinal game.”

“I know,” Neil admitted. “Riko called to tell me that on the way here.” He had passed that on to Andrew once it was just the two of them in the car.

“Huh?” Wymack frowned before he took a sip of his drink. “Bastard is awfully free with confidential information.”

“Because he’s doing this to rattle Neil,” Andrew stated. “He’s trying to fuck with Neil’s head, and how much you want to bet that he waited until last night to release that photo because it was *after* Knox told the press about Moreau? He’s hoping to divert some attention away from the fact that the Ravens lost another star player, another one of his ‘Perfect’ court. He can’t afford people asking too many questions so he’s throwing Neil at them, and he’ll be only too happy at the havoc it causes Neil and the Foxes.”

“You’re… dammit, you’re right.” Wymack muttered something beneath his breath then drained the rest of his glass. “I can use that to get a few people off of our backs.”

“Good. In the end, a fancy tattoo shouldn’t rate as high as Jean Moreau’s defection from Edgar Allen,” Andrew said as he urged Neil to stand up. “The prick won’t get his way.”

“There will be press around campus the coming week because of the championship game,” Wymack warned them as he reached for the bottle again. “Think of something to say that’ll help put this shit to rest and allow them to go back after Edgar Allen, all right?” He gave Neil a warning glare. “Something that *won’t* stir up more shit.”

“We’ll figure out something, or else he’ll be put back on a word quota.” Neil glared at Andrew at that, but his boyfriend ignored him until they were out of the man’s apartment. “What? I’m serious – we’ll come up with something that won’t create even more of a mess for once. Now is not the time to fan the flames, Josten.”

What Andrew said made sense, but… dammit. “I hate letting him take all the shots while I can’t do anything.”

Andrew gave him a cruel smile. “You beat him out there on that court, that’s what you do. Nothing will hurt him more than that.” Then Andrew thought about it a little. “Well, other than me shoving my racquet through his gut, but we’ll save that for afterwards.”

“Promises, promises,” Neil said as he smiled at his boyfriend.

They stopped for some coffee and ice cream before they returned to the dorm, and Nicky was happy to know that things had been mostly smoothed over with Wymack. The three of them left Kevin with his restocked stashed and went over to the girls' suite, where Dan, Andrew and Allison worked out what Neil could say to the press when they eventually tracked him down (Neil refused to be stuck with another 'word quota' any time soon, dammit).

Kevin sobered up after dinner, so they spent some time out on the court, which made Neil feel a bit better, and he went to bed exhausted that night. Sunday was treating Andrew to brunch again, and he was surprised when his boyfriend invited him to the weekly session with Renee. "Why?"

"To make sure you're not getting rusty," Andrew said as they headed back to the Maserati. When Neil arched an eyebrow at that, Andrew's expression turned even more blank than usual. "Because I am slightly displeased over the prick's attempt to force matters, last week."

Ah, okay, then that made sense. Neil could argue that Riko had to answer to Ichiro... but yeah, it made sense. "All right."

Andrew didn't show any emotion to Neil’s easy acquiesce, but he lit two cigarettes once they were in the car and his fingers lingered on Neil's when he handed over the one.

They rested a little when back in the suite, then changed into clothes they could fight in and wouldn't mind getting dirty or torn before they headed down to the basement level to meet up with Renee. She was already there, and smiled when she saw Neil. "How are you doing?"

"So-so,” Neil admitted as he removed his orange hoodie.

"Understandable." Her smile took on a sympathetic edge as she removed her zipped jacket. "So, how do we want to do this?"

Andrew seemed to think about it after he tugged his sweatshirt over his head, leaving him in a fitted tank-top and black arm bands. "Hmm, how about you two start out at first?" There was a spark of interest in his eyes despite his bored tone.

Renee looked at Neil, who just shrugged to show that he didn't mind, and then began to warm up a little, to stretch out his legs and arms. Renee did the same, and after a couple of minutes, they stood facing each other.

It was subtle, but Neil had spent too much of his life paying attention to things like that, had learned to watch the small details, to know when he had to brace himself for his father's attacks, for the hits from his father's people. So he caught the slight shift in Renee's left leg, the twitch in her right fingers and knew that she was going to move and then the knife was sliding into his palm, his arm was extending and his muscles were coiling.

It hadn't been like this with Lola, it had been sarcastic jabs and hair pulls and a little too deep scratches. With Renee it was sucking in air and reaching that much more and twisting away, was sharp smiles and quick flicks of the wrists because she was *good* and fast and flexible, just like him, was intent on landing the hits and kicks, would go for the kill if she could and had the advantage of reach but not speed.

Oddly enough, he realized that he'd missed this, that he'd missed sparring with her.

She landed a light swipe along his left shoulder, just enough to part the skin and draw a thin line of blood, but he got a hard stomp onto her right foot followed by a kick she just barely dodged, and as he went to follow through with a slice while she stumbled away, Andrew yanked on her shoulder to throw her further off-balance and came in swinging.

Neil back-pedaled fast, unused to the change of tactics, to the ferocity of his boyfriend's attack. He sheathed a knife to free up a fist and did his best to fend off Andrew, to block the blows and hit back, and knew that he'd have some bruises to show for it. As it was, Andrew had some scratches of his own, some rips in his top and even his jeans, but it was hard for Neil to get in for a 'clean' strike. Andrew was stronger and determined and when Neil went for a move that would leave him needing a new kidney at the least, found himself shoved against the wall with his neck held in an unbreakable grip and a knife to his own stomach.

"Not bad," Andrew told him. "Not great, but you're not a total failure."

"Tuh-thank you," Neil managed to choke out. "Ow."

Off to the side, Renee paused in sipping her water. "I told you, he's fast and sneaky."

"Yes, he is." Andrew nodded to Neil and finally let go of his throat. "Now sit down and watch the adults."

Neil gritted his teeth together as he forced himself to sheathe the one knife. "Renee? Do me a favor and kick his ass."

She smiled at him as she got up to her feet. "I'll do my best."

He ignored the heated look Andrew gave him before the two faced off and sat down on the floor, already feeling some of the hits that his wonderful boyfriend had dealt him really set in, and opened the bottle of water that Renee had set out for him. It only took a few seconds before Andrew and Renee were at it, 'practicing' in a style that was much more brutal than the one that Neil had learned. A style that reminded him a lot of his father, to be honest.

His mother had picked up on where Lola's lessons had left off, had drilled into Neil’s head the importance of not drawing attention, of getting the 'job' done and getting away before anyone around them noticed, before the *authorities* noticed. Maybe even before their attacker or target even noticed. Because it didn't do you any good to get caught, not by the person trying to hurt you or by anyone else. Sidle up, lash out, do the damage and move on. *Always* move on. So the strike had to count, had to hit something vital, because one could never linger. Couldn't give in to anger and brute strength and risk getting in close, like Andrew was doing just then.

Yeah, just a bit of difference in styles, Neil would say.

There were times when he wondered just what his mother had expected to become of him, of what she'd thought he'd go on and do, when all she'd ever taught him was how to run, to blend in, to steal and lie and how best to- yeah, great life skills, those.

It turned out to be a draw between Renee and Andrew, both of them getting their knives in vital parts and bearing bruises after about fifteen minutes of fighting. Renee apologized to Neil as they came over to fall down near him, Andrew next to him and Renee in front.

"That's all right. I'll just have Kevin beat him later on court," Neil teased, when Andrew let his head fall onto Neil's lap.

"Pizza for dinner tonight," Andrew declared, even as Neil began to run his fingers through his boyfriend's sweaty hair.

"Yeah, yeah." Neil accepted his punishment with a smile.

Renee beamed at them for a moment, before she sighed. "Jean's a bit better now that the paperwork is all signed. He asked me to go with him to USC when he moves out there."

Neil paused in massaging Andrew's scalp when he heard that. "Uhm, just to help him settle in, right?"

"Of course, he knows I'm a Fox." Renee's smile returned as she shook her head. "I think he just wants a familiar face to help him with the adjustment. I told him it would be fine, as long as it's after the championship game. I'll have the time then."

Andrew grunted at that. "Sooner he's out of our hands, the better. Would be nice not to see your annoying face for a bit, too."

Of course Renee knew better than to take offense at his words by now. "Perhaps the two of you can practice together while I'm gone."

Neil groaned at that, while a slight smile came over Andrew's face. "Perhaps," he agreed, which made Neil just shake his head.

They went upstairs a short while later, and after cleaning up, curled up on their bed to do some homework before eating (veggie lover pizza, of course) and letting Kevin drag them off to the court once again. At some point that evening, the ERC made the official announcement about cancelling the third semifinals match, which meant that they had an extra week to rest up before the final game.

Neil got some odd looks as he went around campus the next day, probably because of the damn picture, but he refused to say anything until the press finally pinned him down as he was about to head into the stadium for afternoon practice; they'd been all over campus, eager to talk to the Foxes about the upcoming game, and for the most part the Foxes were taking it well. They'd gotten the warning to be as polite as possible and for once were willing to leave off bashing the Ravens, who were under pressure because of Jean's transfer following Kevin's interview a couple of weeks earlier. With that in mind, all Neil did was give the woman asking him about his tattoo and the picture a bland smile. "Well, you know I was born in Baltimore. Let's just say that it left its mark on me."

"So it's not a homage to Edgar Allen? A sign that you're transferring teams this summer, like Tetsuji and Riko Moriyama have insisted for months?"

Neil took a deep breath before he spoke, mindful of what he owed the main branch. "I am a Fox and have every intention of remaining a Fox for as long as possible. I feel they're the best team for me and I'm very happy playing for them. Now if you don't mind, I have to get to practice so my team is ready to win our game against the Ravens." He summoned up a better smile before he walked off with Andrew into the stadium.

That seemed to - mostly - get the press off of his back. There were still some rumblings about just how much of a 'Fox' he was, on the chances of him transferring to Edgar Allen once the season was done, even if he was cheating on Andrew with Riko (what... the... *hell*...), but for the most part, people wanted to know what was going on at Edgar Allen, behind the closed doors at the Nest. That Jean wasn't saying a word and no one (well, almost no one) knew where he was, only fed into the frenzy.

Neil flinched every time he got a text, worried that another photo was going to be released as Riko attempted to divert the attention away from his own team and fuckups.

In addition to that, it wasn't helped when Wymack told them on Monday that the final game would be held at Edgar Allen, at Castle Evermore. It made sense, since that stadium was bigger than the Foxhole Court and the game was already well on its way to being sold out. That already put the demand for seats over Palmetto State's capacity... but Neil dreaded the idea of going back to that court. Of being that near the Nest again, especially when each day Riko called him to tell him what he'd do to Neil if (when) he got his hands on him.

So when Wymack finished up the discussion by saying that the Foxes were allowed to invite two people each for the 'friends and family' section behind the Away bench, Neil blinked in surprise at the thought of inviting anyone. Right away he came up with a blank, and watched as Andrew, Aaron and Nicky turned down the clipboard that Wymack passed to them so they could put down a name. Allison did the same, as did Kevin, and Renee only put down her foster mother, Stephanie, and allowed her other seat to go to Matt, so he could invite both his mother and his father, plus whoever his father was currently dating. That left Dan, who wanted to see how many of her 'stage' sisters from the club she used to work at she could invite. Even with the remaining fourteen invites, there would still be plenty of open seats.

Neil motioned for Andrew to come over as he went to talk to Dan. "So, you don't need all of those, right?"

Dan appeared surprised at first, and then she smiled. "What, you have someone to invite after all? You want your uncle to come?"

He winced a little at the thought of Uncle Stuart sitting between Stephanie and Matt's father. "Uhm, not exactly." He was certain that Stuart would be there since it was a Moriyama event, but more in the background, working. "There's a couple of other people I'd like to invite, if you don't use all of the seats."

"Sure thing!" Dan laughed as she tousled Neil's hair. "I'll get back to you as soon as I hear from the girls."

"Thank you." Neil smiled at her, and then at Andrew as soon as their captain left.

"What did I say about you trying to think, hmm?"

"Well, I was just, uhm, thinking," Neil's smile strengthened when Andrew's eyes narrowed a little more, "that wouldn't it be nice to see if a certain Exy-loving Fed might want to attend the game? We owe her so much, after all."

Andrew considered that for a few seconds. "Not bad, Josten."

They did owe Sonja Wolfe a lot, and she regularly checked up on Neil so it wouldn't seem too odd, him giving her the seats. It just might curtail Riko a little from doing something he shouldn't, if he knew that there was a federal presence there, watching Neil. Making sure that Neil got back on the bus to Palmetto State after they won the game.

He called her once practice was over and left a message, which she replied to when they were back in the suite after dinner, excited about the chance to attend the game with such good seats and touched that he'd thought about her. She said that she and Bryan would definitely take him up on the offer and laughed about how the rest of the agents in the Columbia office were going to be jealous over her good luck.

That taken care of, Neil hung up his phone and waited to hear from Dan about the rest of the seats before he did anything else.

Busy focusing on that and not Riko for once, he went off to the stadium with Andrew and Kevin... and was surprised to see Nicky and Aaron show up as they were getting ready for practice. He stared at the two as they went over to their lockers, Aaron with a bland expression similar to his twin's and Nicky radiating pure defiance as if he was expecting to be thrown out at any moment, then looked over at Kevin as he waited for his friend to do just that - to throw them out. Yet all Kevin did was study them for about a minute then nod before putting on the rest of his gear. Nicky's shoulders sagged in relief - relief which was short-lived once the five of them were out on the court. While Neil started his own warm-up, Kevin's 'evil task-master' persona came out to the fore and he put the two through their paces, working them from the ground up on the easiest of the Ravens drills. Neil kept waiting for one of them to snap, especially Aaron, but they both just buckled down and gave it their all.

They were exhausted and sore the next day, enough so that Neil figured that would be it. But they showed up Tuesday night again, and he thought he saw a slight smile on Kevin's face as he set them through the same drills, while Andrew just shook his head. The upperclassmen picked up on things Wednesday morning, on Aaron's exhaustion and Nicky's stiffness, so it didn't take very long for them to get the story out of Nicky (it never did - he was the weakest link, as Neil's mother would say. Neil didn't dwell on how his mother would handle someone like Nicky... or worse, his father).

So it wasn't that much of a surprise when the upperclassmen showed up on Wednesday night, even if Neil thought things were getting a bit ridiculous and made a mental note to stock up on the double-chocolate energy bars for Andrew if this was going to continue. He wasn't even sure what everyone was trying to prove - they had a week and a half left before the game with Edgar Allen, and *now* they were putting in the extra time? Now they wanted to learn how to play like a Raven? Yet before he could say anything, Andrew came over to him and grabbed him by the front of his jersey to pull him onto the court.

"What?"

"Just shut up and practice, all right?"

"Kind of difficult to do with all of them running around," Neil grumbled, and then scowled when that earned him a cool look. "Why are they here?"

"Because they want to win." The tone Andrew used just then clearly stated that Neil was an idiot.

"I know that," he snapped. "Just... why now?"

Andrew shrugged. "Does it matter? They're here now, and they don't want to lose. Now shut up and practice."

Neil sighed again, but in the end... in the end, he didn't want to lose, either. He couldn't afford to lose, come next Friday. Because it just wasn't the fact that Riko would get him, would make all those awful things come true, but that he would have to leave Andrew, would have to leave all of this behind. So he accepted that these people he'd acknowledged as his teammates, as his friends and even his family were here to help him win, to help keep him as a Fox and focused on practicing.

Because he'd been practicing so long with Kevin, he was used to how demanding the striker could be when it came to learning the drills, with Kevin's insistence on perfecting them. So he was also surprised to see the rest of the Foxes swallow the annoyance and anger they usually displayed during the afternoon sessions and put up with Kevin's patronizing manner as he walked them through the often complicated drills, as they worked hard to learn them in the limited time. Even Matt, whose temper often flared up the most when dealing with Kevin, could be seen swallowing his temper and putting his head down in order to better concentrate. Then again, Neil thought it helped that the backliner had picked up on the fact that Kevin was using his left hand at the night practices, something he never did during the day, a fact that made Matt grin when he pointed it out to the rest of the Foxes.

Kevin had yet to use his left hand during a real game, but Neil had the feeling that his friend was just biding his time.

They spent the weekend on campus so everyone could continue to practice, and were on the court for most of it. Wymack just shook his head and ordered in food for them, and yelled that he'd sign up any idiot who blew out their muscles for marathons all summer. No one went that far, but it was close a few times.

With all of the practice and being around the Foxes almost non-stop, Neil could only spare a couple of minutes for Riko's abuse, which was good, and steal away a little time for Andrew here and there, which was bad. They would often retreat up to the roof at night, sometimes to smoke together in exhausted silence, sometimes to wring what pleasure they could from each other's fatigued bodies before they stumbled back downstairs to collapse into their bed. The only benefit of it all was that Neil was often too tired to do much more than pass out and wake up the next day.

The week leading up to the game was finals', which was an added bit of stress. Neil's professors didn't make it mandatory for their students to show up for class, and after the first day, he gave up and retreated to the stadium, where it was quiet and he didn't have people staring at him, whispering about Foxes and Ravens and Butchers and numbers. Wymack gave him some speech about not failing, and after he got some studying in would let him watch old Ravens games so he could prepare for Friday, well aware what the game meant for Neil. The man had been the first to see him upon his return from Edgar Allen, after all.

Neil knew he was fine with two of his classes and that he should manage to at least pass his other two, so despite the importance of finals they didn't do much to distract him from Friday looming in the near distance. Of Riko counting down the days, the very hours until he finally got what he wanted. It felt as if there were permanent bonds around Neil's wrists, to the point that he jerked away from Andrew when his boyfriend went to grasp his left one on Tuesday morning, to check out the reddened flesh. Neil flushed and stuttered out an apology, only for Andrew to give him an even look while reaching out to touch the back of his neck until Neil slumped against him, needing that bit of reassurance, to breathe in Andrew's familiar scent and feel his solid warmth. But after that, Andrew made sure to keep Neil's right hand occupied whenever they were together, to hold onto his sleeve or affix his hand to the hem of his own shirt, to order Neil to massage his scalp or hand over a cigarette or... just something. Anything to keep him from trying to rub away the imaginary restraints.

And when Neil wasn't studying for his exams or taking them or looking at the Ravens' games, when he wasn't practicing or being distracted by Andrew, he was out on the court, doing drills or running laps or racing up and down the steps. Doing whatever he could to push himself, to make himself faster and stronger. Because he'd faced the Ravens twice before and knew what they were like, knew that Riko would be even worse than last October now that his pride was on the line after losing Jean and Neil defying him so much.

Neil had spent two weeks playing as one of them, having their style beaten into him, literally. And had spent months with Kevin perfecting that style, the impossible passes, the lightning footwork, the precision teamwork. He’d been driven to learn last summer, and it had become an obsession after Christmas break, but all of it… all of it didn’t matter in the end. He and Kevin could control the offense with a perfection never seen before, but it wouldn’t do them any good if their defense let them down, let the Ravens break through to score point after point. Especially since Neil and Kevin would be battering down a defensive line that would be renewing itself every so often, a defensive line that would put up one hell of a fight.

Neil wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Federov and Phillips and Atkins anytime soon. And he was willing to bet that Riko would assign them to him for the game. It got to the point that he almost felt sick, watching Riko on the screen, watching any of them.  Remembering their voices, their sneers, their hands and-

He jerked when the sound stopped and he realized that Andrew had turned off the television in the lounge. “What?”

“Enough,” Andrew said. “I think you know enough already.”

“No, I need-“ Neil drew in a breath when Andrew reached for and snagged his hands; he held both of them in his left one and then tugged up the sleeve of Neil’s left sweatshirt, to expose the band of red, swollen flesh.

“Do I need to call for Abby?” Andrew asked. “Have her wrap your damn hands in enough gauze that you can’t hurt yourself?”

“No,” Neil repeated, this time with less heat. “I just… they’re going to come after us with everything. They’re going to… they’re going to try to tear me and Kevin down.”

Andrew released Neil’s shirt so he could card his fingers through Neil’s hair instead. “They can only tear you down if you let them.”

Neil didn’t care so much about himself, but he worried about Kevin, and he worried that they might try to target Andrew again to hurt him. “Remember that. They’re just throwing out words,” he warned.

“Really? Somehow I don’t think it was all words, last Christmas.” Andrew twisted Neil’s wrists about to show off the scars. “But don’t worry, I’ve learned to bide my time.”

Uhm, that didn’t sound very good, did it? “Maybe you shouldn’t have skipped your session with Betsy today,” Neil told his boyfriend as he was pulled toward Abby’s office; Aaron and Andrew had forgone their day with the psychiatrist in favor of getting in the extra workout.

“Maybe you should have gone in my place,” Andrew muttered. “I swear, your issues multiply whenever my back is turned.” He all but shoved Neil through the door of Abby’s office, which startled the nurse, and all it took was one look at his wrists before he was sat down on the exam bed and ended up with both of them wrapped up *and* taped. In bright orange tape at that.

“Smug isn’t a good look on you,” Neil complained when Abby finally let him go after a lecture and too much fussing; she’d fixed them well enough that he couldn’t even figure out how to pick at the edges of the medical tape. Dammit, he’d have to have someone cut the things off, and he was willing to bet none of his teammates would do it, not once Andrew got to them.

“What, am I supposed to care?” Andrew reached over to smack the back of Neil’s head. “Stop being such an idiot for once, why don’t you?”

Maybe Neil would talk to Stuart about another date with Carlton – he might have been a bit too hasty in turning down the man. As if reading his thoughts, Andrew smacked the back of his head again. “What did I say?”

“Dammit, I can’t get a knife free with all this tape blocking things,” Neil ground out as he fought to get to his left arm band, at least until Andrew rolled his eyes and muttered about ‘drama queens’ before dragging him into the locker room to put on the rest of his gear so they could go out and practice on the court.

Thursday was a better (less homicidal) day, with Neil no longer watching the videos and Andrew sticking close by since his classes were optional as well. Having him there helped, both just with his presence and in having someone to practice with while the rest of the Foxes were busy.

It was a good thing that he had some sort of balance back by that evening, since Kevin all of a sudden announced that he had ‘something to do’ and that he wasn’t coming along to the evening practice, leaving it all on Neil to see the team through the drills for the night. He nearly had a panic attack over that, over being in charge and the thought of their last practice being ruined, but forced himself to deal with it, to walk everyone through the drills and to answer questions, to take the time to show Nicky and Aaron yet again the necessary steps, to correct Allison’s stance and move Matt on to a new drill. To say that his nerves were shot by the end of the night was an understatement, and not even Dan’s encouragement was any salve – especially when she called him ‘captain’.

They didn’t finish up until one that night, putting in the extra time since they would be spending a good bit of the day traveling to West Virginia. Despite his exhaustion, Neil waved off Andrew and Nicky as they crawled into bed, needing a little longer to clear his head, to still his thoughts in hopes of being in a good enough place to not have nightmares. Part of him desperately wanted to grab his shoes and go running, but Andrew really would throttle him for taking off that late at night – and before an important game – by himself, and he needed to get some rest before he pushed himself too far.

He was still standing by his desk when Nicky came back into the living area. “Hey, you all right?”

Neil summoned up a smile for his friend’s concern. “Yeah, just thinking too much.”

Nicky shook his head. “Okay, well, just so you know, there’s a grumpy bastard beneath my bed sending out all these bad vibes, waiting for you to snuggle up next to him. Don’t keep him up too long, all right?”

Neil’s smile strengthened. “All right.”

“Hmm. Hard to sleep with him like that,” Nicky complained as he went back into the bedroom.

Neil stood there a little longer, his fingers skimming along the taped bandages around his left wrist, until the thought of Andrew alone in their bed outweighed all the others in his head. He had just started to go to the bedroom when the front door opened up to admit Kevin – a very drunk Kevin.

That wasn’t too unusual occurrence, Kevin drunk and reeking of alcohol, but as Neil went to help his friend to bed, what with the way Kevin staggered about, he stopped short when he noticed the bandage on Kevin’s face – on Kevin’s left cheek. On the same spot as Neil’s ‘A’ tattoo, the spot that had always bore the number ‘2’ in some form or another in the time that Neil had known the striker.

Kevin somehow managed to slam the door shut behind him, and the loud sound made Neil jump and move again. “What have you done?” Neil asked as he helped Kevin stand more or less upright since he was beginning to slump down. Once Kevin was propped against the wall, Neil dared to reach up to peel at the bandage, which Kevin didn’t stop.

After getting on his friend for so long to stand up to Riko and Tetsuji, to make a damn stand and prove to them that he wasn’t their puppet anymore, that he was willing to leave Riko’s shadow and prove to everyone that he was indeed the best striker out there… Neil’s breath caught in his throat and he felt a rush of emotions, of what he thought might be excitement and hope and pride when he no longer saw the ‘2’ on Kevin’s cheek. Instead, a black chess piece replaced it, finely inked over the number. “You did it. You finally did it,” he said with a trembling smile. About fucking time, but he kept that to himself.

“Let Riko be the king,” Kevin slurred as his left arm came up to flop onto Neil’s shoulder. "Most coveted, most protected.” He made a rude noise after that. “Bastard will sacrifice every piece he has to protect his throne. Whatever.” There was another rude noise and Kevin slipped down a little more. “Me?" He gestured again, and nearly hit Neil in the head, he was so drunk. "I'm going to be the deadliest piece on the board."

“Queen,” said Andrew from behind them, and that time Neil wasn’t surprised, not when Kevin had made so much noise coming in, not when Nicky had said that Andrew had been waiting up for Neil and was a light sleeper if he’d given up on that. He came around them to study Kevin, to reach out and hold onto Kevin’s chin to better look at the new ink and the slightly red skin around it. “What happened to him being furious, hm? Aren’t you worried that he’ll kill you?”

“Fuck him,” Kevin said, probably trying to glare but appearing more cross-eyed than anything. He began to slide down the wall, and Andrew pulled Neil away rather than let Neil continue to prop him up. “Fuck them all. Waste of time to be angry. They should be afraid. I’m not gonna let them hold me back anymore.”

Andrew scoffed a little at that. “Hell hath no fury, huh?”

Kevin just shook his head before he motioned toward Neil, who leaned in enough to put the bandage back over the tattoo as gently as he could, only too familiar with how much they could ache when they were fresh. All the while he smiled, as excited about this turn of events as Kevin being able to play with his left hand. “No more second place,” Kevin slurred. “Never again.”

When Neil stepped back, he noticed that there was a slight, pleased smile on Andrew’s face as well; Andrew had been after Kevin to ‘grow a spine’ for just as long, if not longer. For the striker to break off the shackles that Riko and Tetsuji had put on him, that held back on his full potential. Because it really didn’t matter what hand Kevin played with if he didn’t think he could beat the Ravens, if Riko still held that psychological edge over him.

Now it was gone, and Riko was in for a rude awakening tomorrow. Would be playing a Kevin he’d never seen before out on the court.

“Now it’s getting fun,” Andrew said, letting Neil know that they were thinking the same thing.

“Finally,” Kevin mumbled, appearing rather fed up at the moment. “Took… took you long enough.”

Andrew scoffed again. “Look who’s talking,” he said, but he reached down to drag the drunk onto his feet. Neil helped a little as well to get Kevin to bed, and laughed when the striker grabbed onto the stuffed fox and seemed to pass out once he was on it.

He wasn’t surprised when Andrew led him out of the bedroom, and smiled when he was pushed against the wall only to be kissed a moment later. “Happy now?” Andrew asked when he pulled away after a few seconds, his hands tight on Neil’s hips.

“Tell me you aren’t,” Neil murmured while his fingers tangled as much as possible in Andrew’s short hair. “I’ve been after him to do something like that since June, but you… it’s been even longer, right?” Since Andrew had agreed to watch over Kevin, all for Neil.

Andrew didn’t bother to answer him, but Neil didn’t need any words, not when Andrew’s fingers tightened around his hips, when Andrew’s mouth was even more insistent on his own. He pulled his boyfriend closer to him and enjoyed that rare moment of peace, uncaring about the lack of sleep, just wanting however much of Andrew he could have to bolster him through the day to come.

*******

It was a long ride to Edgar Allen, and Andrew did his best to sleep through most of it; did his best to ignore the noise and the other idiots on the bus. The morning started out loud with everyone crowding around a hung-over Kevin because of his tattoo, and it took a few threats (promises, really) to get everyone to quiet down enough and stick to the front of the fucking bus if they wanted to talk so Andrew and Neil could curl up in the back seat and get some sleep. Making out most of the night might not have been the smartest thing to do… but Neil was a dead weight against Andrew’s chest, his face peaceful and hands curled up on his lap, fingers off of his damn wrists for once, so it was worth it. The memory of Neil’s lips brushing along his neck, hands in his hair and on his shoulders, body rocking against his own… yeah, it was worth it.  Andrew shifted a bit more comfortable against the window with both of their jackets serving as an impromptu pillow, and managed to get some sleep.

It wasn’t until the last couple of hours of the trip that Neil really woke up, finally shaking off the exhaustion from pushing his body so hard the last several days, and Andrew had to put up with him and Kevin going over the finer details of the Ravens’ line, of their offense and defense. The rest of the Foxes huddled around as best they could to listen in, and the talk was about nothing other than Exy when they stopped for something to eat.

The last few miles to Edgar Allen took forever because of the traffic, and everywhere they looked it was black and red, was some show of support for the university and the Ravens. Kevin’s expression became grim as they reached the campus, much like a soldier prepared for battle, while Neil’s went blank.

“You’ll be seeing these gates soon enough,” Andrew told his idiot in French. “When we drive through them again tonight.”

Neil remained quiet, but he summoned a slight smile for Andrew and nodded.

By the time they reached the huge Evermore stadium and parked the bus, it was about an hour before the game would start. The parking lots were organized mayhem, all the spots full and people swarming about, the majority of them Ravens fans in black and red but also a large section of media and some VIP guests, considering the horde of bodyguards swarming about in the crowd. Andrew wondered how much ‘family’ business was being conducted under the guise of the game and if Ichiro was on hand at all, but kept the thought to himself since Neil and Kevin were under enough pressure already.

The Foxes and the Vixens approached the stadium, with Katelyn quick to take her place at Aaron’s side, the two of them holding hands like the proper ‘friends’ they were. Nicky stood between the couple and Neil and Andrew as if some sort of buffer and glanced all around at the circus, though probably more out of curiosity and not to check out any potential danger, like Andrew was doing (at the first sign of a riot, they were out of there). Renee was busy praying, of all things, Dan and Matt were standing side by side and refusing to look intimidated, while Reynolds managed a rather contemptuous look as if she saw better extravaganzas all the time, even as she tapped her heel against the asphalt in a tell of nerves.

Surprisingly, it was Kevin who appeared the most defiant of them all, ready to charge into Castle Evermore to take on the Ravens singlehanded, if necessary – even Neil was back to being blank-faced, probably in an effort to give away nothing at the moment. Andrew wasn’t sure just what had prompted a sudden growth of spine in the coward, if it was seeing Jean move forward to USC (and maybe steal away his man-crush), Neil struggling so hard to face his own demons despite all of the shit Riko kept heaping on him or the rest of the Foxes stepping up at the last minute. Maybe it was all of it. Maybe Kevin realized that Andrew really would send him back to the Nest along with Neil if the Foxes lost the game tonight and knew he had to give it his all if he wanted to remain free of Riko. Whatever. All that mattered was that the coward… wasn’t so much a coward anymore. Finally.

Wymack stood next to his son with an expression of pride on his face, while Abby kept looking over her shoulder at the rest of the Foxes as if to make sure that everyone was doing all right; Andrew noticed the way that her gaze lingered on Neil each time.

A few officials finally came over to them so they could get into the stadium, with a couple of women leading the Vixens away (Andrew rolled his eyes when his brother kissed Katelyn before she left), and four security guards came to escort the Foxes into the stadium, with more of them waiting once they got into the damn thing. Andrew noticed how one of them got a bit too close to Neil and glared at the asshole as he pulled Neil more into the middle of the group.

He also noticed all of the cameras going off around them, and the way that Kevin smiled at them as he walked past. It shouldn’t take too long for someone to realize that Kevin had changed his tattoo, which was good – let Riko obsess about something other than Neil for once. In fact, he could tell when some bright soul had figured it out, because all of a sudden people started booing the Foxes and more flashes went off, while people began to call out ‘Queen’. During it all, Kevin held his head up high and refused to be intimidated. Or refused to show that he was being intimidated.

They finally reached the Away locker room, which was huge and black – all black. Andrew couldn’t understand why anyone would go with such a fucked up color scheme, and he could tell that Neil’s nerves were beginning to fray the moment he walked into the room. A room much too similar in style to the bedroom in that fucking video. So he grabbed the idiot by the back of the neck and forced Neil to look at him. “What are we doing tonight?” he asked.

Neil blinked a couple of times before he breathed out. “Winning.”

“And after that?”

“Leaving.”

“Right.” Andrew gave him a gentle shake before letting go, while around him the rest of the Foxes threw their bags and coats around as if to try to break up all the fucking black. With bright orange. It was like some fucked-up Halloween color scheme all of a sudden, which really didn’t make it all that much better.

“I know the color is slimming, but what the fuck,” Nicky proclaimed. “This is why some people should always hire an interior designer. It’s called ‘color wheels’, Tetsuji! Even I know that.”

“Because the guy at the one store we went to so you could buy paint for your bedroom was ‘hot’,” Aaron reminded his cousin with obvious disgust. “We got stuck there for a damn hour waiting for you to pick out an off-white color just so you could drool over him for that long.”

“Eggshell,” Nicky corrected, his tone highly offended. “I went with ‘eggshell’, and complimented it with ‘terra cotta’ and ‘Bombay blue’, you heathen. Color wheels, I’m not joking.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely,” Renee remarked as she dug through her bag for something.

Nicky smiled at her. “You need to come by and see it one weekend!”

“Wow, an invite to the fabled monster house? Count me in,” Reynolds said as she handed Renee what looked to be some shin guards.

Nicky’s smile grew wider. “We can have a proper party that way!”

Normally Andrew would be annoyed at Nicky’s antics *and* inviting people to his house like that, but the banter seemed to be putting Neil at ease.

Before Dan and Matt could invite themselves along as well, one of the guards cleared his throat and gave what sounded to be a rehearsed spiel about the stadium and towers being sold out, and that the West Tower hosted a good bit of Exy officials, including some representatives from the pro and major leagues who were not to be approached unless one of the players were invited to do so by a member of the Ravens’ staff. They were also told they would have access to the inner ring of the court for the next half an hour, until the Ravens came out and then would be restricted to just half of the court until the official start of the game.

In other words, same old, same old, basically, just a bit more special with it being the championship game.

Nicky asked about who was in the eastern Tower, since the guard hadn’t mentioned that one, but Kevin spoke up to say that it was reserved for the Moriyamas – for them, their guests and business clients. Neil twitched a little upon hearing that, and Andrew wondered if he’d heard anything from his uncle yet that day.

When no one else spoke up, the guard gave them a polite nod and left.

Once the man was gone, Dan burst into a huge grin as she looked around at everyone. "All right, this is what we've been waiting for, right?" It was clear she was trying to stir up some enthusiasm in the team.

"Let's do it," Matt agreed, as always willing to follow her lead.

Nicky let out an excited whoop as he followed them out of the locker room, and Andrew gave Neil a slight push as everyone left their gear behind to go out into the inner ring; he noticed Neil's slight hesitation and had to wonder at what memories stepping out onto the court were being stirred up just then. But they needed to be faced, and better when the idiot was surrounded by his teammates, by friends and people he trusted. Neil had told him about those 'practices' which were more along the lines of torture sessions, were more attempts to break him down when the Ravens en masse piled on the abuse under the guise of Exy.

So he kept his hand on the small of Neil's back as they stepped out there, mindful of the tension in Neil's muscles, and murmured 'idiot' into Neil's ear to make those muscles relax. He got flashed a grateful smile, allowed himself a moment to drink in that sight, and then took in the wall of black and red that surrounded them. Yeah, he'd say that by far and away the crowd was supporting the home team, but there were still small patches of orange and white here and there to indicate that some of the Foxes' fans had made the trip to come support their team. The Foxes, especially Nicky and Dan, made a show of waving to those fans, which prompted a lot of cheers and waves in return. Of course the Ravens fans did what they could (which wasn't difficult, considering their numbers) to drown that out by booing. Class acts, all of them.

They even had people who coordinated waves in parts of the stadiums, which made Andrew roll his eyes and Nicky produce a gagging sound. Once again, Andrew was reminded of a friggen cult, one he was determined to break apart by showing their main idol as being oh so fallible that night. And if he could bust those clay feet? Even better. Shatter them into tiny motes of dust.

"Jesus Christ," Nicky muttered, sounding utterly disgusted by the display put on by the Ravens fans. "I think I'm going to be sick if I have to watch this all night, it's utterly ridi- what the, is that Erik?"

It was about time someone found out about the surprise that Neil and Reynolds had arranged for the pest. His mouth agape but not spewing nonsense for once, Nicky dashed past Neil and into the stands, toward the section behind the Away team where Erik was showing a guard his ticket. Somehow Erik must have heard Nicky (probably used to that high-pitched shriek after so many years, though *why*? - maybe it was like Andrew just knowing when Neil was about to provoke someone into trying to kill him) because he turned toward the court and leaned down to give a flailing Nicky a hug.

Andrew nudged a smiling Neil in the side. "He's going to be unbearable for the rest of the night, you do know."

"Like you complained when I suggested it," Neil huffed. "Come on, it's his early Christmas present. And he's so happy." Then his smile faltered a little. "He'll play better, now that Erik's here.  He'll want to make him proud."

Andrew doubted that was why Neil had done it, or the only reason Neil had done it, considering how close his boyfriend was with the pest, but if it made Neil feel any better about his chances for the night, so be it. Besides, Erik had wanted to come to see Nicky, Neil and Reynolds had just helped out by paying for his airfare and getting the flight arranged at the last minute.

While Nicky continued to publicly grope his boyfriend, the rest of the Foxes' guests arrived, since they'd traveled from the airport together in a van Wymack had arranged for them. Wymack waved the team off for a few minutes to greet everyone, his words gruff even though there was a slight smile on his face, and Matt went running towards his mother and Renee for Stephanie. Andrew gave a bland look at the four statuesque women wearing white sundresses who fussed over Dan, and then he came to a halt when he noticed the four people headed toward him and Neil. Two he'd been expecting, a grinning Sonja Wolfe and her boyfriend Bryan, but right beside them were an obviously excited Anna and Kelci decked out in Foxes jerseys - Kelci in Neil's and Anna, the bitch, in Andrew's.

"What the *hell*?" All right, the word quota was being extended to texting, as of today.

Anna laughed at him as she leaned over to give Neil a quick hug. "I know! Who would ever think that we'd be here like this?" She followed the hug with a kiss to Neil's forehead. "Mwah, you did good, kid."

"Thank you," Neil told her with a smile. "I'm glad you could make it, both of you."

Kelci gave him a hug, too, just as quick. "You passed everything, right?"

Now Neil's smile slipped a little. "Yeah, maybe not the greatest grades but I passed. Might need your help again with a sociology class next semester, hear there's a lot of essays for it."

"You have my number, Red." Kelci smiled as she tousled his hair. "All my undergrads are amazed that I'm tutoring a famous Exy player!"

Such a shame he'd be dead soon. Andrew latched onto the loose sleeve of Anna's jersey and pulled her aside, which allowed Wolfe a chance to fuss over the idiot, and frowned. "Again, what the hell?"

Anna shook her head at that. "Oh don't even, Andrew." She folded her arms over her chest while Kelci came to stand next to her in a protective manner. "You know we've stayed in touch with Neil, that we like the kid. Is it so hard to believe that after helping him out and everything for so long, he's like a little brother to us?"

"A little brother who can't keep his tenses straight for the life of him," Kelci joked. "Too many languages, I think."

"So yeah, when he asked if we wanted to come today, we said yes." Anna's jaw jutted out and she swiped her hand down the jersey. "Believe it or not, we wanted to see *both* of you play and win. It's... I'm happy for both of you, you know. It's... it's good, seeing you get your life together, to make something of it." For a moment her expression hardened, and then she smiled as she looked over at Kelci. "To know that at least two of us got out of that place and are proving them wrong."

Andrew stared at her, his hands clenched into fists as he fought with the long-interned doubts, the thoughts that no one did anything for just the hell of it. But he'd squared any debts with Anna a long time ago, and he had to admit that Neil had a way of inspiring a type of stupid loyalty in people. "Don't even dream to think that you can hit us up for money once we go pro," he warned. "We're blocking your number long before then."

Anna laughed at that. "Go ahead and try, you little shit. Neil's too much of a sweetheart, he'll be giving us free tickets and goodies forever, which we'll be able to hawk for cash." She gave him the finger before her and Kelci headed off to their seats.

He went back to a certain oblivious idiot, who was being wished by Wolfe to have a good game that night. "You too, Minyard. Best of luck to you both."

"And that's not just because there's a ridiculous pot waiting for us when you win," Bryan joked as he waved goodbye to them.

"Nice," Andrew commented while Neil waved back. "So, that wasn't a pleasant surprise."

Neil sighed as he tucked back his bangs. "Anna commented that she wished she could be here to cheer us on, and since there were still some seats available... I figured why not? She's helped us out so much and it's been a while since I've seen her."

"She helped us out because she got something out of it," Andrew reminded the idiot.

"No, not always," Neil argued. "Not the last couple of years."

That... was technically true. She hadn't asked for anything to help track down Costanzo, and then there was Kelci helping Neil with his papers. Unless it was all part of Anna's long range plan to latch on to an Exy player, which Andrew wouldn't put past the sneaky bitch. He'd have to pay more attention to things in the future.

It was around then that Bee showed up, so Andrew figured that he'd return the favor and dragged Neil along as he went over to greet her, while the idiot hung back and kept picking at the tape around his wrists.

"Bee! Have a nice flight? Tired of the color black yet?"

"Andrew! The flight was fine, and... well, yes, it's a bit overwhelming, isn't it? It does work well as an intimidation factor, I have to say, but I do wonder about the effects on their own team, to be subjugated to it day in and day out."

Ah yes, good old Bee.

"Somehow, I don't think they're worried much about the mental effects on their own team," Andrew said, which made Bee frown.

"They should be, but, well, I'm not here to criticize another team's practices. Are you ready for the game tonight? It should be very exciting, yes?" She smiled at him and Neil, not that the idiot was looking at her.

"I think 'exciting' is an understatement."

Bee seemed to catch something in his voice just then and eyed him up and down, then Neil. "Well, you've been working so hard for it all season. There's been a lot of build up because of the team making it this far, on you facing off against such a vaunted rival."

She sure did try, didn't she? But before Andrew could say anything, a guard approached the three of them - approached *Neil*.  "Neil Josten, a Stuart Hatford would like to see you," he told a cautious Neil.

Oh, would he? Andrew gave Bee a curt nod as he reached for Neil's left arm. "Let's go see Uncle Stuart, shall we?" The guard went to shake his head at Andrew, but Neil started walking forward in a clear sign that they both were going to see Stuart.

The guard caught up with them and took over leading the way, toward a wall which separated the inner ring from the stands. Stuart waited on the other side of it, dressed in another of his fancy suits, his arms folded on top of the wall and a cigarette dangling from his lips. He dismissed the guard with a curt nod then turned his attention on the two of them, a slight smile when he looked at Neil which thinned when he took in Andrew. "Well, at least you're sticking close to him," he muttered as he tossed the cigarette aside.

"Nice to see you, too," Andrew said as he watched Neil go over to the limey prick to be hugged; Stuart caught at Neil's right hand for a moment to gaze at the taped wrist, but let it drop without saying anything.

"You here for the game?" Neil asked as he shoved his hands behind his back.

"More or less." Stuart's expression smoothed out as he looked at the two of them once more, for some reason lingering on Andrew more than Neil. "The little lord is here, so make it good today, all right? Watch yourselves."

"That goes without saying." Andrew reached out to pull Neil a bit closer. "He pay his brother a visit?"

"No, hasn't even seen Tetsuji, from what I've heard." Stuart once again gazed at Andrew as if trying to pass on a message. "I also hear that the Home locker room's not a fun place to be right now."

Neil's breath hitched at that and he shook his head. "That... no, I imagine not." He could probably imagine a lot of things happening in there right now.

"Thanks so much," Andrew said in a sarcastic tone as he rubbed along the back of the idiot's neck. "Anything else?"

"Just do your best to win - there's a ton of guards ready to move the moment the game's done if those bastards win," Stuart warned.

"They better be prepared to deal with an upset crowd when we beat their precious Ravens," Andrew said as he tugged Neil away; Stuart shook his head as he vanished into the crowd, probably to go guard the 'little lord'. By the time the two of them reached the rest of the Foxes, Neil's expression had returned to the smooth mask similar to his uncle's which he used to hide things away, and Andrew allowed Dan to wave them over to introduce them to her 'sisters' and then Nicky to hug the idiot in gratitude before Wymack yelled at everyone to go get ready.

Once in the locker room, everyone rushed to change into their uniforms, especially Neil, and then they were back onto the court so they could warm up by running laps around the inner ring. Andrew flashed Anna the finger every time he passed her, until Neil sighed and smiled, just a little.

"Just admit it, you like her."

"It's a bit early for those hallucinations, Josten. I haven't thrown any balls at your head, *yet*."

"How long am I going to be making this up, hmm?"

"I think a few days of a word quota, several donut runs and enough veggie pizza to make you sick just might cover it. Oh, and detailing the car," Andrew mused while Neil's brow became more and more furrowed. Ah yes, someone was so amusing when they were all offended, and that temper was so much better than anxiety.

At least Neil's temper lasted until the crowd began to roar and stomp their feet, loud enough to make Andrew's head throb from the noise and bones ache, and signal the arrival of the Ravens. He noticed that Kevin's shoulders slumped just a little, but the coward still kept his head held high and his expression haughty, while Neil's grew shuttered as if he was tamping down on everything. Andrew tugged on a handful of auburn curls while he gave Kevin a questioning look and got a slight nod in return, and had faith in that at least one of them was taking Riko's appearance in stride.

He flicked Neil in the side of the head as they stretched out beside each other in the locker room. "Are you giving up?" he asked in French.

"No, just preparing myself for whatever shit he's going to pull," Neil admitted. "If I think up the worst, it can't be so bad, right?"

"Have I mentioned yet that you're an idiot?"

"Hmm, not sure." But now he didn't appear so hopeless anymore.

Done stretching, they put on the rest of their gear, Neil helping Andrew with all of his padding, and then went to meet up in the main room, which was also black. Huh, a bit of a theme going on there. Wymack just looked them over and nodded. "You've got this," he told them before they headed outside once more, where they had to wait for the Ravens to be announced before they could be introduced. Andrew sneered at the ridiculous amount of players while Kevin did his stoic impersonation and Neil just stared at nothing.

Hearing the Orange Notes play the Foxes' music cued the team that it was finally their turn, and Nicky reached out to pat everyone on the shoulders before they had to line up in proper order and then they were out on court and headed to their Away section.

Dan met Riko out on the center court and won the coin toss so that the Foxes would have the first serve. After that, they only had a few minutes before the game would start, so Andrew braced himself for one of Wymack’s terrible speeches. The man, as always, didn’t disappoint.

"I suck at this pep talk thing,” he told them as they huddled around him, “but Abby threatened me with a gruesome death if I didn't make some sort of effort tonight.” Oh yes, off to an inspiring start right there. Andrew let out a heavy sigh, only to have his foot stomped on by Kevin. “This is what I've come up with after an hour of hard brainstorming.” Maybe Andrew should cut back a little on the alcohol if this was what he had to look forward to in the future. “I haven't rehearsed it yet, so you'll have to pretend it's something polished and encouraging. Deal?"

Of course morons like Dan and Matt nodded, while Andrew did his best not to fall asleep.

"I want you to close your eyes and think about why you're here tonight,” Wymack continued after a slight pause. “Don't tell me 'revenge' because you've already gotten it just by being here tonight.” Oh no, not quite. ‘Revenge’ was snapping Riko’s neck, in gutting the bastard and laughing in his face. Someone needed to look up the word in the dictionary, apparently.

 "This isn't about Riko anymore," Wymack said. Again, wrong – this was all about Riko, in taking the prick down, in taking everything away from him, just like he tried to take everything away from Neil, from Andrew and Kevin. "This isn't about the Ravens. This is about you. This is about everything it took for you to get to this point, everything it cost you, and everyone who laughed when you dared to dream of something big and bright. You're here tonight because you refused to give up and refused to give in. You're here where they all said you'd never be, and no one can say you haven't earned the right to play this game.”

An hour? For that? A rehash of every sports movie ever?

"All eyes are on you. It's time to show them what you're made of. There's no room for doubt, no room for second guesses, no room for error. This is your night. This is your game. This is your moment. Seize it with everything you've got. Pull out all the stops and lay it all on the line. Fight because you don't know how to die quietly. Win because you don't know how to lose. This king's ruled long enough— it's time to tear his castle down."

Pretty words, and while it looked like some of the Foxes – Dan and Matt and Reynolds – might buy into them, others like Kevin and Nicky and Aaron knew what this was really about. Knew that it was a long-owed payback to a certain King, was about ripping off Riko’s crown and spitting on it, about making him pay for all of the slights, all of the taunts and attempts to hurt them, all of the pain the prick had heaped on them over the years. Even Renee got that, understood that there came a time when you had to cut the cancer out rather than allow it to spread.

It was time to take Riko down. That it was also time to show that the Foxes weren’t a joke anymore? Icing on the cake, so to speak.

But in the end, Andrew only cared about one thing, really.

A bell going off to signal that it was about time to head out onto court cut Wymack off before he could ramble on any more, which was fine by Andrew. “Let’s go,” Wymack told them, which was all Andrew had needed in the first place.

“Foxes!” the team shouted, even Neil, and Andrew watched as the starting line-up headed out onto the court.

Riko was called out, of course, then Kevin and Neil soon after that. Judging from the anger on the prick’s face and the way he spat Japanese at Kevin, Andrew would say that he’d heard about the new tattoo and wasn’t pleased. Andrew was just satisfied that it deflected the attention away from Neil for a short while, and that Kevin didn’t buckle under the abuse.

At least, it deflected Riko’s attention for a minute or two, but he paused to say something to Neil, something that made Neil’s face smooth out but his chin jut out in a manner that Andrew was all too familiar with, that he knew meant that Neil’s temper was flaring even if he didn’t show it otherwise. Good. Let Riko piss off the idiot. Let him deal with that temper.

It was clear from the start of the game that the Ravens were pissed off and determined to take it out on the Foxes, on what they probably saw as the source of their many woes that season – on whom had brought negative attention down on them because of their rabid fans, on who had taken away first Kevin and then Jean, on whom Riko had fixated. The pathetic loser team who had taunted them, who wouldn’t go away. Who dared to face them in the championships, who came back only stronger after everything. So yes, Andrew had to sit there and watch closely as the Ravens used all of those nasty tricks he’d seen his boyfriend sneak onto court the last few months, that he’d seen in October and in all the videos, to slam about his friends and family and teammates. To slam about his boyfriend. Because just like Neil had predicted, Riko had assigned Phillips to him, and the man was taking great delight in shadowing Neil, in hovering too close, to checking him and slamming him against the wall and floor every chance he had. When Phillips was pulled… Federov was even worse. All the while, Riko and Engle sneaked by the Foxes’ defense to score points on Renee, which Andrew observed with care. Neil and Kevin did whatever they could to score points, but it was just as Neil had feared – there was only so much they could do while the Foxes’ defense broke down under the Ravens’ assault.

Andrew watched it all, studied the Ravens and bided his time. If he saw a slim figure in grey across the court, he ignored the man.

When half-time came, the team was a mess. Nicky was so worn out and stressed that he was dry-heaving, enough that Abby went to take care of him first before she checked on anyone else. Renee radiated a palpable menace as she clutched at her racket, and Andrew left her alone because he didn’t want to hear her ‘sorries’ or excuses, not after their agreement earlier. He’d known going in that having her take the goal for the first half of the game was a risk, but he needed a chance to watch the Ravens in action from outside of the game – it wasn’t the same as watching a video. Now he had a feel for them and could do what it took to catch up the four point spread. So instead, he went over to Neil to make sure that his idiot was okay, and pulled him off to the side.

“What did they do to you?” he asked as he handed Neil a cup of sports drink.

Neil’s bandana was soaked with sweat and his eyes were shadowed, but he managed a slight smile for Andrew. He was quiet as he drank down about half of the cup, and then he sighed. “It was… nothing new,” he said in German. “Brought up stuff they did in the past. What they’ll do in the future.” He shuddered a little as he closed his eyes. “Still hoping that Riko will give me to them.”

“And what did you say to them?”

That got Neil to open his eyes, the darkness chased off by a familiar fire. “That I’ll gut them if they ever try. That I’ll never call him ‘king’ and that we won’t lose tonight.”

“That’s right, we won’t.” Andrew stole away Neil’s cup and finished off the sweet drink. “We’ll kick their asses, just watch.”

Off in the background, Kevin was arguing something with the backliners, with Matt and Aaron and Nicky, but Neil just gazed at him, a slight smile on his face and something ridiculous in those big eyes of his, something that might be faith. “I can’t wait.”

“Just don’t get cocky out there,” Andrew warned. “I’m going to be pissed off if I have to leave my goal because of you.”

“Because you’re lazy,” Neil said as his grin grew wider. “Some day I’d love to see you actually have to run around for a game.”

“I run around enough taking care of your ass,” Andrew complained, which earned him a laugh – Neil didn’t debate that fact, though.

Soon enough the half-time break was over, and it was Andrew’s turn out in the goal. As he settled in, he noticed that Kevin was holding his racquet in his left hand, and a slight smile came over Andrew’s face. About time, dammit.

The second half was completely different from the first – the Ravens seemed overwhelmed to deal with Kevin back in rare form, confident and in full control of his talent, shouting out to Neil in French now that Jean was gone from the team. As for Neil, he was a blazing streak across the court, digging deep into his reserves to pull out that amazing speed of his, twisting about and dodging Bautista and Atkins with an ease that was almost uncanny – putting to good use those two weeks he had spent with the Ravens, obviously. Putting to use that knowledge, just like Kevin did, to help Kevin even up the score, and even score a goal himself.

Andrew knew that losing goals like that would piss off the Ravens and so braced himself for the oncoming assault, and put Renee’s ‘sacrifice’ to good use. Matt and Aaron did the best they could to hold up against the Ravens strikers, but when the bastards eventually broke through, Andrew was ready for them, was ready to block the shots and send the balls flying back, which only added to the Ravens’ desperation.

It got bad enough that when the score was within two points and the second half seventeen minutes down, the Ravens’ dealer Reacher actually threw a punch at Kevin when he managed another goal. Not only did the bastard throw a punch at Kevin, but he kept at it, until all the players on the court except the goalkeepers got involved, either to fight or to break it up.

Matt and Kevin got yellow-carded, but Kevin managed a foul shot for it, and the game continued. The Ravens seemed determined to target the defense after that, but even Andrew was stunned when at one point he was slammed into by a Raven, Williams, when he went after a rebound shot that ended short of the goal. One moment he was scooping up the ball, the next he was slammed into the goal post by the asshole, the goal lighting up as it mistook the force of his body slamming into it as a ‘point’ landing.

What was even more surprising was finding Neil there to spin Williams into the floor when Andrew shoved the asshole away and then stood with his gloved hands on his knees while he struggled for breath. He heard Matt yell at the idiot, and then Neil took a step closer to the goal, concern evident on his face; Andrew remembered Neil telling him about being worried over the Ravens targeting him and Kevin, about them saying things. Evidently, the idiot had feared that they were moving beyond ‘saying things’.

“I’m fine,” he said while he waved Neil aside. “Go score a damn point.”

Neil remained still for a moment, then smiled. “Okay. Move faster next time, why don’t you?”

“Fuck you,” Andrew huffed.

Neil got a baleful look and an earful from the one referee, but didn’t get carded for anything, probably because Matt stammered out an apology. Of course Tetsuji used the excuse to sub out Williams and a couple of other players who had been red-carded, to bring in rested players against the Foxes.

Andrew considered what was coming down on them and looked over at their battered defense, then at Neil. “It’s too slow,” he said.

“Eh?” Neil frowned at that. “What, the defensive line?”

“Yes,” Andrew agreed, then he looked over at Neil, who still seemed in decent shape. “Are you tired yet?”

Neil opened his mouth at first, then seemed to consider the question. “I’m all right,” he admitted. Considering how much practice he put in and all the running, he should still be fine.

“Good.” Andrew turned toward Matt and pointed at Neil. “Then this is what we need to do. Dan’s going to come in to sub for Neil, and Neil will take your place.”

Matt stared at him for a couple of seconds. “What? Are you crazy?”

Andrew didn’t bother to answer that. “You’re limping,” and not much help at the moment, considering that the man had been out on the court for most of the game and kept letting the Ravens past him. “Have Abby put a brace on that, and get off the court. Neil will be more use to me than you right now.”

“Neil, a striker,” Matt said in an exaggerated manner.

“Neil, a striker, who started as a backliner,” Andrew explained. “Who also has played with Riko recently.” He turned toward Neil. “Can you do it?”

He knew that Neil hadn’t played as a backliner in years, but he wasn’t looking for precision, he was looking for speed, which Neil had in spades. Riko was fast… but Neil was faster, and what they needed was someone who could block Riko, who knew his moves, who could anticipate him.

Neil stared at him for a couple of seconds and then smiled. “Yes, I know how he plays.” Then he turned toward Matt. “I played as a backliner when I was a kid, I know enough to do this. More importantly? I can handle Riko.”

Matt didn’t seem to be buying into the new strategy. “You’re going to be able to take on the best striker after two weeks?”

That made Neil glare. “Kevin’s the best striker in the league. And all I have to do is be faster than Riko and have an idea of how he plays. Trust me, I had the later forced down my very throat on this court, and paid enough for the first.” For a moment, Neil’s face became clouded before the glare returned.

Matt’s resolve began to waver. “Coach will never go for it.”

“Tell him he has no choice if he wants to win,” Andrew said while looking at Neil, because it was the truth.

A reminder of what was at stake seemed to convince Matt, who then turned around and left the court, limping the entire time. While he argued with Wymack and Abby, Neil smiled at Andrew, showing no doubts about the new strategy.

“Imagine, me being a backliner after all these years,” Neil murmured when Dan came back onto the court, walking past a startled Reynolds who had to be told that she wasn’t being swapped out.

“What did I say about getting all sappy?”

Neil laughed as he went to take his place opposite Riko, and managed to keep a hint of a smile on his face when he stood in front of the confused prick, even when a pleased grin spread across Riko’s face when he figured out what was happening and he leaned closer to murmur something. Neil’s hands clenched around his racquet, but he didn’t lose that smile.

In control of the ball thanks to Williams, Andrew threw it almost up to the Ravens’ goal, and watched as Riko managed to gain control of it… only for Neil to start thwarting him, to use his racquet and smaller body and those damn Ravens’ tricks to stymy the prick every step of the way back to Andrew’s goal. Whenever Riko would manage to break free from Neil, Neil would be back in his face a few steps later with that slight smile on his face.

Riko got close enough to Andrew to fire a shot, only for Neil to interfere at the last moment; Andrew easily blocked it and shook his head when he heard Riko snarl something in Japanese that made Neil laugh in response. The ball sent off toward Kevin, the prick used the opportunity to knock Neil to the ground yet again, which only made Neil laugh in his face yet again; Andrew could see how it was wearing down on Riko’s control, having Neil taunt him like that, refusing to be cowed, to be afraid, even as the constant abuse also wore Neil down.

The score was finally tied, nine to nine, and ten minutes went on after Kevin’s last goal with the teams fighting each other out on the court, until Berger got past Aaron and Andrew wasn’t fast enough to catch the damn ball. He was furious with himself for that failure, for allowing another goal to slip through his fingers when he knew how damn important each point was that night. When Riko flashed him a smug grin across the court, he almost left the goal so he could go smash his racquet into the bastard’s head.

The fact was, the Foxes were exhausted and fighting hard against a team which constantly renewed its players – the wear was getting on them. Had gotten on them. They were at the breaking point, if not already there. Wymack used the next foul against the Foxes to send Matt in for Aaron and Nicky in for Allison, while a ragged Neil remained to guard a pleased Riko.

At least, he was pleased until having to deal with Matt, Neil and Nicky, who managed a unified defense in the last part of the game and did a good job of keeping Berger and Riko away from the goal. Andrew probably didn’t want to know what the prick was saying to Neil, but it only helped to fuel the idiot past the growing exhaustion, while Kevin continued to wage a one man war against the Ravens’ own defense and managed to score another point within the last five minutes. Oh, the Ravens fans weren’t happy about that.

It got down to the last minute with the game tied, with Andrew wondering how Neil and Kevin would manage in a shoot-out – if they had enough energy to face off against the Ravens’ goalkeeper. Judging from Neil’s expression, he was running on pure spite and determination at the moment, wavering each time Riko slammed into him. In fact, Riko slammed into him again and Neil crumpled, going down and not getting up, but at that point the ball was on the Ravens’ side of the court, so Andrew risked stepping outside of the goal to better watch what was going on, to make sure that his idiot was all right.

Neil stayed down, but Kevin had the ball, and before the final buzzer went off, managed to score one last goal.

The coward had done it. Fuck. The damn coward had done it, had won the game for the Foxes. Andrew might feel a bit of respect for him just then, as the Foxes started screaming and the crowd broke out in a harsh cacophony of denial as it sunk in that the Ravens had just lost. Lost by one fucking point.

The Ravens had lost. The Foxes had won. Neil wasn’t going anywhere, and Riko… later. Get to Neil.

Andrew hurried from his goal, intent on reaching Neil before anything happened, before someone tried to pull any shit. He shoved his way past several stunned Ravens and ignored a laughing Nicky, gaze intent on Neil’s slumped figure kneeling on court, helmet rolling away from him as he gazed up at a stunned Riko. It looked as if he was saying something to the prick, the idiot never one to keep his mouth shut when he really should know better.

Well, considering how much shit Riko had given him over the years… fuck it, the idiot should know better. DON’T FEED THE MONSTER.

All Andrew needed to see was Riko lifting his racquet into the air, and he rushed forward with his own racquet already swinging. A satisfied smile spread across his face when he felt it slam into Riko’s right arm while someone screamed in the background, even as he dropped to his knees to shield Neil, his left arm wrapping around the idiot.

Riko shrieked as his right forearm shattered, and he dropped his racquet as he stumbled back to clutch his ruined arm to his body while Andrew braced his racquet in front of Neil as if to ward off any more blows; oh, how he wanted to continue smashing it into the prick, but too many witnesses. Instead, he tugged Neil closer to him and watched Riko writhe in agony.

Ravens began to swarm around their fallen captain and Foxes around the two of them, hovering around as close as they dared to make sure that Neil was all right with Andrew right there. Neil slumped against Andrew, clearly exhausted in every sense, and murmured a ‘thank you’ as he closed his eyes.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Dan demanded.

Neil let out a slow breath and opened his eyes, his head resting back on Andrew’s right shoulder. “Yeah.” He managed a smile as he fumbled for Andrew’s gloved hand holding up the racquet. “Yeah. We won.” He tilted up his head to look at Andrew. “We won.”

Dan laughed at that, her expression almost tender as she looked at the both of them. “Yeah, we did.” She glanced at Andrew before she reached out to tousle Neil’s sweat-soaked curls. “That we did. Do we have to carry you to the locker room?”

Andrew let his racquet fall to the floor. “I got him.” He wasn’t letting the idiot out of his sight until they were miles away from Edgar Allen, if even then.

It took some effort, getting Neil to stand, while in the background medical personnel fussed over Riko. Nothing was said to the Foxes – what could be said? Riko had clearly attempted to attack an opposing team’s player in front of thousands of people, and Andrew had defended that player. Still, guards saw them into the locker room, where an official was waiting for them.

“Ah, in light of… well, there won’t be any ceremony tonight,” the middle-aged man dressed in a black blazer with an Edgar Allen pin on the lapel told them. “We’re focused on getting the crowd out of the stadium as quickly as possible right now, due to the unfortunate incident.”

“You mean where one of your team’s players attempted to murder one of my own?” Wymack asked in a deceptively quiet voice.

The man flinched. “Well, the incident. There will be… we need statements from your team and then something will be arranged tomorrow, in light of your victory.”

“Whatever,” Wymack muttered, while Dan appeared furious on the team’s behalf.

It was arranged for everyone to be put up in a hotel for the night, with Edgar Allen picking up the bill for any rearranged flights and the overnight accommodations, and so the Vixens and everyone’s guests took off for the hotel (Nicky was *not* pleased to miss out on any time with Erik), while the rest of the Foxes remained behind to talk to the police about what had happened (Neil managed a few words, but wasn’t happy about it), as well as give their usual post-game interview. Well, for the most part, since this was their first championship game and first game to end with a Fox maiming a rival. Needless to say, Andrew and Neil weren’t asked to do any of the whole ‘interview’ thing. What a shame.

It took forever, the whole mess, and it was a good thing that they’d had Wolfe on hand, since Andrew had a feeling that she helped speed up the police part of the process – nothing like having a Fed as your character witness to say ‘yeah, I saw the whole thing, and that prick was going to smash that poor guy’s brains out until this wonderful person here stepped in to intervene with a reasonable amount of violence’. Or something like that.

Whatever, all Andrew knew was that it took forever before he and Neil had the showers to themselves to wash off, with Neil dozing off beneath the water, he was that exhausted. Mindful of what had happened the last time Neil had showered in the Nest, Andrew left him alone for about ten minutes before he threw a bar of soap at the idiot, which made Neil flail about for a few seconds until he was awake enough to remember where he was and finish washing up.

Dressed in jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts, they went to catch up with the rest of the Foxes and hopefully head off to the hotel when a security guard stopped them before they could enter the changing room. “Neil Josten?” the rather burly man asked as he eyed Neil up and down. “They have a few more questions for you.”

Neil let out a weary sigh as he dropped his bag by the door. “Uhm, okay.” He turned to give Andrew an apologetic smile. “This should only take a little while.”

Andrew dropped his bag as well. “Good, because I’m coming with you.” He glared at the guard as if daring the man to argue with him.

The man didn’t appear happy about that and pulled out his phone to call someone, and mentioned that ‘Minyard’ was insisting to come along. Then he blinked at whatever was said before putting his phone away, and motioned for the two of them to follow.

Well, wasn’t that nice?

They went down a narrow hallway and into the inner ring, through the empty stadium and into the outer ring where previous championship banners hung limp in the night air and the floor was sticky beneath Andrew’s feet from spilled soda and snacks. The place had almost a horror movie feel to it, that late at night, so abandoned and lifeless, their steps echoing in the huge space.

Andrew became wary when he saw the signs pointing to ‘EAST’, and then the guard led them to an elevator where he had to swipe a badge and punch in a code before it would open up. Once that was done, the guard punched the button for the ‘tower’, the only other one being for ‘floor’.

The guard didn’t leave the elevator when the door opened again, so Andrew and Neil stepped out into a short hall which lead to a huge room that overlooked the stadium, the floors covered with a lush red carpet and the decorations expensive yet minimal. Off to one corner was Stuart, his gaze intent while he kept his mouth shut, and another man dressed in a fancy suit. Tetsuji and Riko were seated on one of the black leather couches, Tetsuji staring straight ahead as if intent on ignoring everything, Riko appearing as if a shell of his usual smug, prick of a self, right arm in a white cast and a sling.

Off by the windows was a young Asian man who resembled Riko, dressed in an expensive suit – Andrew guessed that he was the ‘little lord’, the infamous Ichiro Moriyama, especially when Neil’s attention was snared by him.

Andrew and Neil entered the room halfway and stopped, and like Neil, Andrew kept his attention fixed on Ichiro. Things were quiet for about a minute or two, and then the elegant Japanese man reached out with his right hand and flicked his fingers to the man standing by Stuart, who stepped forward and placed a gun in his palm.

All right, that wasn’t the best of signs, was it?

At least when Ichiro moved, he went over to the couch and not to Andrew and Neil, and began to say something in Japanese. Tetsuji’s shoulders stiffened and he continued to look straight ahead, while Riko remained huddled forward. During the exchange, Andrew noticed how tense Neil became and glanced over at Stuart, who continued to stare at him. *At him*. What the hell?

Ichiro finally stopped talking, and Tetsuji bowed low over his knees as if in a sign of obedience or begging forgiveness. Then Ichiro turned toward Riko as if considering something, while Riko finally moved, to stir his head and look up at his brother. He spoke for the first time since Andrew had come into the room, and that was to say his brother’s name.

Ichiro continued to stare at Riko as if he was some sort of puzzle or problem… and then turned to Andrew and Neil. No, wait, to Andrew.

“Minyard,” he said, while he made a flicking motion once again, with his left hand this time.

Confused over what the hell was going on, Andrew stepped forward, annoyed by the summons but not going to be obstinate when a crime lord with a gun in his hand beckoned. Ichiro regarded him for a moment while Riko moaned something in Japanese, and then handed over the gun.

Andrew was beginning to get the picture, especially when behind him Neil caught his breath, and Riko let out a low moan before letting out a fast string of Japanese.

Andrew hefted the gun for a moment, noticed that the safety was off, and looked at Ichiro. The man regarded him with a cool, even gaze, and then looked down at his brother before stepping aside. Andrew allowed himself a second or two to hold the gun in his hand, to look down at Riko, at first the panic in the man’s face and then the hatred, followed by an expression of pure betrayal as Riko looked over at Ichiro… then placed the nozzle against Riko’s temple and pulled the trigger.

It was loud, a lot louder than Andrew had expected, and his wrist ached from the kick of the gun. But that close, the bullet went where it was supposed to, did the damage it was supposed to, though the couch and Tetsuji’s coat could be considered ruined.

It was a faster death than Andrew had planned for Riko… but that look of betrayal at the end, in knowing that his own brother had wanted him dead and let a *mutt* carry it out? Oh yes, Andrew could live with it.

Ichiro made that flickering motion again, and the strange man stepped forward to take the gun from Andrew, to wipe it clean before placing it in Riko’s limp right hand and wrapping the prick’s unmoving fingers around it. Oh, nice to have that loose end wrapped up, though Andrew was certain it wasn’t as simple as that.

Once that was done, Ichiro turned toward Andrew and Neil. “You have cost the Ravens their coach and their captain. Are you satisfied?”

Andrew arched an eyebrow at that and remembered how Neil had called for Tetsuji to step down as the Ravens’ coach – it looked as if Ichiro was following through on that. Beside him, Neil took a deep breath. “I told you what I cared about. I believe that this will make that happen… and you will benefit from it in the end.”

Ichiro regarded Neil with something akin to approval. "I don’t care what they call you, you will always be a Wesninski at heart." Ichirou flicked his fingers once more. "You are dismissed."

This time it was Stuart who came forward to lead them from the room, silent until they reached the elevator. “That went well.”

Neil slumped against the wall as he reached for Andrew. “Why did you do that? Now they have their hooks in you, too, dammit.” Even as he spoke, his fingers tangled in the hem of Andrew’s black shirt.

“Because it needed to be done,” Andrew said as he caught at Neil’s hand and held onto it. “Because it was a test, right?” That he posed to Stuart.

The limey prick nodded, but had the grace to look a bit ashamed. “I told you, the little lord was trying to figure things out about you, if you were an annoyance or not. The kiddo’s right in that now Ichiro feels that you fall under the main branch, but it’s more along the lines in that he knows where your loyalties lie, in that he’s gauged your limits,” he explained in a rush when Neil started to glare. “You’ve involved yourself in the lives of his property, he just made sure to what extent you’ll go to protect it.”

“And isn’t it oh so nice, to have something to use against me if I prove to be that ‘annoyance’, hmm?” Andrew said in a bland voice.

Stuart knew enough to wince. “That won’t be a concern as long as you look out after Nathaniel, right?”

Andrew gave him a cool look for a few seconds, but in the end the man was right, and it had been worth it, to take out Riko. To know that the prick would never come after Neil again – no more phone calls, no more texts, no more threats.

Stuart led them back to the inner ring, where he gave Neil a hug and said he’d call in a few days, maybe try to meet up for a day or two during the summer, and to get some fucking sleep. Neil smiled at that and waved the man off, then walked with Andrew back to the tunnel leading to the Away locker room. Yet once they were in the darkened hallway, he paused and tugged on Andrew’s left arm.

“What?”

Neil reached for Andrew’s shoulders, his motions slow, so Andrew got the hint and met him halfway for the kiss, his fingers sliding through Neil’s damp curls. They both were tired and in the middle of a strange hallway, but it was a pleasant few seconds, considering everything they’d been through the last several hours or more.

When they broke apart, Neil’s fingers dug into Andrew’s shoulders. “Thank you,” he said, his voice low and rough. “For everything. For tonight. The game. For… for Riko.”

Not every day when someone thanked him for killing a person, but Andrew knew what Neil meant. “And we didn’t even have to dispose of the body.”

That earned him a tired smile. “Yeah.” Then Neil pulled back and frown. “Ditch the shirt, though. Probably the jeans, too. I’ll text Stuart and ask him to drop something off at the hotel.”

Yeah, a good idea. Also a good idea? Not saying anything about Riko’s death – Edgar Allen could deal with that mess.

They got back to the locker room, where everyone seemed to wake up a bit upon their arrival. Nicky came over to hug Neil, who smiled at him, and then Wymack clapped his hands together. “All right, we’ve a party waiting for us at the hotel. Anyone not on the bus in two minutes is getting left behind.”

The man really needed to get a new threat, but it got everyone moving, laughing and talking about what they planned to do once at the hotel. Matt handed Andrew and Neil their duffel bags, and Neil was quick to pull out his phone, as promised, to text his uncle about the new outfit while Andrew hurried to the back of the bus just in case there were any spots of blood or worse on his clothes.

It took about twenty minutes to get to the hotel, and as promised, everyone was waiting for them, with the exception of Sonja and Bryan (they had to get back to Columbia for work. Not that Andrew was complaining, considering what had happened in the East Tower). Nicky immediately went over to do unspeakable things to Erik, Anna was already well on her way to being drunk, and the new clothes had arrived shortly after the team did, so Andrew changed after he and Neil had dropped off their things in their own room. Dan cajoled them into sticking around in the suite where everyone was gathered for about half an hour or so, which was around all that Andrew could take of the crowd (and his brother hanging on Katelyn) while Neil was falling asleep on his shoulder, so they easily made their excuses after that.

Despite Neil’s exhaustion, he insisted that Andrew take a shower once back in the room, ‘just in case’, and Andrew didn’t complain when his boyfriend joined him in it to ‘help’ wash him clean. They both were sore from the game, Neil especially, and tired, but the feel of hot water falling down on him, of Neil’s body against his and fingers along his back as they rocked together... Andrew just wanted to close his eyes as the pleasure tore through him, to savor the moment after everything that had happened that day.

Then he got stuck dragging a semi-comatose, drenched boyfriend out of the shower and had to put him to bed, so maybe not the best of ideas.

He wasn’t sure how the Foxes had imagined their first ever championship win, but while they probably had expected it to be so hard-fought, they might not have expected to basically have the trophy shoved at them the next day without any fanfare, thanks to Riko’s ‘suicide’. No cheering crowds, no press, nothing, just ‘here, take this, goodbye’, and then they were on the road again, to deal with a shell-shocked Kevin and a quiet team during the long drive home. Andrew knew the real fallout would happen later, when the press looked into what might have happened to ‘drive’ Riko to such lengths, into why Tetsuji had stepped down as the Ravens’ coach and whenever they found some poor idiot to take over for the man… but for time being, all he wanted was to get back to PSU so he could burn the clothes tucked into a plastic bag in his duffel bag, send Nicky away to Germany for a few weeks, head off to Columbia to relax for a little while and take a break from Exy while a certain idiot cleared a few debts.

That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?

Neil slept for some of the bus ride, and spent some of it talking with Dan and Wymack about the upcoming season; it seemed to be sinking in to the idiot that he was stuck with the vice-captain position now that he was indeed a Fox for the rest of his university career. Andrew foresaw some epic freaking out in the upcoming weeks, but it was better than his panic attacks over Riko.

There ended up being a crowd waiting for them at the Foxhole Court upon their arrival, their fans gathering there to congratulate them for their win, so the team got some sort of recognition. There were more interviews, which snapped Kevin out of his daze for a little while, but once the fuss died down, Wymack pulled Andrew and Neil aside. “I’m going to take him home with me, all right? I think he… well, I’m going to watch him for the next few days. It’s really hitting him, what happened to Riko. I think me, Abby and Bee can help.”

Considering that Andrew had killed Riko and Neil detested the prick, it was probably a good idea. “We’ll be in Columbia until he’s ready,” Andrew said. They had a couple of weeks before they had to deal with more Moriyama shit, and until then, he wanted that break.

“All right.” Wymack seemed surprised that Andrew didn’t argue with him over Kevin, but with Riko out of the picture and the deal with the main branch, Kevin should be fine for a week or two, especially if Wymack was watching him. That just left Nicky, who was heading to Stuttgart soon, the rest of the Foxes, who were leaving campus within the next few days, and Aaron. Andrew suspected that his brother would spend half of his summer break visiting Katelyn, which meant that he and Neil would actually have a rare bit of privacy in their near future.

They stuck around campus long enough to clean out the suite, dropping off some stuff at Abby’s since they’d be back at her place in about a month, then saw Nicky, Erik, Renee and Jean off at the airport. Jean was another person who was a mess over Riko for some damn reason, so Renee thought it was a good thing that he was headed off to USC early to settle in the area and get back in shape; apparently enough of the Trojans hung out around the campus in the summer that they were excited to help out their new teammate.

Aaron took off in the Nissan to help Katelyn go home to Charleston for the summer, while Andrew and Neil loaded up the Maserati to head back to Columbia, where he expected them to have the house to themselves for at least a couple of days. The drive was quiet, both of them content to say little while Andrew drove, the radio turned off so he could hear the loud purr of the car’s engine.

It was late afternoon when they reached the house, the building quiet save for the faint hum of the fridge and the a/c. Andrew stood in the kitchen for a moment after he set his keys on the counter, satisfied with the quiet, with the sensation of being somewhere he belonged, somewhere he knew he was safe, where the rest of the world was shut out. Then he accepted the bottle of water that Neil handed him and drank from it, thirsty after the drive.

When it was empty, he tossed the bottle into the sink and went over to Neil, who was still sipping from his own bottle. Neil paused and then lowered the bottle to the counter, his blue eyes intent on Andrew, and didn’t move while Andrew reached out to slide the fingers of his right hand into those mussed, auburn curls. The fingers that had held a gun only a couple of days ago, that had placed it against Riko’s temple and pulled a trigger without any remorse.

Neil didn’t flinch or shove Andrew away, he just smiled and reached out to hook his fingers into the belt loops of Andrew’s jeans and tug him a little closer. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Andrew told him as he tightened his fingers on those soft curls. “So, just the two of us.”

“Yes.” Neil smiled at that. “Can we change the locks? Do something to get a few more days out of this?”

“Maybe we will go away, just the two of us.” Once Kevin was settled and before they had to report for summer training.

“That would be nice.” Neil laughed a little. “Right now, I feel like I could lock the doors, turn off the phones and pretend that the outside world doesn’t exist for a few days. Just… just take a break from everything.”

Mostly doable, once they ran out for a few supplies. “And what would we do during those days? It better not have anything to do with Exy.” Andrew warned.

Neil smiled at that as he took a step away from the counter, still holding onto Andrew’s jeans. “I’ve an idea or two.” When Andrew didn’t move, he arched an eyebrow and tugged on Andrew’s jeans. “Yes or no?”

This might be interesting.  Or it better be interesting, because Aaron wasn’t going to be gone for long. “Yes,” Andrew said, and allowed himself to be led to the bedroom, with them shedding their clothes along the way. Habit dictated that they closed the door, even though they were alone, and soon they were sprawled out on the bed. Neil managed to land on top, but he paused to check with Andrew, to make sure it was all right, before he leaned in for a kiss, one that started out slow and quickly grew more passionate while his hands stayed above Andrew’s shoulders, while he was mindful not to pin Andrew down too much.

He trailed kisses along Andrew’s chin and neck, lavishing attention there until a low moan slipped past Andrew’s lips and he rolled them over, needing to feel Neil beneath him, to feel a bit more comfortable. That way Neil’s hands could stroke along Andrew’s back and chest as they ground their hips together, at least until he pulled away for the lube.

Neil’s fingers tugged at Andrew’s hair when he slipped in a slick finger, so he retaliated by nipping at an inked flower on the idiot’s neck. He mouthed his way along much of the tattoo while he prepared Neil, salt faint on his tongue as Neil took to cursing in German and French with even a Russian word or two, hips jerking beneath him and hands now scrambling for Andrew’s shoulders. After a choked off cry, Andrew pulled away to look down on his boyfriend, on Neil’s flushed face and bright eyes, and brushed aside a strand of hair covering the ‘A’ tattoo.

“Ah-asshole,” Neil stuttered out.

“Hmm, want something? What did you have in mind again?”

There was a scratching sound, as if Neil was scraping his nails along his arm guards just then. “Fucking do it before… oh hell.” He pulled Andrew down for a messy kiss.

One day someone would grasp the concept of dirty talk, but not bad, Andrew supposed.

They both moaned as he slowly thrust in, Andrew biting into his lower lip to mask the sound while Neil was louder; his fingers tightened on Neil’s hips upon hearing it, as it made him rock forward a bit faster than he’d intended but Neil didn’t seem to care. In fact, the idiot pulled him closer, wrapped his legs around Andrew and buried his fingers in Andrew’s hair then urged him on, whispered how he wanted more even as his face flushed even brighter.

Andrew rested his own face against Neil’s neck for a moment while his lips brushed against a black feather, before he skimmed his right hand along the small of Neil’s back, against a patch of smooth skin, then shifted Neil’s hips a little more as he rocked his own a little faster, a little harder.

Hmm, someone had definitely been studying Russian on his own.

The pleasure was a steady fire inside of Andrew, growing hotter and brighter with each passing heartbeat, each touch from Neil, each thrust and fumbled kiss and low moan of his name. Even the sight of Neil gazing at him, eyes darkened with passion, that damn tattoo and face so open with emotion was a punch to Andrew’s chest, all of it something he’d never thought to have. Someone giving this to him. Someone….

He shuddered as Neil arched beneath him, gasping while he stroked himself with one hand and clutched at Andrew’s shoulders with another, lean body taut from pleasure. Andrew could feel Neil tightening around him and moaned again as his own orgasm approached, yet he did his best to stave it off until Neil arched again, those blue eyes fluttering shut as he came and *fuck*, did he feel so good then, so tight as Andrew let it all crash down on him.

All he wanted to do for a minute or two was lie there, allow the rare sense of peace last as long as it could, the sense of peace and euphoria that filled his body before reality and… well, before things ruined it. The feel of Neil beneath him, relaxed and humming a little, fingers gentle along Andrew’s shoulders, so warm and pliant. The two of them alone on their bed, with a locked door between them and the rest of the world.

“Hmm, okay, so I won’t stab you any time soon,” Neil said, his voice a little rough and sleepy and very pleased.

Andrew lifted his head to glare at the idiot. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Neil smiled at him, the expression a bit stupid. “You’re always an asshole, but you’re not bad.”

Andrew probably didn’t want to know. “And you’re always an idiot,” he declared as he resettled himself on top of Neil; they would need a shower in another minute or two… but this was okay. He liked the feel of Neil playing with his hair just then.

Yeah, a shower and then they’d have to figure out something to eat. Probably best to go out for dinner, that way they could pick up some groceries, then come back and maybe watch a movie. It could be like it had been back in Racine for the next couple of days, with them just hanging out and doing whatever they wanted – only with more space. Andrew smiled at the thought.

He stroked his hand along Neil’s side and got a sleepy murmur in return. Some things were better than they had been in Racine. He knew where he stood with Neil now, knew that Neil wouldn’t vanish one day. They were building something together, rather than just fumbling along. They had a life together.

He thought about what they had just done, about how good it had felt, how it wasn’t just the sex but in knowing that Neil trusted him, in that Neil respected him and his boundaries. That they both did. Then Andrew thought about switching things around, like he did from time to time… and found that the idea scared him a little less than it had the last time. That when he thought about pulling Neil onto the bed and allowing him to top… huh, okay, he could hold onto that thought a little longer now.

“You all right?” Neil asked as he paused in rubbing Andrew’s scalp.

Andrew groaned as he pulled away from Neil, at the mess between them. “Shower, now.”

Neil winced as he got up from the bed. “Okay, I thought that might be it.” He grabbed a couple of tissues to wipe at himself as they headed toward the bathroom. “So, dinner?” He appeared hopeful as he asked the question.

“Oh, I think you know what it’ll be,” Andrew said with a slight smile.

“Dammit,” Neil muttered, his face set in a rather amusing pout.

Oh yes, debts were owed. The question was, how many would the idiot manage to clear before he racked up a bunch of new ones? Even with Riko gone, somehow Andrew didn’t think their life was about to become that boring. And somehow, that thought made him happy. In knowing that he would be facing things with Neil, would have a future – fucked up or not – with the idiot. A certain idiot who loved to put himself in Andrew’s debt.

He wondered if there was an equivalent to veggie pizza in Japan.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *******  
> Yeah, so there you have it. Wrapping up the AFTG series, for the most part.
> 
> Just want to say, not knocking Nora's 'Wymack' speech at the end there. I just think that Andrew would mock the hell out of the man being all serious, especially when he was a bit stressed.
> 
> And yeah... so... Riko... Hmm. That's my take on Riko's death. Just a slight change, but yeah, I think Riko would be devastated to know that not only was Ichiro behind it... but that Ichiro had allowed Andrew to do it.
> 
> Okay, so what's next? Like I said, have a couple of other chapters I want to do, but I also have Armies upcoming and a couple of fic prompts. Also want to catch up on tumblr and open up more prompts.
> 
> So I'll come back and do a few side stories, maybe even go farther through Neil's second year, but at the least I want to focus on Armies and I still have the urban magic/necromancer Andrew fic to start. 
> 
> Just will probably take another week for updates, since will be working extra hours this week. Bah.
> 
> Also, will probably be going back to edit mistakes in various chapters at some point, if you see any updates.
> 
> As always, the comments and kudos are always appreciated!  
> *******

**Author's Note:**

> *******  
> *is anxious* Uhm, yeah, hopefully all that makes sense (I've read these books SO MANY times and hope I haven't messed anything up, and there's so many great fics out here for this fandom). The juvenile detention center is based on a real one, I didn't remember if it was ever mentioned where Andrew stayed for his three years, just that it was a better than average one.  
> More characters will be coming, but for right now, the first few chapters will be Andrew and Nathaniel/Neil.


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